Miroslav Klose

Miroslav Klose
Klose in 2016
Personal information
Full name Miroslav Josef Klose[1]
Birth name Mirosław Marian Klose
Date of birth (1978-06-09) 9 June 1978 (age 46)[2]
Place of birth Opole, Poland[3]
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 1. FC Nürnberg (manager)
Youth career
1987–1998 SG Blaubach-Diedelkopf
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–1999 FC 08 Homburg II 15 (10)
1998–1999 FC 08 Homburg 18 (1)
1999–2001 1. FC Kaiserslautern II 50 (26)
1999–2004 1. FC Kaiserslautern 120 (44)
2004–2007 Werder Bremen 89 (53)
2007–2011 Bayern Munich 98 (24)
2011–2016 Lazio 139 (54)
Total 529 (212)
International career
2001–2014 Germany 137 (71)
Managerial career
2016–2018 Germany (assistant)
2020–2021 Bayern Munich (assistant)
2022–2023 Rheindorf Altach
2024– 1. FC Nürnberg
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Germany
FIFA World Cup
Winner 2014 Brazil
Runner-up 2002 South-Korea Japan
Third place 2006 Germany
Third place 2010 South Africa
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up 2008 Austria-Switzerland
Third place 2012 Poland-Ukraine
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Miroslav Josef Klose (German: [ˈmiːʁoslaf ˈkloːzə] ⓘ, Polish: Mirosław Józef Klose; born Mirosław Marian Klose;[4] 9 June 1978)[5] is a German professional football manager and former player who currently serves as head coach of 1. FC Nürnberg. A striker, Klose is the all-time top scorer for Germany and holds the record for the most goals scored in the FIFA World Cup with 16 goals scored over 4 editions of the tournament between 2002 and 2014.

Starting his career at FC 08 Homburg, Klose played in the Bundesliga for Kaiserslautern before becoming one of the most prolific scorers in the league with Werder Bremen, where he was awarded the German Footballer of the Year in 2006[6] and also named to the kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season in 2004–05 and 2005–06.[7][8] His performances saw him move to giants Bayern Munich in 2007. During his time at Bayern, Klose won the 2007–08 and 2009–10 league titles. In 2011, Klose moved to Serie A club Lazio, where he won the 2012–13 Coppa Italia and eventually finished his playing career in 2016 after five years at the club.

Klose is best known for his performances with the German national team. He was part of the squad that won the 2014 World Cup, having previously finished second (2002) and third (2006, 2010) in the competition; he finished as runner-up with Germany at UEFA Euro 2008 and joint-third place at UEFA 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 the Golden 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's Ronaldo'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]

  1. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players: Germany" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Miroslav Klose". kicker Online (in German). Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Miroslav Klose". S.S. Lazio. Archived from the original on 18 December 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Miro Klose spotkał się online z dziećmi ze szkółek piłkarskich". Strzelce360.pl (in Polish). 11 March 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference worldfootball.net was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "The greatest striker in World Cup history: Miroslav Klose". 25 January 2018.
  10. ^ "The Mineirazo in numbers". FIFA. 9 July 2014. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Miroslav Klose announces retirement from international football". The Guardian. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2015.