11 facts that you didn't know about Miroslav Klose

Iconic striker Miroslav Klose created history in the World Cup when he became its top scorer with a goal against Brazil, who lost 7-1 to Germany. The no nonsense striker has been extremely lethal in the past four World Cups with 16 goals and has a chance to increase his tally in the finals against Argentina on Monday.Im sure youve heard a lot of statistics about Klose after his incredible feat buthere are some facts from his life that you might not know about.

#1 He isn\'t German

Yes, the man who has scored 16 goals in World Cup history and is Germany’s all time top scorer isn’t even German. Klose is actually Polish and lived in France until he was 8 after which he moved to Germany. He had a chance to play for Poland in 2001 but decided against it. The 36-year-old never refers to himself as German or Polish and prefers to call himself European.

#2 He\'s lethal from close range

The striker is lethal from close range, and hardly scores from outside the penalty box.

All of his 16 goals in World Cups have come from a distance of 12 yards or less? Poacher!

#3 Klose is a trained Carpenter

Before he became a professional footballer, he trained to be a carpenter and practiced the trade until he was 20.

I guess his carpentry skills didn’t help him much, going by his goals for Germany in World Cups.

#4 Scored 5 goals in a single match for Lazio

Many people say Klose isn’t that prolific but what they should know is that he scores goals in bursts.

The striker bagged 5 goals in a single match for Lazio in a 6-0 thrashing of Bologna becoming the only player till date to do so for the club.

#5 Was shown an SS Banner by a few Lazio fans during a match

Klose was unwittingly caught in a storm back in 2011 when a group of facist Lazio supporters held a banner with Klose’s picture along with the logo of Hitler’s dreaded SS during the Rome derby. The striker was disgusted by this and said: "Sport and politics are two separate entities. I also feel disgusted that my name should be associated on the same banner as the SS,".

#6 Hes Germanys lucky charm

Klose is really lucky for Germany as they have never lost a match in which the striker has scored. Considering he has scored 71 times for Germany, that is a lot of unbeaten matches for Argentina. German fans will be hoping that happens against Argentina on Monday.

#7 Klose Is a staunch Catholic

The striker holds his religion extremely close to his heart and even met Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican back in 2012.

Football must have surely been discussed as the former Pope is fond of Bayern Munich, one of Klose’s former clubs.

#8 His parents were both Sports persons

Klose got his sporting gene from his parents who were both athletes. His mother Barbara played for Poland’s handball team and his father was a footballer for French outfit AJ Auxerre.

#9 He\'s one of the fairest players around

Klose has displayed plenty of fairplay during his career and won acclaim for two incidents; the first being in 2005 while playing for Werder Bremen when he refused to take a penalty due to the referee being incorrect and the second while playing for Lazio back in 2012, when he admitted to handling the ball against Napoli.

The referee didn’t show Klose a yellow card but shook his hand for his honesty while the Napoli players patted him on the back.

#10 He has numerous records in the World Cup

If you thought that 16 goals in World Cups was his only record in the competition then you’re wrong. The striker is one of the three players to score 5 goals in two consecutive World Cups, score the most headers in the World Cup with 5, score at least 4 goals in 3 different World Cups and is the only player to appear in 4 World Cup semifinals. Legend.

#11 He\'s Germany\'s second most capped player

You’d be forgiven if you think that Klose has been a part of the German national team since forever. The striker is Germany’s second most capped player with 136 appearances. He only trails 1990 World Cup winner Lothar Matthaus, who made 150 appearances from 1980 to 2000.