#18 Miroslav Klose

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Jürgen Klinsmann on Miroslav Klose:

“Miro is very dependent on his fitness. He’s worked really hard on it over the last few weeks. He’s vital to us, because he’s a provider for the team. Even on an off day, he works his heart out for the team. I don’t judge him solely on goals. Obviously, I want my strikers to score goals, but it’s also about his contribution to the team. He’s set up three goals against Wolfsburg, and we’re delighted with that. However, it won’t happen unless he feels good and able to express this freshness and vigour. That’s why we’re expecting great things from him over the coming weeks and months.“

[RunX]

Klose shifts through the gears

It has been a good week for Bayern München. Played three, won three. Goals for: eight, goals against: two.

They remain top of their Champions League group and the upturn in domestic form has taken them up to fifth in the league.

The change in fortunes for Miroslav Klose could stand as a symbol for the team as a whole. A shadow of his usual self in the opening six weeks of the Bundesliga, the German international striker has enjoyed something of a renaissance in the past few games. Coach Jürgen Klinsmann had expressed concern about Klose's lack of form, but he is not surprised by the sudden turnaround, saying, "it's down to him getting back to the level of fitness he needs for his game."

"A complete team effort"

The top scorer from the 2006 World Cup has scored twice in his last three outings, with the first of those goals securing an 86th-minute win at Karlsruhe. That sparked a Bayern mini-revival which has seen them record back-to-back victories over Fiorentina in the Champions League and Wolfsburg in the league.

Klose did not score himself in the latter, but he laid on three as Bayern stormed back from 2-0 down to beat Felix Magath's men 4-2. "The win was the result of a complete team effort. After a poor first half we hit the accelerator, put in the mileage and shifted up a few gears", Klose summarised afterwards.

Better all round

With two assists in the 3-3 draw with VfL Bochum in matchday 7 factored in, Klose has been directly involved in six of Bayern's last eight Bundesliga goals. In the first six games, he did not lay on a single one.

His performance has picked up remarkably in other areas as well. Having laid on a single shot on goal in matchdays one to six, Klose has set up 13 in the last three league matches alone. His ratio of tackles won has climbed from 32.5 percent to 40.6 percent in the same period - a decent return for a forward. The accuracy of the former Bremen man's shooting has likewise climbed from 29 to 40 percent of efforts on target.

"We spiked his drink"

Klose's ball contacts have averaged 47 in the last three games, four up on the six matches before. 76 percent of his passes found teammates, a three percent improvement. And five of those passes were converted into goals by his teammates.

The striker is modest as ever about his own role in Bayern's form upswing, saying simply, "I feel in good form." Fellow frontman Luca Toni offered his own explanation to the newspaper 'Tagesspiegel': "We spiked his drink", adding for safety's sake, "that was a joke of course, in case anyone thinks they've got a doping affair to write about."

The mood seems to have improved all round at FC Bayern, then, in line with their results - thanks in no small part to Miroslav Klose's return to form.

Bundesliga - Die offizielle Webseite

[Munchen Minded]

Keep going Klose!!

[RunX]

Klose Overtakes Klinsmann In Scoring List

Bayern Munich striker Miroslav Klose couldn't have picked a better day than November 1 (1.11) to score his 111th Bundesliga goal and thus overtake his coach in the all-time Bundesliga scoring list.

Klose's goal during the 3-1 win over Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday saw him leapfrog Klinsmann into the 33rd place of the most prolific marksmen in the league's history.

Klinsmann will point to the fact that he managed his 110 goals in 221 games, while Klose has taken 246 matches to better his record.

Yet another Bayern legend holds the record for most goals scored in the Bundesliga, that being none other than Gerd Müller with no less than 365 goals with an outrageous goal record of (0.85) per game.

Goal.com - Bayern Munich - Klose Overtakes Klinsmann In Scoring List