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Miroslav Klose
Personal information
Date of birth	June 9, 1978 (1978-06-09) (age 30)
Place of birth	Opole, Poland
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Bayern Munich
Number	18
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998–1999 1999–2004 2004–2007 2007–	FC Homburg 1. FC Kaiserslautern Werder Bremen Bayern Munich	020 (11) 120 (44) 089 (53) 030 (11)
National team2
2001–	Germany	083 (41)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of August 31, 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of September 06, 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Miroslav Klose (pronunciation (help·info), born as Mirosław Marian Kloze on June 9, 1978), is a German footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga in Germany, and for the German national team. He is known for his goalscoring instincts, aerial ability, and unselfish play.

Klose was the top scorer and thus the Golden Boot winner at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, with a tournament-high five goals. Klose also scored five goals in his debut World Cup, the 2002 World Cup hosted jointly by the Korea Republic and Japan, giving him a total of ten goals in World Cup finals. He is the first player representing unified Germany to finish as the World Cup's top scorer, and the only player to have scored five or more goals in consecutive World Cups.

Biography

Background

Klose was born in Opole, Silesia, Poland (German: Oppeln). Both of his parents were active in sports; his mother, Barbara Jeż, was a member of the Poland women's national handball team. His father Josef Klose played professional football in Poland for Odra Opole, before he in 1978 left communist Poland, by moving to France to play for clubs like AJ Auxerre. In 1985 Miroslav and his mother could join him in Kusel, Germany. Klose's father is from an ethnic German family and thus they were permitted to settle as Aussiedler in West Germany.^[1]

In 2006 interviews for German Süddeutsche Zeitung^[2] and Polish tabloid Fakt, Josef Klose stated that he absolutely does not want to be regarded as Polish, declaring himself rather as an Silesian and a European, and stating that the success of his son is due to himself and German clubs. Miro Klose himself said in a recent interview to Przeglad Sportowy that it would be best for him not to be called German or Polish, but European^[3]. Anyway, as he stated in an interview to Der Spiegel in 2007, his family at home speaks Polish to each other, with his twin sons learning German in Kindergarten.^[4] He is married to Sylwia Klose and is the father of twins Luan and Noah. ^[5]

As footballer

Klose learned his football at a village club, Blaubach-Diedelkopf, in the German seventh division. Klose had also successfully completed an apprenticeship to become a carpenter and had worked in this profession until joining the professional team of 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

Klose made it professional much later than football players in the age bracket. He has in the past had many comparisons with various world class strikers such as Owen and Van Nistelrooy. When asked about the comparisons Klose expressed his flattery to be compared to the likes of Van Nistelrooy, “It's an honour to be compared to Ruud. He's played in Europe for so long and has a great goal scoring record. I hope one day I can be as good as him.” This interview was conducted in June 2007 with Der Spiegel prior his move to Bayern Munich.

Club career

Kaiserslautern

After a season at FC Homburg, he eventually joined the amateur division of FC Kaiserslautern.

A year after joining the club he made it into the first team. In his first 67 matches, Klose scored 33 goals. The 2002–03 season was a comparatively disappointing one as Klose found the back of the net a mere seven times.

Werder Bremen

Miroslav Klose at Werder Bremen

Klose transferred to Werder Bremen in 2004 for a sum of €5 million. After a lackluster start, Klose formed an impressive attacking triangle with French midfielder Johan Micoud and Croatian forward Ivan Klasnić as well as, though less frequently, Paraguayan forward Nelson Valdez, scoring 15 goals in the Bundesliga.

Despite his relatively slender frame, Klose is one of the best headers of the ball in the Bundesliga. Moreover, he combines a natural killer instinct inside the box with excellent technical ability, and is equally lethal with the ball at his feet. By 2005, the introverted Klose had established himself as one of Germany's top forwards, if not the best. In the 2005-06 season, he scored 25 goals, the highest that season, and registered 16 assists in just 26 games in the Bundesliga.

