Lukas Podolski

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Lukas Podolski
Personal information
Date of birth	4 June 1985 (1985-06-04) (age 24)
Place of birth	Gliwice, Poland[1]
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing position	Forward[3]
Club information
Current club	1. FC Köln
Number	10
Youth career
1991–1995 1995–2003	FC Jugend 07 Bergheim 1. FC Köln
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2003–2006 2006-2009 2009-	1. FC Köln Bayern Munich 1. FC Köln	81 (46) 71 (15) 00 0(0)
National team2
2004 2004–	Germany U-21 Germany	05 0(0) 64 (33)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 09:57, 29 May 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 16:21, 07 June 2009 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Lukas Podolski (German pronunciation: [ˈluːkas poˈdɔlski]) (born as Łukasz Podolski on 4 June 1985 in Gliwice) is a German footballer who plays as a striker for Köln and is a member of the German national team.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Club career 2.1 FC Köln 2.2 Bayern Munich 3 International career 3.1 Euro 2004 3.2 World Cup 2006 3.3 Euro 2008 3.4 World Cup 2010 4 Personal life 5 Career statistics 5.1 Club performance 5.2 International goals 6 Awards and honors 6.1 FC Köln 6.2 Bayern Munich 6.3 Individual 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Biography

Podolski was born to Krystyna Podolska, a former member of the Polish national handball team and Waldemar Podolski, former Polish football professional and the 1980 champion of Poland with Szombierki Bytom, in the Silesian industrial town of Gliwice (near Katowice), Poland. In 1987, when Łukasz Podolski was two years old, his family emigrated from Poland to West Germany and got the status as Aussiedler^[4], but Podolski said in 2008 that he has Polish blood in him.^[5]. Podolski grew up in Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, and later in Pulheim, both near Cologne.^[6] He still has Polish citizenship, but he travels with a German passport.^{[7][8][9][10]}

[edit] Club career

[edit] FC Köln

Podolski began playing football at the age of six in the youth team of FC Bergheim, where he played until he joined Köln in 1995. It was there where Podolski's talents were first noticed. In 2003, at the age of 18, Podolski was still part of the club's youth side. At this time the club found itself in dire straits battling to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga. First team boss Marcel Koller, working on a shoestring budget, invited Podolski to train with the senior players and he made his top flight debut shortly afterwards on 22 November 2003. Even though Köln failed to avoid a drop to the 2nd division, Podolski had shown what he could do, scoring 10 goals in his first 19 senior appearances. This was the best tally by an 18-year-old in the history of the Bundesliga.

Though his call up to the German Euro 2004 squad brought along interest from several top clubs, Podolski stayed at Köln to help the club gain promotion in the 2004–05 season. With 24 goals, Podolski advanced to become the league's best scorer. Somewhat unusually, Podolski remained part of the Germany squad, even though he did not play in the national top-tier league.

After Köln were promoted, the pressure was on Podolski to keep the club in the Bundesliga practically singlehandedly. Podolski managed to score 12 goals in the 2005–06 season, but eventually, Köln were relegated again. It became clear that Podolski would not stay again to push them through the 2006–07 season—even more so, as Podolski was becoming an integral part of the national team.

[edit] Bayern Munich

In 2006, clubs such as Bayern Munich, HSV, Werder Bremen and even Real Madrid manifested their interest in Podolski, even though he had a contract with FC Köln through 2007. On 1 June 2006, Podolski announced that a transfer agreement had been reached with Bayern Munich, allowing him to join the Bavarian side for the 2006–07 season. Financial details of the deal were not immediately available, but the transfer fee was speculated to be around €10 million. He made his Bundesliga debut for Bayern on 11 August 2006 with a 2–0 victory against Borussia Dortmund, coming on as a substitute in the 88th minute. On 9 September 2006, he came on as a second half substitute in a DFB cup game versus FC St Pauli. Only 26 seconds after the second half started, he scored the equaliser, evening the match 1–1. On 14 October 2006, with his first Bundesliga goal for Bayern, Podolski helped to secure the club's 4–2 win over Hertha Berlin. On 26 October 2006, Podolski suffered a serious injury to his right ankle joint caused by teammate, Mark van Bommel, during a training session. Consequently, Podolski missed more than five match weeks. He returned from this injury and scored against Alemannia Aachen. He sometimes communicates with fellow Bayern and national team striker Miroslav Klose, who is also Polish-born, in Polish to hinder their opposition's understanding of their conversation.^[11]

