Veteran striker Miroslav Klose equaled Brazilian legend Ronaldo's haul of 15 World Cup goals as Germany snatched a 2-2 draw in Group G
After Miroslav Klose had converted the goal against Ghana which enabled him to equal the Brazilian Ronaldo’s record as the highest scorer at World Cup tournaments, an extraordinary thing happened.
The Lazio striker celebrated his landmark by performing an uninhibited somersault at the edge of the penalty area. Now that really was unusual. It takes something special for Klose, the most undemonstrative, unassuming player in the game to start behaving in his veteran years like Nani.
“I don’t know how long it’s been since I did a somersault,” he said after the match. “But at least it worked out.” Well, after a fashion – he did not quite land feet-flat on the turf.
If you were to pick someone ahead of this tournament likely to attract headlines, it would not have been the 36-year-old Lazio striker, who had scored just seven times for his club this season. But then Klose has always preferred to operate under the radar. He arrived in Germany from Poland with his family as an eight-year-old in 1986, speaking only two words of German ‘ja’ and ‘danke’. He has rarely uttered any more in public since. He goes about his work quietly, stealthily, without flourish.
He puts his longevity in the game down to an aesthetic lifestyle of strict diet, no drinking and plenty of sleep. In a way, the manner in which he secured his record-equalling 15th goal in World Cups sums up his approach: he arrived unnoticed at the far post to dispatch a flick-on from a corner. That is how he likes it.
With his goal he entered exalted company. He became, after Pele and Uwe Seeler, only the third man to score at four World Cups. As Ronaldo put it in a congratulatory tweet on his achievement: “Welcome to the club. I can only imagine your happiness!!! What a great World Cup!!!” It was a message which involved six more exclamation marks than Klose would ever use.
His scoring record at World Cups is all the more remarkable when compared to a much more modest return in club football. This season’s return of seven fits into his pattern. Ahead of the 2010 tournament he had scored only three goals in the season for Bayern Munich. In South Africa he scored four.
This is a man who reserves his best for the highest level, which makes him a hugely valuable asset for the German team. As his colleague, Arsenal’s Per Mertesacker, put it: “What a record and what a player. I’ve been playing with him for 10 years and that’s the player we need. Today he made the difference when he came off the bench and just showed how good he still is.”
Indeed, what he represents for Germany is a Plan B. In a pulsating tie on Saturday in Fortaleza he replaced Thomas Müller up front just as Ghana had gone into the lead (a record in itself, Asamaoh Gyan becoming the first African player to score in three World Cups). This was a false No9 giving way for a very real one. Suddenly, Germany had a focus for their attacks, they could inject a physical presence to provide completion for their intricate approach play.
Klose may not be subtle, but he works. His manager, Joachim Löw, described him as “a sensational option” to have on the bench. As for the player himself, Klose was humility itself in his response to his record.
“Fifteen goals in 20 World Cup games isn’t too bad,” he said. Never mind the somersault, that was more like the real Miroslav Klose.06