The Part-Time Footballer Who Unintentionally Became The King Of The World Cup 

He wasn't average, just not extravagant. He had class. A brillant and humbled player. A true legend in Germany!

Let's not forget that he was a real gentleman on the pitch, he was never trashtalking, arguing nor trying to enforce something on the ref, he even admitted to the ref that he scored a goal with his hand. Real man.

Out of his 16 World Cup goals, there were no penalty kick goals. Amazing.

As a German i can tell myself, he is a absolute certified Legend for every footballfan in Germany.

Klose didn't get the attention because he wasn't a flashy finisher. He was the stereotypical "lunchbox" footballer famous on German teams of the 60's and 70's.

Klose is the stereotype of a hard working German keeping his head down and letting actions speak louder than words. That's why he is not a superstar but a legend in Germany.

His work ethics, his honesty and his humility outshines them all. He's one of the GOATs in my book.

As a little German boy, I fell in love with Miro Klose in the early 2000s. He is the type of player that the German national team is missing today, a lethal striker, but above all he is the type of person that is missing from today's football. A good guy with morals and values, down to earth, no shitstorms, was and is adored by every fanbase where he played, focused on football and no other nonsense. He wasn't fast, he couldn't dribble, no tricks, he couldn't shoot from far away, he wasn't flashy but his positioning was elite, he was always where he needed to be. Top class finishing and his headers were worldclass, even tho he wasn't that tall.

Miro Klose's 2005/06 Bundesliga season will forever be iconic: 25 goals and 12 assists in 26 games for Bremen 🔥

There has never been a more engaging phrase than "so listen to this"

I was always in awe of his heading ability. Man won every header!!

I wish Germany had a striker like him again. It’s been 10 years and they haven’t been able to replace him. Nothing but love for Miro Klose.

The only reason why Klose is constantly underrated is that he doesn't like the limelight and people don't know the difference between real class and showmanship. Maybe if Miro took a fancy wife, insulted journalists, plastered his arms with tattoos, had featured on FIFA covers and had an online cooking show he would have received the recognition that he deserved. Apart from three unlucky years at Bayern Munich, he always stayed with smaller clubs, which is fitting to his modest personality. He is not only the World Cup's but also Germany's most prolific goalscorer (and this is certainly not for a lack in competition: Klinsmann, Müller, Rummenigge, Völler ...). More importantly, he was the perfect center forward, enormously gifted technically (just watch his second goal against Ecuardor at WC 2006) who was able to do double double passes with his teammates in the opponents' area. A centerpiece in one of Germany's best national teams of all time. Germany have never really recovered from his departure in 2014.

In Germany his status as a legend is uncontested. A truly exceptional player with an exceptional career.

He had what a lot of strikers don't have: timing. Where other players create goals through skill, dribbling, amazing finishing, strength and power, Klose just used his natural sense of timing to always attack the ball at its highest point, to be at the back post for flick-ons, near post for knockdowns, penalty spot for rebounds and so on. That he also was stronger than his size suggested and had a great footballing brain didn't hurt either - but that timing was probably amongst the best the world has seen.

Here in german, this dude is a fucking legend. Its interesting to see that he has such a lower stand outside of germany. But here... this guy was the last "real" striker and since his retiretment we have the the "striker problem". Everyone of us wants him or a player like him back. Just a fucking legend!

Klose admitting to the referee that a penalty his team received because he was fouled and giving back that penalty describes what a great sportsman he was. He actually did it it twice in his career. That and his headers is what made him one of my favorite players of all time.

Unlike most good scorers he was never looking for attention. He just got on the field and did his job. A very down to earth guy with a sixth sense to always be in the right spot. I can't even remember any flashy high profile advertising featuring him. His parents did a fantastic job raising a fine man.

Players like Klose are why Die Mannschaft works…he’s not creative and flashy because he doesn’t have to be…his job was to finish…and he did it at a high level!

Finally, after years of requesting my favourite player ever you did it, thanks A LOT. Miroslav Klose is the perfect athlete because of his professionalism and hard work. He is underrated and a legend(even at club level!) and he BELONGS in a generation of great strikers: Raúl, Sevchenko, Inzaghi, Crespo, Torres, Drogba, Keane, Luca Toni, Owen, Villa, Berbatov

I once read, that in his later years, he was the one who told the younger players not to leave their rubbish in the team bus (because of respect for the driver). I thinks that stands symbolic for his character.

