Miroslav Klose (born Miroslaw Klose) was born in Poland but moved to Germany aged nine.

He was wanted by the Poles, but opted to play for his adopted country. He is a striker for the national football team of Germany. His mother Barbara was a member of the Polish national handball team (82 international matches), his father Josef, 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.

Germany coach Rudi Voller expressed his delight at Klose opting to remain in Die Bundesliga, rather than move abroad — after deciding to join Werder. Klose made an immediate impact at the Betzenberg Stadium, with his six-goal haul in December 2000 helping him earn his first cap within six months. The striker played his part in his country’s route to Euro 2004, scoring twice in Germany’s qualifying campaign including the first in their late 2-0 away win over the Faroe Islands.

Klose’s other goal was crucial as they scraped by the Faroes 2-1 in Hannover after latching onto Paul Frier’s 59th minute cross to spare Germany’s blushes. In the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan, he scored five goals for the German national team, finishing as one of the top scorers of the tournament. He plays for Werder Bremen, the defending league-cup double winners in Germany, following a €5 million transfer from fellow 1Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern. He also played for Germany at Euro 2004. ‘Miro’ and his beloved wife Sylwia welcomed twins — Luan and Noah — on January 30, 2005. Despite his relatively slender fame, Klose is one of the best headers in the Bundesliga. Moreover, he sports a natural killer instinct inside the box and is a technically apt player, able to score with his feet, too. As of 2005, the introverted Klose is seen as one of the prime German strikers, the one to look out for.

Birth date: 9 June 1978

Birth place: Oppeln

Birth Nation: Poland

Height: 182

Weight: 74

Nationality: German

Position: Forward

Club: FC Kaiserslautern

Jersey Number: 11