He was part of the squad that won the2014 World Cup, having previously finished second (2002) and third (2006,2010) in the competition; he finished as runner-up with Germany atUEFA Euro 2008 and joint-third place atUEFA Euro 2012. He holds the record for the most goals scored in FIFA World Cup tournaments,[9] having scored five goals in his debut World Cup in 2002 and having won theGolden Boot at the 2006 World Cup in Germany by again scoring five times. He also scored four times in the 2010 World Cup and twice at the 2014 World Cup, in the latter tournament overtaking Brazil'sRonaldo's then-record of 15 goals to top the all-time list.[10] He retired from the national team in August 2014, shortly after Germany's victory at the 2014 World Cup.[11]
Klose was born in theSilesian city ofOpole, Poland. Both of his parents were professional athletes.[12] His father,Josef Klose, was also a professional footballer who played forOdra Opole before leavingPoland in 1978 to play for French clubAuxerre.[13] His mother, Barbara Jeż, was a member of thePoland women's national handball team. Josef Klose belonged to aGerman minority in Poland, anAussiedler whose family had remained behind when Silesia was ceded to Poland afterWorld War II.[5] In 1986, then eight-year-old Miroslav joined his father inKusel,West Germany, knowing only two words ofGerman.[14] Klose developed his footballing skill and passion with local club SG Blaubach-Diedelkopf, which at the time was in the West-German seventh division. He was also an apprentice carpenter.[15][16]
In 1998, Klose's professional career began at age 20 with a switch to the reserves at former Bundesliga outfitFC Homburg. Twelve months later, he moved to1. FC Kaiserslautern.[17] He played for the second team and made his first appearance in theBundesliga in April 2000. He scored 16 goals in the 2001–02 season[18] and was shy of only two goals to become the top scorer.[19]
In March 2004, Klose signed a four-year contract withWerder Bremen for a €5 million ($6.2 million) transfer fee.[20][21] He made his league debut on 6 August 2004 as a substitute for Paraguayan strikerNelson Valdez in a 1–0 home win againstSchalke 04.[22][23] On 29 August 2004, Klose scored his first goal, an equaliser, but the Bremen team lost 2–1 at home againstVfL Wolfsburg.[24][25]
On 7 June 2007, Klose confirmed that he would leave Werder Bremen forBayern Munich either before the2007–08 season or upon the expiration of his contract with the Bremen team at the end of the 2007–08 season.[26]
On 26 June 2007, Bayern Munich club presidentKarl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed his team had reached an agreement with Werder Bremen regarding the transfer of Klose. Klose completed his medical with Bayern on 28 June 2007 before signing a four-year contract.[19][27]
Klose won the first major honours of his club career at the end of his first season with Bayern, as they won the Bundesliga and theDFB-Pokal in2007–08. In 2010, he won the2010 DFL-Supercup, scoring a goal in the 81st minute.[28]
On 7 June 2011, with his contract about to expire, Klose did not reach an agreement with Bayern, thus leaving the club at the end of the2010–11 season.[29] He had scored one Bundesliga goal in 20 matches in his final season.[30]
Klose signed a three-year contract with ItalianSerie A clubLazio on 9 June 2011.[31] He scored his first goal for Lazio in the2011–12 UEFA Europa League play-offs and also assisted four other goals. Lazio won that match 6–0 and won the play-off 9–1 on aggregate againstRabotnički.[32] On 9 September 2011, he made his Serie A debut in a 2–2 draw againstMilan and scored a goal in the 12th minute, which was the first Serie A goal ofthe season. Despite having been at the club for only a few months, Lazio coachEdoardo Reja underlined his importance to the team.[33] On 16 October 2011, Klose scored in the 93rd minute to win theRome derby againstRoma for Lazio, 2–1. However, the occasion was tainted by a small section of radicalLazio fans holding a sign adapted from a motto used by theNazis. The sign read "Klose mit uns", which means "Klose with us". It was intended by those fans as praise for Klose; however, the Nazis used the motto "God with us" and the Lazio fans' sign featured the S's in the same font as the logo ofAdolf Hitler'sSchutzstaffel (SS). Klose had explicitly condemned the sign, saying, "[P]olitics should stay out of the stadium."[34][35][36]
On 10 December 2011, Klose scored twice and assisted one for Lazio in an away game againstLecce, including an 87-minute goal that gave Lazio a 3–2 victory.[37]
