Lukas Podolski

Lukas Podolski ( 2012)

Lukas Josef Podolski ( born June 4, 1985 as Łukasz Podolski Józef in Gliwice, Poland ) is a German footballer who plays for Arsenal in the Premier League. He took part in the 2004 European Cup with the German national team at every major tournament and completed more than 100 international matches. With the DFB - Elf, he finished second at the European Championships in 2008 and each third at the 2006 and 2010 World Cup.

Life

Lukas Podolski was born as the son of former professional football players Waldemar Podolski and the Women's Handball Krystyna Podolska in a Catholic middle class family in Upper Silesia, Gliwice. Podolski emigrated in 1987 with his parents and his five- year-old sister as emigrants to Germany. He has next to the German and the Polish citizenship, Polish passport but no. Podolski visited 1995-2001 Erich Kästner secondary school in Bergheim, where he graduated with the school certificate (Type 10 A). From 2001 to 2003 Podolski graduated from vocational college in Frechen and graduated from the High school. Then he did his community service at the Olympic Training Center Cologne -Bonn- Leverkusen.

18 April 2011 Podolski married his longtime girlfriend in a civil ceremony in Cologne. With it, he has a son (* 2008).

Career

Association

1 FC Köln

Lukas Podolski began in 1991 with the active playing football in the youth team at youth 07 Bergheim and moved in 1995 to the D- youth of the 1st FC Cologne. In the C - youth, he was trained by Willi Breuer. In the 2003 /04 season, the striker played the first eight games at age 18 still in the A- youth league and scored eight goals. He was then invited by the former Bundesliga coach of FC, Marcel Koller for the first time to train with the pros. On November 11, 2003, he signed his first professional contract and eleven days later, he made ​​his professional debut. Just three game days later he scored the 1-1 against Hansa Rostock his first Bundesliga goal. In his debut season he scored 10 goals in 19 Premier League matches what was in the 41- year history of the Bundesliga before anyone yet 18 -year-olds succeeded. But as he was the only successful scorer on the team, Cologne rose with the worst storm and just 23 points from the Table. In the 2nd Bundesliga he played an outstanding season in the following year and was with 24 goals in 30 games scorer. Cologne was confident championship first and made its chances of promotion.

In the Bundesliga season 2005/ 06 Podolski managed another double- digit goal tally, but his twelve goals this season could not prevent it again failed the " Billy Goats " to keep the league. The renewed descent into the 2nd Bundesliga called the striker as the main reason for his departure from Cologne.

FC Bayern Munich

On 10 July 2006 Podolski moved for a transfer fee of about ten million euros to Bayern Munich, where he got a contract until 2010. There, however, he could not prevail permanently and did not come on the status of a supplementary footballer in most cases. He scored in the 2006/07 season in 22 games, only four goals for Bayern and in early June 2007 was chosen in a poll of the magazine Kicker under 268 Bundesliga players to " relegated the season 2006/ 07". The season 2007/ 08 was similar unsatisfactory for Podolski at 25 missions and five goals, but he was with Bayern German league and cup.

Before the season 2008/ 09 Podolski's former sponsor Jurgen Klinsmann became the new Bayern coach. This said, at that time against a departure from Podolski, but remained only a substitute. After playing in the first round only twice in eleven missions over the full time, his return to the first FC Cologne was negotiated after the season during the winter break. In the second half Podolski came to seven other operations until Klinsmann was fired after 29 match day. In the last five games under new coach Jupp Heynckes Podolski showed with two goals and five assists at least briefly, his best performance of his time in Munich. Overall, he has scored in his last season Bayern six goals in 24 games.

Return to Cologne

For the 2009/10 season Podolski returned to the 1 FC Cologne. The transfer fee is said to have amounted to ten million euros. The contract with Cologne ran until the summer of 2013. To refinance a portion of the money, a welcome game against Bayern Munich was held on July 24 ( 0:2 ), which was broadcast live on RTL. In addition, the transfer fee was funded in part and in speculative by an investor. Podolski's goal tally remained in the first season at FC far below expectations: After his first goal on Matchday he met again until the 25th game against his former club Bayern Munich.

