Fifteen goals in 20 World Cup games isn’t bad,” he said candidly. German striker Miroslav Klose was just being modest. As he poked in Germany’s equaliser against Ghana and wheeled off to embark on his trademark somersault celebration, which doesn’t come easily to him anymore after years in the grind, Klose knew that he had forever written his name in the pages of World Cup history.
With 15 goals and counting ahead of their final group “G” game against the USA, the Polish-born German striker is the joint highest scorer in World Cup along with the incomparable Brazilian Ronaldo.
While his name is not one that comes to mind while discussing the best players ever to lace up a pair of boots, Klose has managed to carve a niche for himself in the hearts of football fans.
In addition to being the joint top scorer at the World Cup, Klose is also the all-time best for Germany with 70 goals from 133 appearances and is one of three players, Pele and fellow German Uwe Seeler being the others, to have appeared in four World Cups.
A striker, who is neither blessed with pace or flair for the outworldly, Klose’s biggest strength is his ability to do the basics with remarkable consistency. His movement in the box, anticipation and awareness has been the key to the 36-year-old’s success.
While there are many who argue that Gerd Muller’s tally of 68 goals in 62 appearances for Germany holds a higher position due to the goals to games ratio, Klose has reached his mark showing another side of the beautiful game. Longevity.
Muller, a fearsome striker, amassed his impressive tally over a tenure of eight years while Klose has been wearing the famed white jersey of Germany since 2001.
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages that the 36-year-old had over his more clinical predecessor was his lack of dependence on pace and trickery.
A penalty box poacher, Klose depends on his more creative team-mates to get the ball into the box before taking over. A plan that has worked to perfection for the striker.
Born in Poland before leaving to France, where his father played football for AJ Auxerre, Klose finally reached the land where he would be revered in 1986. His career started off with a move to FC
Kaiserslautern from FC Homburg in 1999 where he made a name for himself scoring 44 goals in 120 appearances during a five-year spell.
The lanky striker’s goal scoring exploits convinced Werder Bremen to cough up £5 million for his services.
And they earned more than their fair share from the deal as he found the net 53 times in 89 starts before leaving to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich in 2007. Klose enjoyed a slightly less successful stint at Bayern as he could only score 28 goals in his 98 outings and left on a free transfer to Italian side Lazio in 2011. Despite being written off due to his ageing legs, Klose continued to find the back of the net as he netted 35 goals in 80 matches for his new club, all the while, still performing his international duties with aplomb. And it was here in Lazio that people took notice of his other quality. In an era where sportsmanship is no longer an important factor, Klose comes as a breath of fresh air.
With his Catholic upbringing playing a significant part in his clean-cut image, Klose went one step ahead and showed true spirit when he convinced the referee to cancel a goal he had awarded to Klose since the ball had come off his hand by accident.
And now the Germany striker stands on the brink of history needing one more goal to be on the top of World Cup pile. There are many who feel Ronaldo, one of the most complete forwards ever in the game, deserves that credit. But if the German forward, who is one year older to his Brazilian counterpart who retired in 2011, is to break the record, then he would deserve the award for sheer longevity at the top level.
