Miroslav Klose

Miroslav Klose’s career is exceptional not only because of his outstanding achievements. He is the only member of the 2014 World Cup-winning squad who did not come through any of the Bundesliga’s youth academies as a teenager, nor did he ever play for a junior national team. Klose spent his first season in senior football in the Bezirksliga playing for SG Blaubach-Diedelkopf. It was only after that that his meteoric rise began. After a season with FC Homburg, the Polish-born player worked his way up through the U23 team of 1. FC Kaiserslautern into their first-team squad. Thanks to his goal-scoring prowess, he quickly caught the eye of the German national team, for whom he made a sensational debut. In March 2001, he came on as a substitute in the 72nd minute of the World Cup qualifier against Albania and secured victory for his team three minutes before the final whistle with the goal that made it 2–1. At the 2002 World Cup, the heading specialist scored a hat-trick in the opening match against Saudi Arabia and, with a total of five goals, became the tournament’s top scorer, playing a key role in the team’s run to the World Cup final. Miro Klose and the national team – this partnership was to prove a perfect fit in the years that followed.  When Klose retired from the national team in 2014 following the World Cup, he had scored his 16th World Cup goal in the semi-final – the legendary 7–1 victory over hosts Brazil – to become the tournament’s all-time leading goalscorer. In 137 international appearances – the second-highest total after Lothar Matthäus – he scored 71 goals. This also makes Klose the German national team’s all-time leading goalscorer. In four World Cup campaigns, he finished third twice, second once and, finally, as World Champion.