German spy Klose ready to eavesdrop on Azzurri

Germany’s Lazio striker Miroslav Klose has said he plans to eavesdrop in tomorrow’s Euro 2012 semi-final against Italy and pass on any key bits of Italian he hears on the pitch to his team-mates.

The 34-year-old has been playing in the Italian league for Rome-based Lazio since July 2011 and having learnt the language, he hopes to use it to Germany’s advantage in Warsaw’s semi-final.

“I’ll try to be a bit of a spy and pass on any bits I hear,” he said.

“I should be able to pick up a few sentences and pass them on if they are helpful. I don’t think it will be too loud for that.”

With 64 goals in 120 international appearances, Klose is just four short of Gerd Mueller’s all-time record as Germany’s top scorer and says he hopes to make Joachim Loew’s starting line-up against the Azzurri.

“Bring on Italy, is all I can say,” added Klose.

Having spent all three of Germany’s Group B matches on the bench, Poland-born Klose started and scored in the 4-2 quarter-final win over Greece.

He says his transfer from Bayern Munich to Lazio did him the world of good after three years in Bavaria and he has rolled back the years at Euro 2012 having made his debut in 2001.

“It has given me a lot, the transfer has done me the world of good as a player and a person, my family enjoy living there and I enjoy the fans’ support,” said Klose.