The 2010/11 season was in spite of an external ligament injury before the winter break with 13 goals in 32 games again successful for Lukas Podolski; He was thus the ninth- best scorer in the league. For the second round, he was also under coach Frank Schaefer of new captain of the 1st FC Cologne. With 44 points and 10th place, the team showed an upward trend. This should be continued under the new Norwegian Ståle Solbakken coach in the Bundesliga season 2011/12. But this made ​​once the peers Pedro Geromel as captain. Podolski himself played a very successful season with 18 goals and tied as the fourth top scorer in the Bundesliga to the outstanding achievements of previous years on. In the match against Hannover 96 Podolski shot on 11 March 2011 his 50th Bundesliga goal. Nevertheless, the team got deeper and deeper in the second half in the relegation battle and on the final day, the team fell to a direct relegation zone. After four years in the Bundesliga FC had to once again go to the 2nd league and Podolski left for the second time his boyhood club.

Arsenal FC

For the 2012/13 season Podolski moved to London in the English Premier League for Arsenal. His first competitive match, he denied on August 18, 2012, the first match day goalless draw against Sunderland, where he was in the 64th minutes replaced by Olivier Giroud. In his third Premier League game on September 2, 2012 Podolski scored his first goal in a 2-0 win against Liverpool. In the UEFA Champions League 2012/13 he met on September 18, 2012 in a 2-1 win against Montpellier HSC for the first time.

As a share of selling soccer jerseys for he belonged in 2012 to the ten most popular soccer players of the United Kingdom.

National

Lukas Podolski played from 2001 for German youth national teams, starting with the U 17

Among the rumors, the Polish Football Association PZPN have invited him to compete for the Polish national team, but he had rejected this for financial reasons, he said: "No one has suggested to me to play for Poland, as this was still possible. Officials have missed the opportune moment. "

The end of May / beginning of June 2004 he took part in the taking place in Germany European Junior Championship with the U 21. Already after the first round, was used twice in the Podolski, left the young German. Without that he had once played for the national team, he was nominated at the same time as the fifth striker for the German squad for the 2004 European Football Championship. Just four days after the last game of the U-21 European Championship Podolski was invited to the pre-season of the A- team against Hungary in Kaiserslautern. In the final quarter of an hour he came off the bench, which had finally been decided for the German national team jersey for him. The game was lost with 0:2. At the European Championships in Portugal, he came off the bench in the decisive third round match at halftime, but the game against the Czech Republic was still lost and the A- team was eliminated early.

After the failure of the reconstruction of the team for the upcoming World Championships at home has been driven and Podolski was regularly used in the national team. With a trip to Asia in late 2004 he gave the team against Japan for new face and his goal against Thailand on December 21, his first two goals for Germany. At the FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany in 2005, he participated as a regular player and shot during this tournament three goals in four games. After the tournament, he scored in an international match against South Africa three goals himself and put his fourth goal on. After that, he was a regular in all World Cup warm-up games. In the 2006 World Cup he came in every game his team used and scored three goals. The technical committee of FIFA then chose him from prominent players such as Lionel Messi ( Argentina) and Cristiano Ronaldo ( Portugal) Best Young Player of the Tournament. At age 21, he had already achieved 16 international goals, a feat no other player had previously succeeded in his old age.

In the European Championship qualifiers from September 2006 to November 2007, he was then again very successful, scoring eight goals in nine games. To 13-0 against San Marino, the highest German victory of all time in a qualifying match, he added four goals. One of the ten games he missed, because he had previously been found by a court of assault on 7 October 2006 in a friendly match against Georgia and locked. It was the first red card of his professional career. At the European Championship 2008, he was then back to the first eleven. In the first two games in Germany in the group stage - 2-0 against Poland on June 8 in Klagenfurt and 1-2 against Croatia on June 12 at the same place - he scored all three field goals for the German team. In the quarter- final against Portugal, and in the semifinal against Turkey Podolski set up both goals from Bastian Schweinsteiger. From the expert committee of UEFA, he was elected one day after the final defeat against Spain in the all-star team of Euro 2008.

