While he is for the most part understated, Klose used to let loose with a spectacular somersault earlier in his career to celebrate important goals. It was a trick he stopped performing until he did it again after equalling Ronaldo's record.
Klose's somersault in Salvador was less than perfect, as he did not quite land upright on his feet, but the fact that he attempted it reflected his joy at having equalised within two minutes of coming on as a substitute.
"Twenty (World Cup) matches and 15 goals isn't bad at all," said Klose, who often brings his nine-year-old twin boys to train with the Germany team at their World Cup training ground in Santo Andre in northeastern Brazil.
As well as being the World Cup record scorer Klose is also Germany's all-time leading scorer with 71 in 136 games. His mother Barbara Jez is a former Poland international at handball and Klose's family speak Polish at home. He began his World Cup career in 2002 with five headed goals as underdogs Germany reached the final, where they lost 2-0 to Brazil with Ronaldo scoring twice to reach eight for the tournament.
Four years later with Germany as hosts, Klose won the Golden Boot when he scored another five goals in leading Germany to the semi-finals. In 2010 he scored four more in South Africa.
Alongside his record-breaking goal tally, Klose will long be remembered for his sportsmanship with his acts of fair play making headline news in Germany. He told a referee in Italy in 2012 to disallow a goal he had just scored because he used his hand. Seven years earlier, playing for Werder Bremen, he declined to accept a penalty because he did not think he had been fouled.Germany coach Joachim Loew called Klose a "world star," and "one of the greatest strikers in football."