I think this man happened to find himself in the right place at the right time every damn time. Unbelievable.

Here in Brazil, there wasn't a single Germany game in which we wouldn't compliment him. His positional judgment is just too good.

Klose is such a humble person. I was lucky enough to get to know him before his final break through in Kaiserslautern, as my dads best friend was manager at Kaiserslautern II. I remember when he just took his first steps with in the Bundesliga just being the same down to earth person, the only difference was that he paid for our drinks now. Through that connection I met a lot of big talents and future Bundesliga players, and he was the only one who was just a "regular" guy. Not saying that most of them were a-holes, but some for sure were, some were also really arrogant. Of course at least half of them were "ordinary," he just was special in his humble behaviour. It's about 20 years or even longer since I met him last, but everytime I saw him in an interview I always had the feeling his personality still was the same.

I'm sorry, I didn't know this and am truly baffled by this: There are people out there that think Klose was a fluke / only scored easy goals and that he wasn't a fantastic player? Lmao some people just discredit their own opinions about football so obviously. Klose was a striker with INCREDIBLE work attitude. Someone the young players always looked up to because he always did a little more than anyone else. A player that didn't shy away from the dirt and mud and the uglyness of hard work. A goalscorer that didn't mind not standing in the spotlight if he thought someone else had a better chance to score. Klose was a true teamplayer. The only people that would deem him 'unworthy' are braindead social media zombies that only care about loud and flashy folks - I can see why Klose would be too calm, quiet and based for them.

Klose had a good technic. He can hold the ball. Is very strong in Header and shooting is good too.

Klose would make defensive tackle and win the team the ball deep in their own half and 10 seconds later score the goal on the other side of the pitch. He did that all the time. LEGEND

It speaks for itself that even in Germany, the success from 2002-2014 with always semi finals in world cups was barely linked to him. But I always saw it, from his first goal vs Saudi Arabia to his last against Brazil. And honestly, I cried when he scored the 2-0. Not because it was the start of an epic match (7-1) but because he, the nobody, took the throne from Ronaldo as the best World Cup scorer. I don't have to mention how heavy I cried when Germany won the World Cup and Klose lifting the trophy. The star who never acted like one. The dude who was in question if he should come to the world cup in Brazil. It is just such an emotional story and I already know that in 100 years from now on, his portrait will be right next to Franz Beckenbauer or Gerd Müller, as one of the greatest players Germany ever witnessed.

My goat 🐐 Also klose had speed but he wasn't on Thierry Henry or mbappe level he was still kinda fast

Miroslav Klose was a lethal striker in the likes of Paolo Rossi, David Trezeguet, Filippo Inzaghi. Whoever uses "poacher" or "tap-in merchant" to define those type of strikers, has zero clue of what really football is about.

His name was carved in the hearts of German football fans even before he won the world cup.

Klose, one of the best strikers in a national team ever, insane ^_^ I still remember the 7-1 win vs Brazil, it was sick odds like 2.5 vs 2.5 haha, Germany had won like 5 in a row and Brazil had been playing very bad, took a big bet on Germany that day :)

Klose is soo underrated

I heard it here first but have said it myself often: Klose was Thomas Müller before Thomas Müller knew what he was going to become :)

Like Jinpachi Ego said: "You dont need a unique goal, you need a formula to reconstruct goals over and over"

71 goals for Germany in 137 games is truly incredible.

He is the personification of the phrase "no player is bigger than the team". A virtue that most younger, instagram-addicted players have forgotten.

A bit of historical context. His father family comes from a region In Poland called Silesia, Silesia was always part of Germany, it was only till post ww2 were Silesia become polish. And his father Josef had German citizenship since birth. So saying he's an complete outsider is simply not true. Miroslav is ethnically German and his father is German

my dad used to say about him, that he is a typical striker... he can read a situation and is at the right place at the right time! finishing and positioning, man!

Every german football fan remembers Kloses headers! One of my fave childhood players.

My favorite player and an absolute legend for Werder and Germany 💚🤍 . A great player who shone with his aerial strength, worker mentality and character.

Thanks for the video. He's my first football idol, a very underrated striker, clinical in front of goal. He left his mark at the football biggest stage, and the world of football will remember him for that. He's also remembered for his fair play act with Bremen in 2005 and Lazio in 2012.

When I travelled a big part of the World in 2016 I had a Klose Jersey with me. Everytime I wore it people came to me to talk about him. Everyone loved him for his humbleness, some kid even did his salto. I will never forget those moments.