After his strong performance at the 2006 World Cup, Klose was linked by newspapers with a move away from the Weserstadion. European giants Barcelona and Juventus were listed among his potential suitors. Klose was also heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich, with Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer an admirer of Klose.

On June 7, 2007, Klose confirmed that he would leave Werder Bremen for Bayern Munich either before the 2007–08 season or upon the expiration of his contract with Werder at the end of the 2007–08 season.^[6]

Bayern Munich

On June 26, 2007, club president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed that Bayern Munich had reached an agreement with Werder Bremen regarding the transfer of Klose for an estimated fee of €15 million. Klose completed his medical with Bayern on June 28, 2007 before signing a four-year contract.

After these successful friendly matches, Klose made his first competitive appearance for Bayern in a 4–1 victory against old team Werder Bremen in the first round of the DFB-Ligapokal. After missing the semi-final victory over VfB Stuttgart due to injury, Klose returned in the final against Schalke 04, scoring his first competitive goal for Bayern to win the title.

Klose made his Bundesliga debut in the game against Hansa Rostock on August 11, 2007 in which he scored two goals. The game ended 3–0 for Bayern Munich with Klose's striking partner Luca Toni scoring the third goal. In late September, he claimed his first hat-trick for the club in a 5-0 League success over Energie Cottbus.

Klose's career with Bayern so far has had a very good start, with him scoring important goals in the Bundesliga and DFB Cup, helping the club win the double in these competitions.

International career

Miroslav Klose during the 2006 FIFA World Cup

His consistency as a goal-scorer in his first Bundesliga season at Kaiserslautern earned him attention. In January 2001, the then national coach Jerzy Engel of the Polish national team travelled to Germany to persuade Klose to choose playing for Poland. This request was declined by Klose who said that: “I have a German passport, and if things are still running this way, I have a chance to play for Rudi Völler”. In fact, he soon was capped and made his debut for Germany against Albania on March 24, 2001. Klose came on as a substitute and headed in from close range the winning 2-1 goal two minutes from time. ^[7]

In an interview given to Przeglad Sportowy on June 9, 2008, Klose stated that 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 now. Furthermore, he added that he does not regret the choice, as with Germany he has won medals in the World Cup tournaments.^[3] The German national team has never lost a game in which Klose has scored.

2002 World Cup

In the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan, he scored five headed goals for the German national team, finishing joint second highest goal scorer along with Rivaldo. This tally included a hat trick in Germany's 8–0 win over Saudi Arabia. Klose's trademark goal celebration is a front-flip which he did five times during the 2002 World Cup and which has earned him the fans' nickname “Salto-Klose”.

2006 World Cup

Klose was named to his second successive World Cup team for the 2006 World Cup. In the opening match against Costa Rica, coinciding with his 28th birthday, Klose scored two goals, in the 17th and 61st minutes. This led to Germany's 4–2 win over Costa Rica.

Klose played against the country of his birth, Poland, in Germany's second match. His strike partner, Lukas Podolski, was also born in Poland.

He scored another two goals against Ecuador on June 20, putting him on top of the tournament top scorer list with four goals. Klose also played a major part in Germany's 2–0 win over Sweden in the first knockout round, demonstrating his ability to provide assists as he set up strike partner Lukas Podolski for both goals.

Klose scored the equaliser against Argentina in the quarterfinal game played on June 30, 2006, with Germany going on to win 4–2 on penalties. Klose is the first German since Gerd Müller in the 1970s to become the top scorer at a World Cup, and the first World Cup finals top scorer from unified Germany (Müller represented the former West Germany). Klose has scored ten goals in World Cup finals, and is six goals away from overtaking Brazilian forward Ronaldo as the all-time highest scorer in the World Cup.

Klose's five 2002 World Cup goals were all headers; only the fifth of his five goals in the 2006 matches was a header (his first in two years). Three of the first four were scored with his favoured right foot. Klose and team-mate Michael Ballack became the only two All-Star Team Players of the 2006 World Cup to be in the previous All-Star Team of 2002. Klose also holds the record for being the only player to score 5 goals in consecutive World Cups.

