Background and career
Miroslav Josef Klose (German: [ˈmiːʁoslaf ˈkloːzə] ; Polish: Mirosław Józef Klose; born Mirosław Marian Klose; 9 June 1978) is a professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Nürnberg. Born in Poland, Klose played as a striker for the Germany national team.
Starting his career at FC 08 Homburg, Klose played in the Bundesliga for Kaiserslautern before becoming one of the most prolific scorers in the league with Werder Bremen, where he was awarded the German Footballer of the Year in 2006 and also named in the kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season in 2004–05 and 2005–06. His performances saw him move to Bayern Munich in 2007. During his time at Bayern, Klose won the 2007–08 and 2009–10 league titles. In 2011, Klose moved to Serie A club Lazio, where he won the 2012–13 Coppa Italia and eventually finished his playing career in 2016 after five years at the club.
Klose was part of the Germany squad that won the 2014 World Cup, having previously finished second (2002) and third (2006, 2010) in the competition; he finished as runner-up with Germany at UEFA Euro 2008 and joint-third place at UEFA Euro 2012. He retired from the national team in August 2014, shortly after Germany's victory at the 2014 World Cup.
He is the all-time top scorer for Germany and was the record-holder for most goals scored in the FIFA World Cup (16) for twelve years, before his record was broken by Lionel Messi (21) and Kylian Mbappé (22) in 2026.
Klose was born in the Silesian city of Opole, Poland. Both of his parents were professional athletes. His father, Josef Klose, was also a professional footballer who played for Odra Opole before leaving Poland in 1978 to play for French club Auxerre. His mother, Barbara Jeż, was a member of the Poland women's national handball team. Josef Klose belonged to a German minority in Poland, an Aussiedler whose family had remained behind when Silesia was ceded to Poland after World War II. In 1986, then eight-year-old Miroslav joined his father in Kusel, West Germany, knowing only two words of German. Klose developed his footballing skill and passion with local club SG Blaubach-Diedelkopf, which at the time was in the West-German seventh division. He was also an apprentice carpenter.
How Miroslav Klose makes money
Werder Bremen In March 2004, Klose signed a four-year contract with Werder Bremen for a €5 million ($6.2 million) transfer fee.
