Position: Forward
Born: 09.06.78
Club: Schalke 04

Germany went into the 2002 World Cup in Japan bemoaning their lack of a decent attack, with an ageing Oliver Bierhoff considered their biggest threat.

But Polish-born striker Miroslav Klose surprised everybody, maybe even himself, by scoring five goals and finishing second to Ronaldo as top scorer in the competition.

Klose lived in Poland until the age of nine and his father played football for the national team. His mother also represented Poland with 86 caps for the handball team.

A latecomer to professional football, Klose worked as a carpenter whilst playing for Kaiserslautern's amateur side but was promoted to the first team during the 2000/2001 season, was sent off on his debut but scored enough goals to earn a call-up to the German side after just six months.

He scored in his first two appearances and booked his place on the plane to the World Cup and since his 2002 exploits, he has moved to Werder Bremen where he has scored goals consistently and proved that it was no fluke.

Klose is 6ft tall but wins the vast majority of headers that come his way. His spring allows him to get over the ball and his accuracy can be lethal.