He played regularly with the amateurs in the lower league structures, but was unable to push his way into the full squad until the 2001–02 season.

He finally made his Bundesliga debut on 19 December 2001 in a 3–1 defeat at VfL Wolfsburg.

Later that season he made further progress, managing six more Bundesliga appearances and, perhaps more significantly, seven games in their Champions League campaign, facing the likes of Barcelona and Manchester United.

The club eventually achieved the honour of runners-ups, although Kleine himself did not compete beyond the second group stage.

This biographical article related to association football in Germany, about a defender born in the 1970s, is a stub.