Miroslav Klose: The Carpenter Who Conquered The World Cup Before Lionel Messi

Last Updated:June 23, 2026, 09:56 IST

Before Messi, Miroslav Klose stood alone on top. From carpenter’s apprentice to Germany legend, his journey remains one of football’s best stories.

When Lionel Messi scored twice against Austria to reach 18 FIFA World Cup goals and set a new all-time record, one question echoed among younger fans: who was Miroslav Klose?

For more than a decade, Klose sat alone atop football’s greatest scoring chart with 16 World Cup goals. Long before Messi’s milestone, the German striker had built one of the most unlikely careers the game has ever seen.

Born in Opole, Poland, Klose moved to Kusel in West Germany with his family in 1986. He was just eight years old and reportedly knew only two words of German. His father, Josef, had played professional football, but there was little to suggest his son would one day become a World Cup icon.

Klose’s rise was anything but conventional.

He played for tiny club SG Blaubach-Diedelkopf in Germany’s seventh tier, far away from scouts and headlines. While chasing his football dream, he trained as a carpenter, spending his days surrounded by sawdust rather than stadium lights.

Unlike many elite forwards, Klose was not identified as a prodigy. In fact, he did not turn professional until the age of 20, joining FC Homburg’s reserve side before earning a move to Kaiserslautern.

Everything changed in 2002.

Germany coach Rudi Völler included Klose in his World Cup squad for Korea and Japan, and the striker exploded onto the global stage. He scored five goals, all headers, including a hat-trick against Saudi Arabia in an 8-0 rout. His trademark front-flip celebrations earned him the nickname “Salto-Klose."

The goals kept coming.

Across four consecutive World Cups — 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 — Klose scored 16 times in 24 appearances. He won the Golden Boot in 2006 and eventually helped Germany lift the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.

His international career ended with 137 appearances and Germany’s fourth world title.

Domestically, Klose enjoyed successful spells with Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich, winning two Bundesliga titles and two DFB-Pokals with Bayern between 2007 and 2011.

Today, Klose is forging a coaching career as manager of 1. FC Nürnberg, where he guided the club to its best league finish in years during the 2025-26 season.

And when Messi finally surpassed him?

There was no bitterness.

“For me, Lionel Messi is the best of all time," Klose told Süddeutsche Zeitung.

“Congratulations, champ!"

Messi now owns the record. But Klose’s legacy remains secure.

About the Author

Siddarth Sriram

After training in the field of broadcast media, Siddarth, as a sub-editor for News18 Sports, currently dabbles in putting together stories, from across a plethora of sports, onto a digital canvas. His...Read More

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