Danke King Klose

I couldn't hold back my tears. The joy of watching him score. The record was broken. 16 World Cup goals and Ronaldo was finally beaten. Miroslav Klose had officially become the World Cups all time greatest ever goal scorer. How long have I dreamt of witnessing this moment. 12 years ago the same legendary Ronaldo broke Klose's dream of winning the WC when the mighty Brazil beat Germany 2-0 in the finals. And now 12 long years later, Klose had his revenge, by not only beating Ronaldo's record in front of him (Ronaldo was present in the stadium) but also against his country, a perfect icing on the cake. What followed later was a complete annihilation of the Brazilian national team. Brazil lost 7-0 to the Germans. Their biggest ever defeat and Germany had its revenge for 2002. And as usual Klose's feat submerged to a much larger headline. But that itself is so typical of Klose. 15 years of playing at the highest stage of world football and yet Klose has somehow always manages to stay away from the lime light. Few days later, Klose fulfilled his biggest dream when Germany became World Champions. Miro Klose finally got his hands on the one thing he most desired. He is now a World Cup winner. Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 in the finals. The perfect long awaited ending had finally borne its fruit. All the arguments of having a non WC winner as the tournaments highest ever goal scorer was put to an end.

My dream of witnessing my childhood hero lift the the most important trophy of world football was complete. King Klose had not just become a World Cup winner, but also it's greatest ever goal scorer. The most perfect ending one could ever dream of, as a fan and for the player itself. 
There were many times in the past when i used to think that Klose too would end up being a part of the unlucky generation of German footballers to retire trophy less on the international stage, unlike so many half decent footballers of the past who had their names associated with WC victories playing aside real legends. I'm glad it didn't end that way.

But all good things come to an end. A few days later he announced his retirement.I wont say that I was surprised, Klose's retirement was long due, yet when it was official, it felt like a thousand swords piercing me all at once. I cannot even imagine watching the German NT without King Klose being a part of it. For me, It was not just the retirement, but also a realization that my childhood had officially ended. I grew up idolizing this man, watching every single national team game, just to see him score. A few days before the start of the 2014 WC, Klose had also surpassed the legendary Gerd Muller 's goal tally for Germany. Thus becoming Germany's all time leading goal scorer. With 137 caps to his name, Klose ranks second in the number of appearances made for the German National football team. Who would have ever imagined this year's ago?  if someone would have pointed out to a then 21 year old boy working as a carpenter, playing football during his part time. Miro Klose has come a long way.
I'm glad that this fairy tale had a perfect ending.

Thank you Miro for letting me witness your feats, thank you for the amount of joy you gave me every time you had the ball back of the net. Thank you for giving me someone to look up to. Thank you for being the perfect role model. Thank you for making me a fan of the German Bundesliga. Thank you for making me a Bayern supporter. You will always be my idol, my childhood hero, my legend. And most important, a God like figure to me. Danke King Klose