2008/ 09 he was playing in nine of the ten qualifying games for the next big tournament. Along with the friendly games in that time he scored on average every second international match a goal. On September 6, 2008 Podolski scored his 30th national team goal against Liechtenstein. He was ( with a former age of 23 years and 3 months ) the youngest German international who have managed this. Worldwide, only six players were younger: Pele, Sven Rydell, Ronaldo, Sándor Kocsis, Stern John and Ferenc Puskás. In World Cup qualifying match between Germany and Wales on 1 April 2009 in Cardiff Podolski caused a stir when he in the 67th minute of the game at first gave a verbal confrontation with Michael Ballack and then punched him in the face. Previously Ballack had given the striker loudly tactical instructions. This assault was part of the DFB and FIFA without sanctions, but Podolski voluntarily donated 5,000 euros to a fair -play action of the DFB.

On 6 May 2010 he was appointed by national coach Joachim Loew in the squad for the 2010 World Cup. He scored the first goal in the first group match, but missed the second group game against Serbia was the first German nation player since Uli Stielike 1982 a penalty in a World Cup. In the second round, however, he scored the 2-0 against England ( Result: 4-1 ). After the semi-final defeat against eventual champions Spain he sat in the 3rd place match of: It was the first World Cup game he missed since his first nomination.

In qualifying for the 2012 European Championship, he joined again at nine times for Germany, had only three hits but had hitherto been his worst goal average. But even so, all nine games were won. Podolski was subsequently nominated for the national squad at Euro 2012 and was the first player from back in the starting eleven. In the preliminary round match against Denmark ( 2-1 ) on June 17, he graduated at the age of 27 years and 13 days, his 100th game. He thus replaced Franz Beckenbauer as recent German " hundreds" from Europe and was until March 22, 2013, the youngest player to have reached this number on international duty. ( On March 22, 2013 he was replaced by Sergio Ramos became the youngest European " hundreds". ) In the game, he also scored his 44th international goal for the 1-0 lead. In addition, he was then chosen by UEFA for "Man of the Match" ( best player of the game ). In the quarterfinals, coach Joachim Loew then chose a new attacking formation with Marco Reus on the left wing and Podolski had to stop. In the semifinals, he returned to the starting lineup back, but was replaced by a 0:2 behind at half-time against Reus, but the Turnieraus could no longer be averted.

In the 4-2 win in a friendly against Ecuador on May 29, 2013 Boca Raton Podolski presented with his first of two goals in just nine seconds of game time a new record for the fastest results achieved in an international match of the German national team since the beginning of the time measurement in football. Now with 46 goals, he also displaced Karl-Heinz Rummenigge from sixth place in the " all-time scorers list " of the DFB.

Play

Podolski has a powerful shot and shows a direct and straightforward style, with which he is often targeted templates and achieves precise goals from a high distance. He is characterized as a good free kick taker. Earlier in the strike partnership with Miroslav Klose, he is now mostly used in the national team on the left as a hanging tip, but can also play on his former national position of in the middle, which he usually held in the club at the 1 FC Cologne. Especially at Arsenal, he also comes also as a playmaker behind the tip to use and often varies between these offensive positions. In the National Podolski also helps behind with a lot.

Achievements

National

• Second in the European Championship: 2008
• Third in the World Cup: 2006, 2010
• Third in the Confederations Cup: 2005
• Participation: Euro 2004, Confederations Cup 2005, World Cup 2006, Euro 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012

National club competitions

• Master of the 2nd Bundesliga: 2005 with the 1st FC Cologne
• DFL - League Cup winners: 2007 with FC Bayern Munich
• DFB Cup winners: 2008 with FC Bayern Munich
• German champion: 2008 with FC Bayern Munich

Personal Awards

• 4 × Player of the Month (December 2003, April 2004, January 2005 and April 2006)
• 10 × scorer of the month ( January 2004, May 2004, October 2004, January 2005, March 2005, June 2005, September 2005, April 2006, July 2008 and February 2011)
• Scorer in the 2nd Bundesliga 2004/2005
• 3rd place at the election of the " Golden Boy " in 2005 ( the world's best football player under 21)
• Best Young Player of the World Cup 2006
• Silver Bay Leaf: 2006, 2010
• Appointment to the UEFA All- Star team the 2008 European Football Championship
• Silver Shoe as the second best scorer at Euro 2008
• "Player of the Match " in the game Germany - Poland at Euro 2008
• "Player of the Match " in the game Germany - Australia at the World Cup 2010
• "Man of the Match" in the game Germany - Denmark at the 2012 European Championship

