<p>German striker Miroslav Klose, the all-time World Cup top scorer, announced his retirement from international football today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 36-year-old leaves the German national team as a World Cup winner after last month helping Joachim Loew's side to their first global crown since 1990 when they defeated Argentina 1-0 in the Rio-hosted final.<br /><br />The Lazio frontman picked up his 16th goal, in what was his fourth World Cup, to surpass Brazilian Ronaldo as the tournament's leading scorer.<br /><br />Klose, who won two German titles with Bayern Munich following spells with Kaiserslautern and Werder Bremen, said he had "fulfilled a childhood dream with the title in Brazil" and lived "unforgettable moments with the national team", according to a statement released by the German football federation.<br /><br />"The success of the team stood and always stands for me in the highest place," Klose said. "With the national team I achieved our greatest goal, a goal which we had together within the squad.<br /><br />"In addition, I achieved personal goals and those who know me know that I am very ambitious, but I am a striker and the task of a striker is to score goals.<br />"Therefore the records never concerned me, but it was always about giving my best for the team."<br /><br />The Polish-born marksman scored five goals at the 2002 World Cup, where Germany were beaten 2-0 by Ronaldo's Brazil in the final, five in 2006 on home soil, four in 2010 at South Africa and two in 2014.<br /><br />He broke the World Cup record for goals in July when he found the target for his 16th strike during the 7-1 semi-final rout of Brazil.<br /><br />He is one of just three players, alongside Pele and Uwe Seeler, to score in four World Cups, and finishes his Germany career as the country's all-time leading scorer with 71 goals in 137 appearances.</p>
<p>German striker Miroslav Klose, the all-time World Cup top scorer, announced his retirement from international football today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 36-year-old leaves the German national team as a World Cup winner after last month helping Joachim Loew's side to their first global crown since 1990 when they defeated Argentina 1-0 in the Rio-hosted final.<br /><br />The Lazio frontman picked up his 16th goal, in what was his fourth World Cup, to surpass Brazilian Ronaldo as the tournament's leading scorer.<br /><br />Klose, who won two German titles with Bayern Munich following spells with Kaiserslautern and Werder Bremen, said he had "fulfilled a childhood dream with the title in Brazil" and lived "unforgettable moments with the national team", according to a statement released by the German football federation.<br /><br />"The success of the team stood and always stands for me in the highest place," Klose said. "With the national team I achieved our greatest goal, a goal which we had together within the squad.<br /><br />"In addition, I achieved personal goals and those who know me know that I am very ambitious, but I am a striker and the task of a striker is to score goals.<br />"Therefore the records never concerned me, but it was always about giving my best for the team."<br /><br />The Polish-born marksman scored five goals at the 2002 World Cup, where Germany were beaten 2-0 by Ronaldo's Brazil in the final, five in 2006 on home soil, four in 2010 at South Africa and two in 2014.<br /><br />He broke the World Cup record for goals in July when he found the target for his 16th strike during the 7-1 semi-final rout of Brazil.<br /><br />He is one of just three players, alongside Pele and Uwe Seeler, to score in four World Cups, and finishes his Germany career as the country's all-time leading scorer with 71 goals in 137 appearances.</p>