Klose new Nuremberg head coach

It is 46-year-old Klose’s first head coach role in Germany, who is the all-time top scorer for the national team with 71 goals and netted 121 times in 307 Bundesliga appearances. He takes over from Cristian Fiél, who left to take charge at Hertha Berlin after guiding the Bavarian club to 12th in the second division in his one season in charge.

“Miro is an enormously meticulous and detail-obsessed coach who has not only experienced and learnt a great deal during his successful playing career, but has also developed a clear idea as a coach of how to be successful in football and what it takes on the pitch and in the dressing room,” said new managing director for sport Joti Chatzialexiou of the announcement.

“I have known and held him in high regard for many years, I know how he works and how he deals with players. He fits in here because he is success-orientated and ambitious, but at the same time human, down-to-earth and humble, and therefore stands for values that we also want to stand for here. He's a guy who can bring people together,” Chatzialexiou added.

Watch: Klose was one of German football's finest strikers

After retiring as a player in 2016 following spells with Homburg, Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich and finally Lazio, Klose started working as assistant coach for Germany under Joachim Löw.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup winner and the tournament’s record goalscorer, famed for his somersault celebration, then had two years in charge of Bayern’s U17s before stepping up to be Hansi Flick’s assistant with the first team in 2020/21. His first role as a head coach of a senior team was at Austrian side Altach in 2022/23.

“Tradition, passion, honest work, great fans - these are all things that I love about football and that I associate with Nuremberg. That's why the opportunity to become a coach here immediately grabbed me,” Klose said of taking on his new job.

“With its work with young players, the club has a great foundation that we want to build on. I have known and held Joti in high esteem for many years. We are on the same wavelength in terms of people and the way we think about football. Now it's time to get going, get to work and get the season off to a good start.”

The nine-time champions of Germany are preparing for their sixth straight year in Bundesliga 2, having last been in the top flight in 2018/19. Klose’s first competitive fixture in charge will come in the DFB Cup first round away at Saarbrücken, who claimed the scalps of Bayern, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Mönchengladbach last season.

Der Club will discover their opening league opponents on 4 July, when the 2024/25 fixtures lists for the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 are released. The second division season begins on the weekend of 2-4 August.