The 36-year-old leaves the German
national team as a World Cup winner after last month helping Joachim
Loew’s side to their first global crown since 1990 when they defeated
Argentina 1-0 in the Rio-hosted final.
The Lazio frontman picked up his 16th
goal, in what was his fourth World Cup, to surpass Brazilian Ronaldo as
the tournament’s leading
scorer.
scorer.
Klose, who won two German titles with
Bayern Munich following spells with Kaiserslautern and Werder Bremen,
said he had “fulfilled a childhood dream with the title in Brazil” and
lived “unforgettable moments with the national team”, according to a
statement released by the German football federation.
“The success of the team stood and always stands for me in the highest place,” Klose said.
“With the national team I achieved our greatest goal, a goal which we had together within the squad.
“In addition, I achieved personal goals
and those who know me know that I am very ambitious, but I am a striker
and the task of a striker is to score goals.
“Therefore the records never concerned me, but it was always about giving my best for the team.”
The Polish-born marksman scored five
goals at the 2002 World Cup, where Germany were beaten 2-0 by Ronaldo’s
Brazil in the final, five in 2006 on home soil, four in 2010 at South
Africa and two in 2014.
He broke the World Cup record for goals
in July when he found the target for his 16th strike during the 7-1
semi-final rout of Brazil.
He is one of just three players,
alongside Pele and Uwe Seeler, to score in four World Cups, and finishes
his Germany career as the country’s all-time leading scorer with 71
goals in 137 appearances.
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