Miroslav Klose is the 'quiet superstar' who became the World Cup's record scorer and a legend in Germany

KLOSE

There are plenty of footballers who have made the somersault their trademark celebration. Miroslav Klose must be the only one who managed to somersault with humility.

The 38-year-old German striker has announced the end of his active playing career. He did so to thunderous applause. His countrymen love him.

They love him for his goals, for his contributions to a fine era for German football. But perhaps most of all, they love him for his humility. 

KLOSE'S WORLD CUP GOALS 

2002 - SOUTH KOREA/JAPAN

Germany 8-0 Saudi Arabia (3 goals)

Germany 1-1 Republic of Ireland (1)

Cameroon 0-2 Germany (1)

2006 - GERMANY 

Germany 4-2 Costa Rica (2)

Ecuador 0-3 Germany (2)

Germany 1-1 Argentina (1)

2010 - SOUTH AFRICA 

Germany 4-0 Australia (1)

Germany 4-1 England (1)

Argentina 0-4 Germany (2)

2014 - BRAZIL

Germany 2-2 Ghana (1)

Brazil 1-7 Germany (1) 

This is a man who is the all-time World Cup record goalscorer. He has won the World Cup, two Bundesliga titles and an Italian Cup. 

He has scored more international goals than anyone in the 21st century, and is the only man other than Pele to have scored in four World Cups.

Yet he has always retained a dignified calm, both on the pitch and off it. As NDR described him today, he was and is 'the quiet superstar'.

When Klose broke Gerd Muller’s scoring record for Germany three years ago, he insisted that he would never compare himself with the most legendary German striker of all. Ironically, it was the sort of humility for which Gerd Muller himself was known and loved.

In an era of endless pruning, posing and pouting, Klose’s quiet stardom will be missed. Throughout a remarkable career, he has remained one of the most likeable players in Europe.

The son of a Polish handball international, Klose grew up in West Germany, a fan of his local side Kaiserslautern.

KLOSE'S HONOURS

WERDER BREMEN

DFB-Ligapokal 2006

BAYERN MUNICH

Bundesliga 2007-08, 2009-10

DFB-Pokal 2007-08, 2009-10

DFB-Ligapokal 2007

DFB-Supercup 2010

LAZIO

Coppa Italia 2012-13

GERMANY

World Cup 2014

His early career wasn't glamorous, but it was prolific. 62 goals for his beloved Kaiserslautern kept the club in the top flight on multiple occasions, before a tearful farewell when he was sold to Werder Bremen.

He was equally prolific at Bremen, and became equally well loved in the north of Germany as he had been in the west. His time there would end with a sour taste, however, as he forced through a move to Bayern Munich.

Bayern gave him the trophies his quality deserved, before slowly phasing him out of the first team. Klose didn’t moan. He just kept scoring when he did get time on the pitch.

Benched, and all but washed up at Bayern, Klose didn’t bother wallowing after moving to Lazio. He just kept on humbly putting the ball in the net. 

He scored 61 goals for the club in his five years, every one of them celebrated by a German press delighted to see him appreciated once again.

When he finally left Lazio last May, those Roman fans had caught the same sentimental bug that most of Germany shares when it comes to Klose. 'Thank you Miro: this night is your night' their banner proclaimed.

That was a full two years after he retired from international duty. A full two years after winning the World Cup with his final act as a Germany player. Even then, he was unable to play a full 90 minutes at his final World Cup.

It didn't stop him doing his job, netting three goals. The last of them was a poacher's dream, tapped in on the rebound. He celebrated with a slightly wobbly, but oh so humble somersault.

Only since his international retirement has the nation realised that Klose may truly be the last of his kind.

Germany’s impotence in front of goal was fatal at Euro 2016; for all their brilliant attacking midfielders, they lacked a classic, German centre-forward. 

Someone whose sheer efficiency in front of goal is achingly stereotypical. An Uwe Seeler. A Gerd Muller. A Miroslav Klose.

Klose’s next step is to train as a coach alongside Joachim Low and the national team. As Bild put it today: 'Perhaps he can help find our next centre-forward...or at least teach our attacking midfielders to put it in the net.'

For his part, Klose remains quietly humble, speaking about how much he is looking forward to studying the game as a coach. That’s him in a nutshell. Confident in his abilities, but with no time to waste basking in past glories.

It is Klose’s quiet self-respect that will be missed as much as his abilities in front of goal. Modern football will miss him.