Miroslav Klose: biography

Miroslav Klose is a German footballer who plays for Bayern Munich, as well as the German National team. He plays as a striker and is known for his prolific goal scoring at both club and international level.

Beginnings

Miroslav Josef Klose was born on 9 June 1978 in Opole, Poland and he holds German nationality through his German father. He started out at FC Homburg but then joined Kaiserslautern, where he enjoyed success in their reserve team at a young age.

Career

2004-2006 Labeled a football 'goal machine' due to his goal scoring prowess, he was soon transferred to Werder Bremen for € 5million in 2004. After a slow start Klose formed a strong partnership with Johan Micoud and Ivan Klasnic as he scored 15 goals in the Bundesliga. He followed this up with a further 25 goals in the 2005-06 season. The following year on 7 June 2007, Klose announced that he would leave Bremen to join Bayern Munich, whom he signed a four year contract with later that month. His career at Bayern started brightly as he scored a hat trick in 5-0 win over Energie Cottbus in September and despite a dip in form as the season progressed, he still managed 20 goals in all competitions as Bayern won a league and cup double. Klose’s second season at Bayern was the best of his career as he scored
20 goals in all competitions, with seven of those goals coming in the UEFA Champions League. This tally would surely have been higher if his season had not been curtailed by an injury he suffered in March.
international debut Klose made his international debut for Germany against Albania on 24 March 2001, after declining the opportunity to represent the country of his birth, Poland. In the game Klose came on as a substitute and scored a crucial goal in a 2-1 victory. To date, Klose has represented Germany in 108 matches and has scored 61 goals. In his international career Klose has played in numerous tournaments, including three World Cups and three European Championships. He won the Golden Boot at the 2006 World Cup, scoring five goals, and his total of 14 World Cup goals put him joint second with Gerd Muller, just one goal behind Ronaldo on the list of FIFA World Cup goal scorers.

Achievements

Klose has won his fair share of silverware in his career to date, including two Bundesliga titles and two DFB- Pokal trophies with Bayern Munich. However, on the international stage he faced disappointment as Germany finished as runner-up in the 2002 World Cup and in third place in both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.