When Bayern brought in Italian striker Luca Toni, "Poldi" was moved down the pecking order and received less playing time due to the coach's preference to partner Klose and Toni together instead. After a rather unhappy season, he will return to former club 1. FC Köln on 1 July 2009^[12]. Köln created a website where people can buy pixels of an image of Lukas Podolski for €25 each, in order to gather €1 million to reduce the cost of the transfer.

[edit] International career

In late 2003, after a couple of impressive performances in his first few Bundesliga games, Polish media suggested then-Polish national team coach Paweł Janas to check Podolski out, as he was still eligible to play for Poland. Janas ignored the request stating in one of the press interviews that "as for today we have much better strikers in Poland and I don't see a reason to call up a player just because he played one or two good matches in the Bundesliga. He's not even a regular starter at his club." By that time Podolski was still interested in representing Poland, but as the season progressed more and more German media started to suggest to call up the striker to their national team. When his full potential was finally unveiled, he had already been persuaded to represent Germany. At the end of the season Köln were relegated, but Podolski impressed so much, that he celebrated his debut for Rudi Völler's Germany on 6 June 2004 in Kaiserslautern against Hungary with a late substitute appearance. He had become the first second-division player since 1975 to break into the national team.

[edit] Euro 2004

Podolski played for Germany at Euro 2004, where he was the squad's youngest player. He made one substitute appearance in the game against the Czech Republic, when he came on for Torsten Frings at half-time.

[edit] World Cup 2006

Podolski was selected in the Germany squad for the 2006 World Cup, where he partnered Miroslav Klose in attack. He scored his first ever World Cup goal in Germany's third group match against Ecuador, and both goals in the 2–0 win over Sweden in the round of 16. By this, he became the first player since 1962 to score two goals in the first 12 minutes of a World Cup match and only the third man ever to accomplish the feat. Germany went to the semi-finals and lost to Italy 2–0 in extra time. They eventually won the third place match against Portugal. His three goals in the tournament tied him for second in the Golden Boot competition, which was won by his teammate Miroslav Klose with five goals. Podolski was tied with Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Fernando Torres, David Villa, Maxi Rodriguez, Hernán Crespo, and FIFA World Cup MVP (winner of the Golden Ball) Zinedine Zidane. Podolski was named the World Cup's Best Young Player.

[edit] Euro 2008

In Euro 2008 qualifying game against San Marino in Serravalle Podolski netted four goals in Germany's record 13–0 thrashing. He is one of only four German players to score four goals in an international match. He was the third after Gerd Müller and Michael Ballack, and since this, Mario Gómez has accomplished this feat. In Germany's 4–1 win against Slovakia in Bratislava on 11 October 2006, he scored the first and the last German goal, both on assists by Miroslav Klose. He has continued to score goals at an astonishing rate. On 17 November 2007, in a Euro qualifier match against Cyprus, Podolski was involved in every goal in Germany's 4–0 victory. This was one of Podolski's best performances for the national team. Even though he played out of his natural position, playing at left midfield, he netted one goal himself and was voted Man of the Match.

On Sunday 8 June 2008, Podolski made his Euro 2008 entrance against debutants Poland in a Group B match in Klagenfurt, Austria. He scored both goals in a 2–0 victory. He avoided celebrating his goals, however, to show respect for his country of birth. After the game he gave an emotional interview on Polish television. The goals put him in the lead in the Euro 2008 goal-scoring list for two days until David Villa scored a hat-trick for Spain against Russia.^[13]

On 12 June, Germany played Croatia in their second Group B match, again in Klagenfurt. Podolski scored the German team's only goal of the game in the 79th minute, by which time the Croatians were already leading 2–0. He did not celebrate this goal either despite it putting him joint first on the Euro 2008 goal-scoring list with David Villa. Podolski's goal was not enough to snatch a draw, with Croatia holding out for a 2–1 victory over Germany.^[14] On 19 June, Germany played Portugal in the quarterfinal in Basel, Podolski was instrumental in the first goal, whipping a cross into the penalty box that slotted home by Bastian Schweinsteiger in the 22nd minute to give Germany a 1–0 lead.