On 2 September 2012, Klose scored his firstSerie A goal of the season, scoring a brace in Lazio's 3–0 home win againstPalermo.[38] On 26 September, Klose accidentally scored a goal with his hand againstNapoli for Lazio, unseen by the referee. However, Klose informed the referee and asked that the goal be discounted. The referee then reversed the decision and the goal was discounted.[39]
On 2 December, Klose scored his ninth goal of the season, securing a 2–1 victory overParma, lifting Lazio into fourth place in Serie A.[40] Two weeks later, on 15 December, he scored a late goal to send his side to a 1–0 victory over second-placedInternazionale, reducing the gap between the two sides in the league table to one point.[41] On 5 May 2013, he scored five goals againstBologna before being substituted forLouis Saha in the 68th minute.[42] It was the first time since the1984–85 season that a player scored five goals in the same game in Serie A.[43]
On 26 May, Klose won theCoppa Italia, beating Lazio's city rivals Roma 1–0. It was the sixth time in Lazio's history and the first time in the history of the tournament there was a Lazio–Roma derby in the final.[44]
Klose started the season by playing in the2013 Supercoppa Italiana againstJuventus, which ended in a 4–0 loss at theStadio Olimpico.[45] Klose started the league season by playing 83 minutes in the team's opening league match of the season, a 2–1 home win againstUdinese.[46] He scored his first goal of the season on 31 August in a 4–1 away defeat to Juventus.[47] He scored his second league goal of the season on 28 October during the 2–0 home victory againstCagliari.[48]
Klose played his first match of theSerie A season against Milan, in which Lazio was defeated 3–1.[49] He scored three goals and set up two other goals in the first half of the season in 16 appearances in Serie A. He also scored one goal and set up another for Lazio againstBassano in the only2014–15 Coppa Italia match he played before the winter break.[50] They went on to win the match 7–0.[51] In the second half of the season, he scored 10 goals and set up 5 in 18 appearances, ending the season with 13 goals and 7 assists in Serie A, along with 3 goals and 2 assists in the Coppa Italia in 6 appearances.
On 15 May, Klose scored his final goal for Lazio from a penalty on his final appearance for the club, the final matchday of the2015–16 Serie A season. The game ended in a 4–2 home loss toFiorentina.[52] With his 64th goal for Lazio, he equalledGoran Pandev as the club's highest non-Italian goalscorer of all time, and ended his Lazio career as the club's seventh-highest all-time goalscorer.[53] Klose retired on 1 November 2016.[54]
Klose's consistency as a goal-scorer inhis first Bundesliga season at 1. FC Kaiserslautern earned him attention. In January 2001, then-head coach of thePoland national team,Jerzy Engel, travelled to Germany to persuade Klose to choose to represent Poland. This request was declined by Klose, who said, "I have a German passport, and if things are still running this way, I have a chance to play forRudi Völler." Klose's hopes were justified, as he would soon score for Germany.[55]
In an interview given toPrzegląd Sportowy on 9 June 2008, Klose stated the decision to play for Germany instead of Poland was not an easy one, and if Polish officials had been faster, he would be playing for Poland. Further, he added he does not regret the choice, as with Germany he has won medals in the World Cup tournaments.[56]
Klose's international debut came on 24 March 2001 in a2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier againstAlbania;[57] in the 73rd minute, Germany head coach Rudi Völler put him in as a substitute. Two minutes from time, he headed home the winner in a 2–1 victory for Germany, and celebrated with a front-flip.[58] Four days later, in his second match, Klose helped Germany temporarily lead theirqualification group, as he came on in the 67th minute and scored in the 3–2 win againstGreece in the 82nd minute, making it two crucial goals in only 33 minutes on the pitch. Twohat-tricks againstIsrael andAustria in friendlies prior to the upcoming World Cup were enough to establish him in Germany's starting line-up for the tournament.[59]
Klose came to international prominence at the2002 World Cup in Korea–Japan with five headed goals for Germany, finishing as the joint second-highest goalscorer alongsideRivaldo. Klose also became thefirst player to score five headers in aFIFA World Cup, and hecelebrated two of his goals with his trademark front-flip, earning him the nickname "Salto-Klose" (German:Salto = somersault).[60] His goal tally included a hat-trick in Germany's 8–0 hammering ofSaudi Arabia, as well as one goal each against theRepublic of Ireland andCameroon.[61]