Thank you for this great video! Miro Klose might be one of the most underrated players in football history. Such a rar profile of a player, especially on the highest level. He was an elite goal scorer and an equaly great assist provider. He was extremely consistant, composed, hard working and a role model in terms of work ethics and fairness. Over his whole carreer he always had the ability to decide games on a pretty regular basis and at the same time being a total team player that would always give the ball to a teammate in a better position instead of being selfish. He never complained and he always put the team's success over his personal glory. It's 10 years since he retired from the national team and to this day Germany never had a striker that could come even close to him. In his prime, he was nothing short of worldclass.

as a German, Klose always come into my mind first when thinking about World Cups

His link up play with Muller and Ozil was phenomenal, also he has a very underrated Lazio career, I remember his goal against Roma 2-1 and his 5 goal against Bologna.

this man was a top, top athlete. he was called an incomplete goalscorer but he smashed the league in his early years only after teaming up with luca toni at bayern, who couldn't get over the fact that klose was a better striker than himself, klose decided to adept the role of secondary striker to keep teamchemistry as high as possible. also did he mature so much at that stage that i think he became the best striker in the world. people go full dicksuck at the amazing things r9, cr7 and messi10 did goalscoringwise but miroslav klose did the unthinkable, he became the tool needed to win. there is nothing but respect for him. the most hard working striker, the most unselfish striker, the most valuable striker of all time. without him there is no sommermärchen (summer fairy tail) in 2006, no euros finals in 2008, no 3rd place at the worldcup in 2010, no top4 at the euros 2012 and no world cup championship in 2014. even though he was very immature in 2002 he contributed to 2nd place at the world cup. i'm not trying to undervalue the whole squad, we had beasts and a perfect team chemistry, but the special role that miroslav klose had was what seperated germany from other teams. only reason this wasn't the most succesfull run in internation history is thanks to that damn spanish team. most unlucky timing but banger games. let's all celebrate that whole generation of football players, it was the most enjoyable time for me as a football fan, not just for germany, it was peak football.

Im not German, but what he did for his nation was absolutely fantastic. He fit perfectly into their team dynamic & style of play...

Klose is the type of player our national team was missing since he ended his career and certainly needed and still need (besides better communication/leaders on the field, a better defensive structure and more effort in general). He was never flashy, but his positioning and skills to score were very good. The type of player everyone can rely on to bury the ball in the net when they manage to give him a good pass or flank.

Klose was no nonsense. A true striker

Even if his goals do not look flashy, they are the hardest ones to make. Do not forget: he scored lots of goals in the box, but he also assisted superbly. Both is only possible with superior intuition, nerves of steel, AND excellent 360 degree awareness of your teammates. The success of this player shows that football is not just about legs, but brains.

Klose is a legend in Germany since he is gone I always wish for a striker like him, no one else is as consistent as he was

I love those grounded humble players like Klose, Lahm and Hector. These three are my alltime favourites. I miss this kind of player in the German nationalteam nowadays.

Need to do a video on Ruud Van Nistelrooy 👀

My best football memories are of Miro Klose Fussballgott during his time at Werder Bremen. He was never unassuming!

He had great header capabilities and a good instinct. He scored a lot. However, his best quality was something different: He was a team player. He created spaces for his teammates. Defenders concentrated on him because, obviously, he was dangerous in the zone. And he knew how to take advantage of that to deter them from his teammates. That's why he was so valuable. Even without touching the ball, he played a big part in so many goals.

Finaly a Video about Miroslav Klose. Thank You! He is so Underrated!

crazy how humble he was, for me he was just as much a star like all the others. never really thought of him being lesser known as the others, but i also live in germany

It find it quite funny, that there was a video about Thomas Müller with the same sentiment saying that nobody would have him in mind at first when talking about top strikers. Yet he had massive success and I think overall very good numbers.

That moment in the finals when he left the field for Götze and gave him that hug, is THE legendary passing of the torch in german football history! Its like Klose said, he just knew that Götze would be the one to bring us the world cup and what came next...is history

I loved this video so much! Thank you for very emotional 16 minutes! I swear this video was something else!

I still remember when I was 9years old. When watching on the tv, my dad always said that it was going to be a goal whenever Klose got the ball in the enemy penalty area.

I loved watching Klose, he was just so elegant. No flash, didn't talk trash.. nothing. Just there to score goals and help his teammates.

