| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Józef Kloze | ||
| Date of birth | October 3, 1947 | ||
| Place of birth | Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Poland | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1966–1978 | Odra Opole | ||
| 1978–1980 | AJ Auxerre | ||
| 1981–1984 | FC Chalon | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Josef Klose (born as Józef Kloze on October 3, 1947, in Sławięcice (Slawentzitz), Kędzierzyn-Koźle (Kandrzin-Cosel, Heydebreck), Silesia, People's Republic of Poland) is a former footballer. He is the father of current Lazio striker and German national footballer Miroslav Klose.
Josef Klose began his career at Energetyk Sławięcice. Since 1966 he was a forward for Odra Opole. In November 1978, the year his son was born, he joined French side AJ Auxerre [1] when in Ligue 2. He helped them getting promoted in 1980 to Ligue 1 where he played 14 games, scoring twice. From 1981 to 1984, already in his mid-thirties, he played for fourth league side Châlons-sur-Saône FC.
He is married to Barbara Jeż, a former member of the Poland women's national handball team (appearing in 82 international matches as goalkeeper[2]). His family of Silesian-German ancestry had been Imperial German citizens in the Province of Upper Silesia (until 1945) and thus could resettle in West Germany as an Aussiedler.[3] In 1985, they rejoined in Kusel, West Germany.
According to newspapers interviews for German Süddeutsche Zeitung and Polish tabloid Fakt, Josef Klose does not want to be regarded as Polish, declaring himself as Silesian and European, and stating that the success of his son is due to himself and German clubs.