Klose calls for calm

Record-breaker Miroslav Klose brushed off the personal plaudits and reminded Germany their World Cup mission is still far from complete.
Klose wrote himself into the record books on Tuesday night with the second goal in Germany’s 7-1 annihilation of Brazil in Belo Horizonte.
The strike was Klose’s 16th in World Cup history, taking him clear of the previous all-time top scorer Ronaldo.
The former Brazil striker, Germany coach Joachim Loew, and FIFA president Sepp Blatter were among the first people to congratulate Klose on his milestone.
But the 36-year-old could not care less about personal accolades at the moment. He has only one thing on his mind – World Cup glory.
“As a team we have an even bigger objective – to win one more game,” Klose said when asked about his record-breaking feat.
“You don’t experience things like a 7-1 win over Brazil very often and it’s not easy to put in a performance like that in a World Cup semi-final.”
The message of calm reflection delivered by Klose, whose first World Cup goal came 12 years ago, was echoed by other members of Germany’s triumphant squad.
Thomas Muller, who is just six goals shy of Klose’s record despite this being only his second tournament, was the next player to emerge from the dressing room with a call for calm.
“We need to let this all sink in now and then shift our focus to the final,” said the Bayern Munich striker, who kicked off the rout with 11 minutes gone.
“We want to win the trophy and we’re going to give everything to make that happen.”
Manuel Neuer, who had a quieter night than expected, echoed Muller’s sentiments.
“Now it’s very important for us to keep calm,” the Germany goalkeeper said.
“It’s important for us to not just think that we can beat every team in the world easily, especially as the next game is the final, when we will come up against the best in the world.
“We have to start again. We need to work hard. We must remember that it is not important what we did in the semi-final.”
Although Germany have made the semi-finals at the last four World Cups, some 24 years have passed since they lifted the trophy for the third time.
The Germans came close eight years ago when they reached the last four, but just like Brazil, they buckled under the pressure of being host nation.
Muller thinks the expectation that comes with hosting the tournament had a big impact on Brazil’s display in the Estadio Mineirao.
“They were under a lot of pressure in their own country and in front of so many fans,” Muller said.
“It got to the point where I felt sorry for them because they’ve got so many fantastic players who didn’t deserve to lose like that. Things like this only happen in football.”
Low deserves credit for developing a good team spirit in the German camp, and for out-witting Luiz Felipe Scolari in Belo Horizonte.
Low’s assistant Oliver Bierhoff knows how bad it feels to lose a World Cup final, though.
Twelve years ago Bierhoff’s World Cup campaign ended in disappointment as Brazil beat Germany in Yokohama.
Bierhoff does not want the players to go through the same experience again on Sunday.
“The Brazilians lost the plot,” the former striker said in a candid interview with the German Football Association website.
“I got the feeling that we were the better team today. Their box was always busy.
“But we have not achieved anything yet. If we win 2-1 or 7-1 it doesn’t matter. You go into the final at 50:50.”