On the international scene, Podolski seems to be gravitating towards an attacking left midfield role from his traditional place as a striker. He resumed this position in the UEFA Euro 2008 Final, but was unable to prevent Germany losing 1–0 to Spain. In a controversial incident, Podolski was headbutted by Spanish midfielder David Silva, although this went unnoticed by the referee and his assistants, and went unpenalised. Lukas Podolski was named in the 23 man squad as one of the players of the tournament along with countrymen Michael Ballack and Philipp Lahm.

[edit] World Cup 2010

On 6 September 2008, Podolski scored the opening two goals in Germany's first World Cup 2010 qualifying game against Liechtenstein in Vaduz; a match that ended in a 6-0 victory for the Germans. He scored the opener in the 2-1 home win over Russia on 11 October, when he turned Vasily Berezutsky on the edge of the penalty area, before unleashing a powerful shot past Russia's goalkeeper Akinfeev. He is currently the joint-top scorer in Group 4 with 4 goals. During one of the qualifying matches, he was involved in a bust-up with team captain Michael Ballack.

Despite enduring an unhappy domestic 2008-09 season, Podolski still maintained his scoring streak at international level, many times partnering Miroslav Klose to great effect.

[edit] Personal life

Podolski's longtime girlfriend Monika Puchalski gave birth to their first child, Louis, on 14 April 2008.

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Club performance

As of 10 May 2009 (2009 -05-10)^[update]

All-Time Club Performance

Club	Season	Bundesliga		DFB Cup		European Competition		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Köln	2003–04	19	10	1	0	-	-	20	10
	2004–05*	30	24	2	5	-	-	32	29
	2005–06	32	12	1	0	-	-	33	12
Total		81	46	4	5	-	-	85	51
Bayern Munich	2006–07	22	4	3	2	7	1	32	7
	2007–08	25	5	4	0	12	5	41	10
	2008–09	24	6	3	1	4	2	31	9
Total		71	15	10	3	23	8	104	26
Career Totals		152	61	14	8	23	8	189	82

^*Played in Second Bundesliga.

[edit] International goals

Scores and results table. Germany's goal tally first:

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	21 December 2004	Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	3-1	5-1	Friendly
2.	21 December 2004	Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	5-1	5-1	Friendly
3.	26 March 2005	Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Slovenia	1-0	1-0	Friendly
4.	4 June 2005	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	4-1	4-1	Friendly
5.	15 June 2005	Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany	Australia	4-2	4-3	FIFA Confederations Cup 2005
6.	25 June 2005	Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany	Brazil	1-1	2-3	FIFA Confederations Cup 2005
7.	29 June 2005	Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany	Mexico	1-0	4-3	FIFA Confederations Cup 2005
8.	7 September 2005	Olympiastadion Berlin, Berlin, Germany	South Africa	1-0	4-2	Friendly
9.	7 September 2005	Olympiastadion Berlin, Berlin, Germany	South Africa	3-1	4-2	Friendly
10.	7 September 2005	Olympiastadion Berlin, Berlin, Germany	South Africa	4-2	4-2	Friendly
11.	27 May 2006	Badenova Stadion, Freiburg, Germany	Luxembourg	3-0	7-0	Friendly
12.	27 May 2006	Badenova Stadion, Freiburg, Germany	Luxembourg	5-0	7-0	Friendly
13.	20 June 2006	Olympiastadion Berlin, Berlin, Germany	Ecuador	3-0	3-0	FIFA World Cup 2006
14.	24 June 2006	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Sweden	1-0	2-0	FIFA World Cup 2006
15.	24 June 2006	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Sweden	2-0	2-0	FIFA World Cup 2006
16.	2 September 2006	Gottlieb Daimler Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany	Republic of Ireland	1-0	1-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
17.	6 September 2006	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	1-0	13-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
18.	6 September 2006	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	5-0	13-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
19.	6 September 2006	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	8-0	13-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
20.	6 September 2006	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	10-0	13-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
21.	11 October 2006	Tehelné Pole Stadion, Bratislava, Slovakia	Slovakia	1-0	4-1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
22.	11 October 2006	Tehelné Pole Stadion, Bratislava, Slovakia	Slovakia	4-1	4-1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
23.	12 September 2007	Rhein-Energie Stadion, Cologne, Germany	Romania	3-1	3-1	Friendly
24.	17 November 2007	AWD Arena, Hannover, Germany	Cyprus	3-0	4-0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
25.	26 March 2008	St. Jakob Park, Basel, Switzerland	Switzerland	4-0	4-0	Friendly
26.	8 June 2008	Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt, Austria	Poland	1-0	2-0	UEFA Euro 2008
27.	8 June 2008	Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt, Austria	Poland	2-0	2-0	UEFA Euro 2008
28.	12 June 2008	Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt, Austria	Croatia	1-2	1-2	UEFA Euro 2008
29.	6 September 2008	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	1-0	6-0	FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying
30.	6 September 2008	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	2-0	6-0	FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying
31.	11 October 2008	Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany	Russia	1-0	2-1	FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying
32.	28 March 2009	Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany	Liechtenstein	4-0	4-0	FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying
33.	29 May 2009	Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China	China PR	1-1	1-1	Friendly