Euro 2008

On September 6, 2006, Klose scored two away goals against San Marino in a 13–0 Euro 2008 Qualifying win which took his international goal tally to 33, the same amount as his idol Fritz Walter and to joint 7th in the list of all-time goalscorers for Germany.

He had a goal drought for a long time with the national team, causing speculation that he may be dropped from the starting line-up. But German coach Joachim Löw has denied this.

Another highlight in Klose's career came on September 8, 2007, as he captained Germany for the first time and celebrated this honour by scoring both of his country's goals in a 2–0 victory over Wales. The next day, one of the headlines in the UEFA official website was “Captain Klose Takes Germany Closer (to qualifying).”

In the main tournament, Klose started the opening group game against Poland and was the provider of both of German goals which were scored by Lukas Podolski in a 2-0 victory. He played the remaining two group games against Croatia and Austria with no goals. He finally broke his duck during the knockout stages, scoring the second goal for Germany during both quarter final and semi-final against Portugal and Turkey. However he was unable to score during the final against Spain.

International goals

Scores and results table. Germany's goal tally first:

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	March 24, 2001	BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany	Albania	2-1	2-1	World Cup 2002 Qualifying
2.	March 28, 2001	Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece	Greece	3-2	4-2	World Cup 2002 Qualifying
3.	February 13, 2002	Fritz Walter Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany	Israel	1-1	7-1	Friendly
4.	February 13, 2002	Fritz Walter Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany	Israel	2-1	7-1	Friendly
5.	February 13, 2002	Fritz Walter Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany	Israel	4-1	7-1	Friendly
6.	May 18, 2002	BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany	Austria	1-0	6-2	Friendly
7.	May 18, 2002	BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany	Austria	2-0	6-2	Friendly
8.	May 18, 2002	BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany	Austria	4-2	6-2	Friendly
9.	June 1, 2002	Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan	Saudi Arabia	1-0	8-0	FIFA World Cup 2002
10.	June 1, 2002	Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan	Saudi Arabia	2-0	8-0	FIFA World Cup 2002
11.	June 1, 2002	Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan	Saudi Arabia	5-0	8-0	FIFA World Cup 2002
12.	June 5, 2002	Kashima Stadium, Kashima, Japan	Republic of Ireland	1-0	1-1	FIFA World Cup 2002
13.	June 11, 2002	Shizuoka Stadium, Shizuoka, Japan	Cameroon	1-0	2-0	FIFA World Cup 2002
14.	October 16, 2002	AWD-Arena, Hannover, Germany	Faroe Islands	2-1	2-1	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
15.	June 11, 2003	Gundadalur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	1-0	2-0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
16.	February 18, 2004	Gradski stadion u Poljudu, Split, Croatia	Croatia	1-0	2-1	Friendly
17.	November 17, 2004	Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany	Cameroon	1-0	3-0	Friendly
18.	November 17, 2004	Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany	Cameroon	2-0	3-0	Friendly
19.	December 16, 2004	International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan	Japan	1-0	3-0	Friendly
20.	December 16, 2004	International Stadium, Yokohama, Japan	Japan	3-0	3-0	Friendly
21.	March 1, 2006	Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany	USA	3-0	4-1	Friendly
22.	May 27, 2006	Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany	Luxembourg	1-0	7-0	Friendly
23.	May 27, 2006	Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany	Luxembourg	4-0	7-0	Friendly
24.	May 30, 2006	BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany	Japan	1-2	2-2	Friendly
25.	June 9, 2006	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Costa Rica	2-1	4-2	FIFA World Cup 2006
26.	June 9, 2006	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Costa Rica	3-1	4-2	FIFA World Cup 2006
27.	June 20, 2006	Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany	Ecuador	1-0	3-0	FIFA World Cup 2006
28.	June 20, 2006	Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany	Ecuador	2-0	3-0	FIFA World Cup 2006
29.	June 30, 2006	Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany	Argentina	1-1	1-1 (a.e.t.), 4-2 (pen.)	FIFA World Cup 2006
30.	August 16, 2006	Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Sweden	2-0	3-0	Friendly
31.	August 16, 2006	Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Sweden	3-0	3-0	Friendly
32.	September 6, 2006	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	3-0	13-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
33.	September 6, 2006	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	6-0	13-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
34.	September 8, 2007	Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales	Wales	1-0	2-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
35.	September 8, 2007	Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales	Wales	2-0	2-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
36.	November 17, 2007	AWD Arena, Hannover, Germany	Cyprus	2-0	4-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
37.	February 6, 2008	Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria	Austria	2-0	3-0	Friendly
38.	March 26, 2008	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland	Switzerland	1-0	4-0	Friendly
39.	May 27, 2008	Fritz Walter Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany	Belarus	1-0	2-2	Friendly
40.	June 19, 2008	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland	Portugal	2-0	3-2	UEFA Euro 2008
41.	June 25, 2008	St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland	Turkey	2-1	3-2	UEFA Euro 2008

