Miroslav Klose

Striker · Germany · Born 9 June 1978, Opole, Poland

Full name

Miroslav Josef Klose

Nationality

German (born in Poland)

Date of birth

9 June 1978

Height

1.84 m

Position

Striker

International caps

137

International goals

71 (Germany all-time record)

World Cup goals

16 (FIFA all-time record)

Career Statistics by Club

Club	Period	Country	Apps	Goals
Homburg	1998–1999	Germany	34	19
Kaiserslautern	1999–2004	Germany	120	44
Werder Bremen	2004–2007	Germany	89	53
Bayern Munich	2007–2011	Germany	98	24
Lazio	2011–2016	Italy	139	54

FIFA World Cup Record

Klose appeared at four World Cups for Germany — 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014 — scoring 16 goals across the tournaments and surpassing Ronaldo's previous record of 15. His final goal was the equaliser in the 7–1 semi-final win over Brazil in Belo Horizonte during the 2014 tournament, which Germany went on to win in the final against Argentina.

Tournament	Year	Goals	Result
FIFA World Cup	2002	5	Runners-up
FIFA World Cup	2006	5 (Golden Boot)	Third place
FIFA World Cup	2010	4	Third place
FIFA World Cup	2014	2	Winner

Major Honours

FIFA World Cup: 2014 (Germany)
FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: 2006
Bundesliga: 2007–08 (Bayern Munich)
DFB-Pokal: 2008, 2010 (Bayern Munich)
Coppa Italia: 2012–13 (Lazio)
Bundesliga top scorer: 2005–06 (25 goals)
UEFA Champions League finalist: 2010 (Bayern Munich)

Career Overview

Born in Opole, Poland to a Polish father and ethnic-German mother, Miroslav Klose moved to Germany as a child and developed in the lower divisions before signing for Kaiserslautern in 1999. He broke through in the Bundesliga and became Germany's first-choice centre forward following his five-goal Asian tour at the 2002 World Cup.

Klose's reputation for headed goals and ethical conduct (notably overturning two penalty decisions in his favour) defined his image. After spells at Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich, he moved to Lazio in 2011 and stayed in Italy for five seasons until retirement in 2016. He surpassed Gerd Müller's longstanding Germany goalscoring record (68) in 2014 with his final international tally of 71.

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