I didn't forget. I think of him as the goat. I watched him as a kid. He wasn't fancy he worked he won. He is my childhood hero

There is no player I have more respect for than Klose. His playing and especially his persona are second to none and he's the type of player that is dearly missed in the German national team ever since he hung up the boots

Finally a Miroslav Klose content. 😍 Thank you .

Klose didn‘t try to become a kind of Rockstar. He came, scored and won. He‘s a true legend in the history of German football

What I liked about him was his unwavering willingness to help out in the back whenever necessary. How he still managed to be in the right spot at the right time to score his many goals is a mystery to me. Thanks for saluting one of the finest to ever put on the white jersey, both as a player and a man.

Waited So Long For This Vid, so glad a vi of Klose was finally made

Klose is one of the best German striker

Thanks for that, Klose was a hero to me, especially in his time for Werder Bremen.

In the qualifiers for World Cup 2010 Finland and Germany were drawn into the same group. Both games ended in a draw, 3-3 and 1-1, which was not a bad result at all for Finland. The tragic thing for us is that four times our goal put us ahead, and four times Germany clawed back. In the game played in Helsinki Finland took the lead three times, and three times Germany equalized with a goal by, you guessed it, Miroslav Klose. I have nothing but respect for the man, but I would be lying if I said I didn't hate his guts that day. 😄

Soo,listen to this..That's a good one👀😉

in Germany, we still miss him. He was the most down to earth player I have ever seen, always very polite and humble. but he was also a true sportsman: one time at lazio, he accidently scored a goal with his arm, the referee wasnt sure, so he asked Klose. He addmitted scoring with his arm, and the goal got taken back.

Thanks so much for this great video. Worthy of this man's amazing contributions to Die Mannschafft.

I always think of Klose. The no. 11 jersey. there are no one better than him when it comes to football in the D-box.

If you don't highly rate Klose, you have 0 ball knowledge.

One my favorite players, thank you for making a video about him 🙏🏼

Soooooo listen to this. My fave thing about a weekend. Thanks for the content 👍

One of the most down to earth strikers....glad you show some love for him

Miro is an all-time german legend! Beautiful story and career despite those injurys

Amazing video, as per usual, this story made me tear up a little, thanks!

i remember when he joined Lazio, i was shouting and cheering like a madman, Klose is a true Legend!

as someone who is a fan of klose since his werder bremen days i totally agree with the sentence that he never exceeded in anything, with the exclusion of a good nose and endurance. he has the striker gene knowing were to be which you only find a few times per generation and the endurance to help his team in midfield

Thanks for covering my favourite player and reminding me of his remarkable achievments :D

What a heartwarming and great video.

Miroslav klose is the definition of a player who plays the game at its purest. Humble respectfull, great ethic, honorable in n out the field. Legendary player.

Best football storytelling channel on youtube. His voice and accent is very calming

Miro Klose will forever be a legend in german football, he was truely a gifted player, but never cocky or arrogant, he just came on the pitch to do his job. True class

Great video

For a kid that grew up with him in the National Team of my country there is so much memories and emotions in this video. Even tough I am not the biggest football fan anymore it brought me to tears. Thats my childhood right there

Klose was my football icon growing up in Germany near Kaiserslautern in the early 2000s. Still got his Jersey from the World Cup 2002 and some Kaiserslautern jerseys to this day. He’s a legend! When he moved to Bremen I was in tears, but wished him all the best still because he was just that special

Thank you for this video. He was my hero

Great video, I really enjoyed this one.

Klose is my favourite footballer ever. Absolute legend. Miss him so much as a footballer in the DFB Team...

I am so happy about this documentary. Klose was my favorite striker in our national team and was the best fit for the team 2006 until 2014. Now we were in need for a striker like that for such a long time. I can see some of him in up and coming Denis Undav. Hope he's his footballing incarnation. 🎉😊 Even the struggle in the beginning of their careers is fairly similar.

Honestly, this channel has been massive... there are just these players we grew to know without knowing what their backgrounds were like😢 it adds to the aesthetic of their whole career...

Klose will always be remembered for his class and hard work. The two qualities that so many footballers lack nowadays. He never cared about his reputation, just his results.

One of my most liked player. Loved his style, mentality and most importantly, his finishing !

i was born to be a Werder Bremen fan and when he still was with Werder in the early 2000s he was my favorite player who would have guessed that he would go on to become the best scorer in world cup history so far :D he always was a teamplayer and was so good nobody should underestimate his skills just having him on the field would make any team better