Awards and Honours

Club

• Werder Bremen
  • DFB-Ligapokal: 2006

• Bayern München
  • Bundesliga: 2007-08
  • DFB-Pokal: 2008
  • DFB-Ligapokal: 2007

National Team

• FIFA World Cup Runner-Up: 2002
• FIFA World Cup Third Place: 2006
• UEFA European Football Championship Runner-up: 2008

Individual

• Bundesliga Top Goalscorer (25 goals): 2006
• German Footballer of the Year: 2006

• World Cup Silver Shoe: 2002
• World Cup Golden Shoe: 2006

Career stats

as of: August 23, 2008

^* Includes Liga-Pokal.

References

External links

• Klose's official site
• Profile on uefa.com
• Profile on the official Bayern Munich site
• Klose´s ancestors from Upper Silesia, Poland
• Career stats at fussballdaten.de

v • d • e Germany squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup Runners-up 1 Kahn • 2 Linke • 3 Rehmer • 4 Baumann • 5 Ramelow • 6 Ziege • 7 Neuville • 8 Hamann • 9 Jancker • 10 Ricken • 11 Klose • 12 Lehmann • 13 Ballack • 14 Asamoah • 15 Kehl • 16 Jeremies • 17 Bode • 18 Böhme • 19 Schneider • 20 Bierhoff • 21 Metzelder • 22 Frings • 23 Butt • Coach: Völler

v • d • e Germany squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Kahn • 2 Hinkel • 3 Friedrich • 4 Wörns • 5 Nowotny • 6 Baumann • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Hamann • 9 Bobic • 10 Kurányi • 11 Klose • 12 Lehmann • 13 Ballack • 14 Brdaric • 15 Kehl • 16 Jeremies • 17 Ziege • 18 Ernst • 19 Schneider • 20 Podolski • 21 Lahm • 22 Frings • 23 Hildebrand • Coach: Völler

v • d • e Germany squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup Third Place 1 Lehmann • 2 Jansen • 3 Friedrich • 4 Huth • 5 Kehl • 6 Nowotny • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Frings • 9 Hanke • 10 Neuville • 11 Klose • 12 Kahn • 13 Ballack • 14 Asamoah • 15 Hitzlsperger • 16 Lahm • 17 Mertesacker • 18 Borowski • 19 Schneider • 20 Podolski • 21 Metzelder • 22 Odonkor • 23 Hildebrand • Coach: Klinsmann

v • d • e Germany squad – UEFA Euro 2008 Runners-up 1 Lehmann • 2 Jansen • 3 A. Friedrich • 4 Fritz • 5 Westermann • 6 Rolfes • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Frings • 9 Gómez • 10 Neuville • 11 Klose • 12 Enke • 13 Ballack • 14 Trochowski • 15 Hitzlsperger • 16 Lahm • 17 Mertesacker • 18 Borowski • 19 Odonkor • 20 Podolski • 21 Metzelder • 22 Kurányi • 23 Adler • Coach: Löw