World Cup 2010: Miroslav Klose threatens to eclipse goalscoring gods

Sentimentalists are already building barricades against the notion that Miroslav Klose could leave South Africa as the greatest World Cup scorer of them all
Miroslav Klose
By Sunday Miroslav Klose could stand alone as the greatest World Cup goalscorer of all time. Photograph: John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images

Romantics might riot if Miroslav Klose finishes this World Cup as the leading scorer in the tournament's history, ahead of Brazil's Ronaldo, who moved like a popped champagne cork until injuries and the good life stole his speed. Sentimentalists are already building barricades against the notion that Klose, an unspectacular penalty-box finisher, could leave South Africa as the nonpareil of strikers.

All-time greatest World Cup goal‑getter is a title for billboard idols, not penalty‑area bureaucrats. However grudging the judgment sounds it will stick to him in the pantheon. Klose has narrowed the art of scoring to simply changing the ball's direction close-in so that the score is registered through a little stab of effort that requires no elaboration. All 14 of his World Cup goals have come in open play and from inside the box. Half have been headers.

Naturally Germany's supporters are indifferent to aesthetics as a new national identity forms around those who supply Klose with his chances. If they get to see Mesut Ozil, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski and Thomas Müller (who is suspended against Spain) ignite the sky with their approach play why should they care if the scorer is a throwback to a more mechanical age? Their top finisher's front‑flip celebration offers self-expression lacking in his play. You could read it as an apology (or a rebuke) to the dreamers.

Klose and closer he moves to Ronaldo's all-time record of 15. As Germany prepare to confront Spain he needs a couple more to add the original Ronaldo to those he looks down on. Gerd Müller, the most illustrious of all German match-winners, also has 14, ahead of Just Fontaine (13) and Pelé (12).

In his 100th international appearance Klose added two against Argentina to arrive at 52 in all: an unfeasibly grand achievement for a striker who lost his place in Bayern Munich's starting XI to Ivica Olic. This is a story of persistence and consistency in the face of pressure to also entertain.

Klose is the first footballer to score five at successive World Cups and won the Golden Boot in Germany four years ago.

Predictably Germany's coach, Joachim Löw, wastes no time marking him for artistic impression and counts only his goals while applauding his application. "I'm absolutely thrilled for Miroslav to have scored on his 100th cap," Löw said after the quarter-finals. "He's truly impressive. He's such a wonderful and successful player. He is absolutely outstanding. I've never had any doubts – in 2002, 2006 and 2010 – that he would perform.

"He's very self-critical, but his performances are at the top level. I'm really pleased he used his 100th cap to score twice. He's got 14 World Cup goals. There are very few who could hold a candle to him. That's down there in the history books.

"If someone has 100 caps I think it's self‑explanatory. He's a player with enormous quality and we can't praise him enough. He's also scored one every two games. That's truly impressive at this high level. Klose has recovered very well, even after bad patches. He doesn't get too down. You might think he's dithering or self-critical but he knows himself very well as a player and where he stands. He can handle things in a modest way and he's still incredibly hungry."

Born in Opole, in Poland, 32 years ago, to an ethnically German father and a Polish mother, Klose was approached in 2001 to play for the land of his birth but told Jerzy Engel, the coach who had flown to Germany to persuade him: "I have a German passport, and if things are still running this way I have a chance to play for Rudi Völler [the Bundestrainer at the time]."

Later he confided that he would have played for Poland had the invitation come sooner. In the last World Cup he faced his old homeland in harness with Podolski, another to choose the Nationalmannschaft ahead of Poland.

In this tournament Klose has scored against Australia, been sent off against Serbia, thrown England's Matthew Upson aside like a pillow for the first German goal in Bloemfontein and retained his cool against Argentina after lifting a straightforward chance over the bar from outside the box. This seemed emblematic of his limitations until he emerged for the second period to help devastate Diego Maradona's team.

The fresh bucks in this German side have revived an old man's career. "A few years ago people kept saying it was a shame there weren't any new generations coming through," Klose says. "They said we have no forwards and no creative midfielders. Everybody deplored that. But time has proved these people wrong."

In Yokohama in the 2002 final he played for 74 minutes before giving way to Oliver Bierhoff in the defeat to Brazil: "I spoke with Ronaldo after the game. At the time I wouldn't have dreamed of ever coming this close to him, needing two more goals to surpass him." If he gets there, at 32, in two such daunting matches, acclaim will have to flow, but there will be trouble from the purists.