Miroslav Klose Says He Plans on Retiring in 2015

The World Cup's most prolific scorer is calling it quits.      

Lazio and German star Miroslav Klose announced Sunday that he will play just one more season before hanging up his cleats.    

“I’ve decided to retire in 2015," he told German paper Bild (via Football Italia).

The 36-year-old forward has certainly earned it. 

Klose put the cap on an unbelievable international career this month, scoring two more goals to help Germany hoist the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. That ran his World Cup total to 16, more than anyone else in the tournament's storied history. 

As ESPN FC noted, he set another record when Germany topped Argentina in the final: 

According to Soccerway.com, Klose finishes with 71 goals in 137 career international appearances. He is Germany's all-time leading scorer, he won the Golden Boot in 2006, and he holds several other records and accolades.

Of course, he has had plenty of club success, too. The striker has enjoyed productive campaigns with FC Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich and now Lazio. He won the Bundesliga with Bayern in 2007-08 and 2009-10 and the Coppa Italia with Lazio in 2012-13.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

Still, he will be most remembered for what he has accomplished with Die Mannschaft, and there is no more appropriate way for him to go out than as a world champion. 

It will be interesting to see what he does in his swan-song season. He scored seven goals in 25 appearances for Lazio last season, showing plenty of glimpses of his dominant form. 

He may find it difficult to consistently keep logging a full 90 minutes, but that won't do anything to take away from what has been an absolutely legendary career.