Klose participated inUEFA Euro 2004 and came on as a substitute in two matches, againstLatvia and theCzech Republic, but was not completely fit, since he had just recovered from a knee injury. He was not able to score and Germany was eliminated after the first round.[62]
In the opening match of the2006 World Cup in Germany, Klose scored two close-range goals in a 4–2 win overCosta Rica,[63] and added a similar brace in the final group game to defeatEcuador 3–0 and make Germany the group winners.[64]
Klose scored an 80th-minute headed equaliser againstArgentina in the quarter-finals, and Germany won the resulting penalty shootout.[65] With five goals, he finished as the top scorer of the tournament, taking home theFIFA World Cup Golden Boot.[66]
AtEuro 2008, Klose started the openinggroup stage match against Poland and assistedLukas Podolski's two goals in a 2–0 victory. He played the remaining two group games againstCroatia and Austria with no goals of his own. He finally broke his duck during theknockout stages, scoring for Germany in the quarter-final and the semi-final againstPortugal andTurkey respectively. In both matches, he scored Germany's second goal, and both games were won 3–2. However, Klose was unable to score during thefinal againstSpain, which Germany lost 1–0.[67][68]
Klose was selected in Germany's final 23-mansquad for the third successiveWorld Cup campaign. On 13 June, Klose scored the second goal againstAustralia in theiropening group match, which ended in a 4–0 victory. This goal put him level in World Cup goals with his former national team coach,Jürgen Klinsmann.[69] However, Klose wassent off in the 37th minute of Germany's match againstSerbia for amassing his second yellow-cardfoul of the match, and did not play the match againstGhana because of his expulsion.
Klose opened the scoring in theround of 16 match againstEngland on 27 June 2010 with his 12th World Cup goal, equallingPelé for fourth on the all-time list, and also notching up his 50th international goal in his 99th international game, as Germany won the match 4–1.[70]
Klose made his 100th international appearance in the quarter-final match against Argentina, becoming only the sixth German player to reach thelandmark. He then scored the second and fourth goals against Argentina (Germany winning 4–0), pulling him level withGerd Müller's all-time German World Cup goalscoring record.[71]
During theEuro 2012 qualifiers, Klose scored at least one goal in every single game he played, striking against all of Germany's opponents:Belgium,Azerbaijan, Turkey,Kazakhstan and Austria. Gaining only sixcaps during the qualification campaign, he scored nine goals and provided two assists, making him Europe's second-most-successful striker for this period behindKlaas-Jan Huntelaar, who scored 12 times in 8 matches.[72] At the end of the qualifying campaign, Klose had achieved 21 assists and 63 goals while playing for Germany, trailing Gerd Müller's German goalscoring record by five (albeit playing almost twice as many internationals compared to Müller).[73]
Atthe tournament, Klose came off the bench in all three of Germany'sGroup B games, but failed to score a goal. In the quarter-final game against Greece, Klose started the match and scored Germany's third goal in a 4–2 win.[74] Klose again had to come off the bench in the semi-final againstItaly, but failed to add to his goal tally as Germany were eliminated with a 2–1 loss.[75]
Prior to the tournament, Klose said the2014 World Cup would be his final one for Germany, stating he wanted one more shot at trying to win the World Cup and having done that, he was content.[76][77][78] On 6 June 2014, in Germany's final friendly before the World Cup againstArmenia, Klose scored his 69th international goal, thus breaking Gerd Müller's record of 68 goals and becoming Germany's record goalscorer.[79]
Klose scored his record-equalling 15th World Cup goal to help Germany to a 2–2 draw against Ghana on 21 June 2014, after entering the game as a 69th-minute substitute forMario Götze (who had scored Germany's first goal) with his team trailing 2–1.[80] This tied him with theBrazilian playerRonaldo.[81] With this goal, Klose became thethird player in history to score in four different World Cups. On 8 July, Klose scored a record 16th World Cup goal in the 23rd minuteagainst hosts Brazil in the semi-finals, his second goal of the 2014 World Cup. That goal gave Germany a 2–0 leaden route to a 7–1 win over Brazil, and Klose surpassed Ronaldo's previous record of 15 World Cup goals.[82] Klose set another record by becoming the first player to appear in four consecutive World Cup semi-finals.[83] Klose started in theWorld Cup final against Argentina and played until the 88th minute, when he was substituted for Mario Götze. Götze would score the 113th-minute goal which gave Germany a 1–0 victory over Argentina, earning Germany's fourth World Cup title overall and first as a reunited country. Klose announced his retirement from international football one month after the final.[84]
