Klose: I'm not using World Cup to get a move
Miroslav Klose insists he is focused on Germany’s World Cup campaign and not on trying to secure a move away from Werder Bremen once the tournament is completed.
The 28-year-old striker has been in impressive form so far, prompting speculation that he is at least partly motivated by the desire to move away from Bremen to fulfil a long-held ambition to play for one of the giants of European football.
But Klose, who scored five goals in the 2002 World Cup to finish as second highest scorer behind Brazil’s Ronaldo, denied he is thinking about anything other than the national team’s attempts to win the world title.
“I’m not playing at the World Cup to try and sell myself,” he said. “I have a contract for two more years with Werder Bremen, but I have already said in the past that my objective is to play elsewhere. But my objective now is to play a good World Cup and I will think about that later.”
Klose has struggled with injuries and poor form since the 2002 tournament but, since taking over at the helm two years ago, coach Jurgen Klinsmann has stuck with the troubled forward.
“I don’t think this Miroslav Klose should be compared with the one of two years ago,” the striker said of himself. “I was a different man then and wasn’t in the best of shape because I kept sustaining one injury after another.
“I was not in top shape but I have the fitness now and I can play strongly for 90 minutes and that’s what I want to do.”
Klinsmann is naturally delighted that Klose is hitting form at the right time as the Germans continue to improve and the head coach paid tribute to Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf, who has played a key role in the striker’s development.
“Miroslav, after his great World Cup four years ago, struggled with injuries and moved to Werder Bremen, where he found a coach who has, step-by-step built him up to be an international level player,” said the former Tottenham and Bayern Munich striker.
“He has reached a place right now where he is showing his complete game. He works defensively very hard and does the right thing in attack and gives assists the way he would like to receive them so he could finish them off.”
Klinsmann believes the current World Cup is the perfect stage for Klose and the other senior members of his squad to highlight their talents in front of a global audience and he is delighted with how they have worked with the younger players in the team.
“This is his moment that he needs to grab,” said Klinsmann of Klose. “The World Cup is the stage for these kinds of players, to prove their capabilities and he’s at a great age now.
“It’s the same for Torsten Frings, Bernd Schneider and Michael Ballack. That’s what we are asking of them, that they grab the moment.
“The way these guys have worked with the younger players has been tremendous and that makes the coaching staff very proud.”
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