[edit] Awards and honors

[edit] FC Köln

• 2. Bundesliga: 2005

[edit] Bayern Munich

• DFB-Ligapokal: 2007
• Bundesliga: 2008
• DFB-Pokal: 2008

[edit] Individual

• Gillette Best Young Player: 2006
• UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament^[15]
• UEFA Euro 2008 Silver Boot

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Lukas Podolski FIFA competition record
• Official website (German) (Polish)
• Career stats at fussballdaten.de (German)
• Lukas Podolski at the Internet Movie Database

Lukas Podolski - Navigation boxes and awards v • d • e Germany squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Kahn • 2 Hinkel • 3 Friedrich • 4 Wörns • 5 Nowotny • 6 Baumann • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Hamann • 9 Bobic • 10 Kurányi • 11 Klose • 12 Lehmann • 13 Ballack • 14 Brdaric • 15 Kehl • 16 Jeremies • 17 Ziege • 18 Ernst • 19 Schneider • 20 Podolski • 21 Lahm • 22 Frings • 23 Hildebrand • Coach: Völler v • d • e Germany squad – 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup Third Place 1 Kahn • 2 Hinkel • 3 Friedrich • 4 Huth • 5 Owomoyela • 6 Engelhardt • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Frings • 9 Hanke • 10 Deisler • 11 Brdaric • 12 Lehmann • 13 Ballack • 14 Asamoah • 15 Ernst • 16 Hitzlsperger • 17 Mertesacker • 18 Borowski • 19 Schneider • 20 Podolski • 21 Schulz • 22 Kurányi • 23 Hildebrand • Coach: Klinsmann v • d • e Germany squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup Third Place 1 Lehmann • 2 Jansen • 3 Friedrich • 4 Huth • 5 Kehl • 6 Nowotny • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Frings • 9 Hanke • 10 Neuville • 11 Klose • 12 Kahn • 13 Ballack • 14 Asamoah • 15 Hitzlsperger • 16 Lahm • 17 Mertesacker • 18 Borowski • 19 Schneider • 20 Podolski • 21 Metzelder • 22 Odonkor • 23 Hildebrand • Coach: Klinsmann v • d • e Germany squad – UEFA Euro 2008 Runners-up 1 Lehmann • 2 Jansen • 3 A. Friedrich • 4 Fritz • 5 Westermann • 6 Rolfes • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Frings • 9 Gómez • 10 Neuville • 11 Klose • 12 Enke • 13 Ballack • 14 Trochowski • 15 Hitzlsperger • 16 Lahm • 17 Mertesacker • 18 Borowski • 19 Odonkor • 20 Podolski • 21 Metzelder • 22 Kurányi • 23 Adler • Coach: Löw Awards Preceded by Inaugural Gillette Best Young Player 2006 Succeeded by Incumbent Preceded by Ruud van Nistelrooy & Wayne Rooney UEFA Euro Silver Boot 2008 Succeeded by Incumbent

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