On 1 November 2016, Klose was hired to become part of the coaching staff of the German national team. Klose said, "I celebrated my greatest successes with the national team and it was a wonderful and unforgettable time. That's why I'm delighted to return to theDFB. In the past few months, I have thought a lot about continuing my playing career, but also about pursuing other avenues, namely becoming a coach."[85]
On 11 May 2018, Bayern Munich named Klose as their coach for the U-17 team. Klose signed a two-year contract until the end of June 2020.[86][87]
On 7 May 2020, Klose signed a one-year contract to become the first-team assistant manager underHansi Flick.[88] He left Bayern Munich in May 2021.[89]
A prolific goalscorer, Klose was a large and powerfulstriker who was known in particular for his ability in the air as acentre-forward, due to his strength, timing, elevation and heading accuracy, as well as his finishing ability.[96] In his prime, he was also a quick player who was known for his turn of pace, movement, and positional sense in the penalty area, which enabled him to lose his markers and get on the end of crosses.[97][98][99][100] In addition to his physical attributes, he possessed good technique[97] and hold-up play with his back to goal, and was capable of creating space for other players,[101][102][103] or setting-up goals for teammates in addition to scoring them himself,[104] due to his tactical intelligence and ability to interpret the game.[105] He was also known for his dedication and good behaviour on the pitch.[98]
Klose playing in a charity match in 2016. Klose is known for a strong sense of sportsmanship.
Throughout his career, Klose often stood out for his fair play and honesty in addition to his skill and goalscoring as a footballer.[106] On 30 April 2005, while playing for Werder Bremen, Klose refused to accept a penalty given againstArminia Bielefeld as he felt the decision was incorrect. He was later given a fair play award for his actions,[107] although he had mixed feelings about the award, stating, "It's a big honour for me to receive this award, but I am also a bit irritated. For me, it was something you should always do. I would do it again – always."[108]
At the end of September 2012, Klose scored a goal using his hand for Lazio against Napoli. He admitted this to the referee, who took back his decision to award the goal, spared Klose from a yellow card and shook his hand.[107][108] Later that year, he was once again given a fair play award for his actions by the German Football Association, later commenting, "The referee asked me if I had touched the ball with my hand and it was not a problem for me to answer 'yes'. There are many youngsters who watch football on TV and we are role models for them."[109] In 2016, he was given the Sport Ethics Award for his honesty at theUniversity of Rome Tor Vergata, and subsequently added regarding the incident, "Napoli? For me it was easy, it's my character. We need to set an example, ... If I can even help out the referees, I will do so willingly."[110]
Klose and his wife Sylwia have twin sons, Luan and Noah.[111][112] In a 2007 interview withDer Spiegel, he stated that at home, he and his wife speakPolish to their children, who learn German in school.[113] In a 2003 interview, Klose said he has dual nationality.[114] In a 2011 interview, he said he initially had a Polish passport, then acceptedGerman citizenship at the age of 18.[115]
^Klose, Miroslav (23 November 2010)."Ich habe bei null angefangen".Der Spiegel (in German).Als ich nach Deutschland kam, konnte ich nur "ja" und "danke" sagen. In der Schule war das natürlich ein Problem. An meinem ersten Tag sollte ich ein Diktat schreiben, aber ich habe ja nichts verstanden.
^Pereira, Lester (11 May 2011)."Miroslav Klose – German Legend".sportskeeda. Absolute Sports Private Limited. Retrieved14 July 2014.
^"Herzlich Willkommen Miro!".SC Rheindorf Altach (Press release) (in German). 17 June 2022.Archived from the original on 17 June 2022. Retrieved17 June 2022.
^Patania, Fabrizio (8 October 2012)."Klose più forte di Chinaglia e Giordano?" [Klose better than Chinaglia and Giordano?].Il Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). Archived fromthe original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved3 June 2016.
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