Miroslav Klose
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Werder Bremen | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 May2006 | |||
Miroslav Klose (born Mirosław Klose on June 9, 1978 in Opole, Poland) is a striker for the national football team of Germany. He currently plays for Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. His mother Barbara was a member of the Polish national handball team (82 international matches), his father Josef Klose an ethnic German was among other things a professional soccer player for AJ Auxerre. The family moved first to France and then, in 1987, to Kusel in Germany.
Player Profile
Miroslav Klose learned his football at a village club, Blaubach-Diedelkopf, in the German seventh division. Eventually he joined FC Kaiserslautern in 1999, but only the amateur wing. He used to watch the pros from the stands.
A year after joining the club he made it into the first team and in his first 62 matches scored 25 times. The frequency of his goals earned him his first international cap and he made his debut agaisnt Albania on March 24, 2001. Germany won the match 2-1, with Klose scoring the winning goal.
In the
in Korea-Japan, he scored five goals for the German national team, finishing as one of the top scorers of the tournament. This tally included a hat trick in Germany's 8-0 win over Saudi Arabia.
The 2002-2003 season was a comparitively disappointing one as Klose found the back of the net a mere 7 times.
He transferred to Werder Bremen in 2004 for a sum of €5. After a sluggish start he formed an impressive partnership with Ivan Klasnic and scored 15 times in the Bundesliga.
Despite his relatively slender frame, Klose is one of the best headers in the Bundesliga. Moreover, he combines a natural killer instinct inside the box with excellent technical ability, and is equally lethal with the ball at his feet. By 2005, the introverted Klose had established himself as one of Germany's top strikers, if not the best.
"Miro" and his wife Sylwia welcomed twins Luan and Noah on January 30th 2005.
Trivia
The Polish national coach wanted him for the Polish national team but he declined, preferring to wait for Germany.
Miro's trademark goal celebration is a "Salto" (German for front-flip) which he did five times during the 2002 World Cup.
He currently leads the Bundesliga in goals scored and points.