Description
Lukas Podolski, born on June 4th 1985 in Poland, is a soccer player that was formerly part of the German National Team. His powerful shoots from his left foot and fast ball crosses that create plays, are one of his strong sides. (one of his strengths) Poldi, as he is called by fans, has played as a forward, half back and center midfielder.
When he was 2 years old, he moved to Germany with his parents. He started playing soccer in 1991 when he joined the youth team of FC 07 Bergheim. In 1995, he joined the lower branch of 1. FC Koln and in 2003, at the young age of 18 he promoted to their top team. During the 16th game in Bundesliga, in their match against F.C. Hansa Rostock, he scored his first goal.
In his first year, he scored 8 points in 18 league matches and thus almost instantly became Koln’s most popular player. In June 2004, he was invited to the German National Team, that was managed by Rudolf Voller. He was also selected as a member for UEFA EURO 2004. As the players in the team were aging, Poldi and Bastian Schweinsteiger were the young players that people pinned their hopes on.
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup that was held in his home country Germany, he secured a regular position as their forward and by scoring 3 goals in the 7 matches that he appeared in, he was awarded the Young Player of the Year award.
After the tournament he transferred to FC Bayern Munich and high hopes were placed on him, now that he was in a team with world class players, but due to injuries and his inability to show results in the position battles, his return to to 1. FC Koln in the 2009-10 season was announced.
In Koln he again fought alone as the team’s idol and by relegation to the league’s 2nd division in the 2011-12 season, his transfer to England’s prestigious team, Arsenal, was decided.
During his time in Arsenal he appeared in the UEFA Champions League and helped the team win the FA Cup.
However, he gradually had less and less opportunities to appear in matches and he moved to Inter Milan and Galatasaray S.K. On March 2nd 2017, it was publicly announced that he would join J. League’s team Vissel Kobe.
On the one hand, Podolski has struggled to produce stable results in club teams, but on the other hand he has consistently scored goals in the German National Team. In 130 matches he has accumulated 49 goals. He has played in 3 World Cups, 4 UEFA EUROs and won the 2014 Brazil World Cup championship.
On March 17th 2017, the International Friendly match against England was to be his final game in the German National Team. On the 69 minute mark, he scored a superb goal with a powerful shot in front of the penalty area that decided the match at 1-0. Podolski made his final game a match to remember.
