The family moved to Germany when Miroslav was nine but he failed to catch the professional scouts' eyes until Kaiserslautern signed him for their amateur team after spotting him playing in the second division.
The rise of a player Voeller considers to have "everything a perfect striker needs" has been at whirlwind pace ever since.
Even Klose sometimes has to pause and pinch himself.
"When I think about it, I say to myself: this is crazy.
"I've achieved so much and yet I'm only 23, so the best years are still to come," he says.
Good news for Germany, but bad news for their opponents - and for Poland coach Jerzy Engel.
Before Klose made his international debut last year, Engel tried - and failed - to persuade him to play for the country of his birth.
As Germany soared in the tournament's opening week, Miroslav Klose was the player the world wanted to learn all about.
As Poland slumped against South Korea, Engel already knew exactly what he was missing.