Social Commitment

Besides he founded Lukas Podolski Foundation, whose main focus is to support disadvantaged children and young people, Podolski also supports the Sepp Herberger Foundation and the campaigns of the German Bone Marrow Donor Center.

On May 20, 2013 took place in Cologne, the charity match " Luke & Friends vs. Per & Friends "instead. The income of 100,000 euros went into equal parts to the Lukas Podolski and the Per Mertesacker Foundation, which also helps disadvantaged children.

DFB - health campaign "Stay on the ball"

2014 Lukas Podolski of the first DFB - health campaign presented "Stay on the ball" volunteer as a leader available, at the German Cancer Aid and the German Cancer Society are ( DKG ) funding partners. The three leading organizations to engage nationwide for more exercise through sports in children and adolescents in order to reduce the risk of cancer in the course of life and the widespread disease of cancer stem the long term. The aim of the DFB and all support is: "A motivation for young people to become physically active and also there to stay. " The World Health Organization (WHO ) recommends that children and adolescents aged 11 to 17 years for maintaining their health and for the prevention of diseases an amount of exercise one hour a day. In Germany, only about every fourth boy and six girls currently reaches this recommendation. The DFB campaign is " very much " support of national soccer players Lukas Podolski, he says.

Others

• Podolski is in the media and in public by the nickname Poldi, in allusion to the Cologne Carnival tradition Prinz Poldi known.
• From 26 August to 17 September 2006, Lukas Podolski committed as an ambassador for the Football World Cup 2006, the people with disabilities in Germany.
• His saying " That's football. Sometimes the best man win. " Was at the award ceremony of the German Football Culture Award 2006 as" excellent football award of the year ".
• On the occasion of the Football World Cup in 2006, the short film Poldis angel, an official cultural contribution of the city of Cologne for public viewing arose. The three female main characters are Podolski fans, plays by his nickname the movie title.
• Because of a satire of Radio 1 Live Podolski gave during the first two weeks of the World Cup 2006, no interviews for the radio station ARD. The transmitter had in the satire " The World Cup Diary Lukas Podolski " the national team parodied. The series of the satirist Jan Böhmermann man was despite an injunction defused continued as " Lukas ' Diary". Podolski's counsel moved the action back at the end of the hearing before the District Court of Munich. From Böhmermann comes the saying "Football is like chess - only without dice! ", The more media have mistakenly attributed to Podolski.
• Podolski also makes advertising, including for SolarWorld and Munich as a candidate for the Olympic Winter Games 2018. For the beverage company Pepsi Podolski worked alongside other football stars such as Lionel Messi, Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres in the commercial for the 2012 European Championship with.
• Podolski decorated on three occasions as a promotional figure on the cover of the game series FIFA.
• On June 1, 2012 Podolski published with the Cologne Rock Band Brings an EM version of the song Hallelujah.
• To promote youth football to the town of Bergheim, Podolski has donated 160,000 euros for the new artificial turf system of the stadium south-west. He also donated a new turf for the natural grass pitch. The city therefore renamed the Bergheim Stadium in Lukas Podolski Sports Park.
• In January 2013, Podolski helped the Polish first division club Gornik Zabrze to a sponsorship deal with Adidas, as he is a big fan of the team and has worked for the company.
• On August 29, 2013 Podolski announced that Nassim Touihiri of Fairplay Career Management is responsible for him. Previously, he spent 12 years at Kon Schramm ( Player Management Come & Play)
• The satirist Klaus Hansen published the Poldi dialogs. Cleverly on Poldi tailored dialogues to and around various football questions and answers.

Publications

• Lukas Podolski: Stay tuned! Why talent is just the beginning. Gabriel Verlag, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-522-30381-1.