After thirteen years of wearing Germany colours, it’s time to say goodbye to Lukas Podolski. On 22nd March, his final and 130th match for the current World Champions will take place at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park (20:45 CET) against England. DFB.de pay homage to his era by checking the facts once more on the impactful carrier of the World Champion and fan-favourite.
Young star: Podolski celebrated his first game for the national team on June 6th 2004, two days prior to his 19th birthday, in a 2-0 international loss against Hungary in Kaiserslautern. Manager Rudi Völler brought him on in the 73rd minute for Fredi Bobic. Days beforehand, Podolski was selected as a striker for the Germany 2004 European Championship squad, despite the fact he had not played for the National Team yet. The young talent’s first appearance in the tournament in Portugal came in a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic, in the final group stage game on July 23rd 2004. He replaced Torsten Frings at the half-time mark, but ultimately could do nothing to prevent Germany’s group-stage exit from the tournament.
Podolski became a regular starter under new National Team manager Jürgen Klinsmann, who took over the role from Rudi Völler in July 2004. Klinsmann gave Podolski his first start in a game against Japan (3-0 win) on December 16th 2004 in Yokohama. Five days later he scored his first international goal in a 5-1 victory over Thailand in Bangkok. It only took Podolski 17 games before he recorded his first hat-trick on September 7th 2005 against South Africa in Bremen (4-2 win). The only other time he scored three or more goals came on September 6th 2006, when Germany defeated San Marino in the European Championship qualifiers 13-0, in which he got four of the goals.
Appearances, goals, and successes wearing the Germany shirt: Until now, Podolski has played in 129 international games for Germany, good for the third most of all-time, trailing only Lothar Matthäus (150) and Miroslav Klose (137). Lukas can also be found amongst the best in terms of goals scored too, as his 48 goals in the Germany shirt are surpassed only by Klose (71), Gerd Müller (68) and East Germany’s Joachim Streich (59). Six of his goals came from instances where he was brought on as a substitute, and five came from dead-balls: three from the penalty spot, one from a free-kick, and another from a corner.
Strike-partner Klose’s ten assists meant he was the top provider for Podolski throughout his international career. The European Championship match against Poland on June 8th 2008 was a special game for both of them. Klose, who like Podolski was born in Poland, set up both goals for Lukas in a 2-0 win.
On May 29th 2013 Podolski claimed the title of Germany’s fastest goal in a meeting against Ecuador in Boca Raton. According to UEFA, the goal, which was scored in six seconds, is also the fastest goal ever in an international match.
Along with that record, 2006 was Podolski’s most successful year at the international level: A quarter of his goals (12) were scored in the year of “Summer Fairytales”. His two goals in the 2006 World Cup in the quarter-finals against Sweden (2-0 win) in Munich will always be remembered. The high-point followed eight years later in 2014, with the title of World Cup Champion, where he came on as a substitute in a 4-0 win and a 1-0 win against Portugal and the USA respectively. Along with the success in that World Cup, Podolski was a part of the Germany teams that came runner-up in 2008’s European Championship, as well as third in 2006 and 2010’s World Cups. Bar the 2004 European Championships where Germany made a group-stage exit, he always helped the National Team get to at least a semi-final in every major international tournament.
Prolific for Köln, successful at Bayern: At the age of ten, Podolski arrived at 1. FC Köln, and in 2003 he was promoted to the first team by manager Marcel Koller. His Bundesliga debut came in a 1-0 loss to Hamburg on November 22nd 2003, and it was the beginning of a run in the starting eleven for him. Three matchdays later, the 18-year-old scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 1-1 draw in Rostock. He became a young sensation in the league, scoring ten goals in 19 games, but it wasn’t enough to stop Köln’s relegation that season. He remains the only Bundesliga player to have scored ten goals before his 19th birthday.
He played excellently in the DFB-Pokal, with his first goal coming in his second game on August 21st 2004, in a 4-1 win in Saarbrucken. He ended up scoring all four for Köln, and nobody has replicated that achievement for the club in the DFB-Pokal since. As a result, he became the youngest player to score four goals in a DFB-Pokal game at the age of 19 years and 78 days old.
Following relegation, Podolski was the top-scorer of the second division, scoring 24 goals for 1. FC Köln in 2005, the most any player for Köln has ever achieved in the 2. Bundesliga.
Despite twelve goals from Podolski, 1. FC Köln failed to avoid relegation again in the following season, and Podolski joined FC Bayern München at the season’s end. During his time in Munich he scored 15 goals in 71 league games, and also celebrated the double in 2008. In the 2-1 2008 DFB-Pokal final triumph over Dortmund, he was brought on and set up the winning goal for Luca Toni in the 103rd minute.
Podolski returned to his true love in 2009, meaning 1. FC Köln enjoyed his services for three more seasons, during which he scored 33 goals in 88 games. His last Bundesliga season in 2011/12 was also his best in terms of scoring, as he tallied up 18 goals, but yet again Köln went down for the third time with Podolski, who subsequently moved abroad for the first time in his career.
In total, Podolski played in 210 Bundesliga games, scoring 70 goals. For “his” FC, Poldi made 181 appearances and scored 86 times, with 51 of them coming before his 21st birthday.
Globetrotter: Podolski has played exclusively for foreign clubs since 1. FC Köln were relegated in 2012. He signed for Arsenal, achieving 19 goals in 60 games for the Londoners, and also won the FA Cup. Only Jürgen Klinsmann, Uwe Rösler (29 goals each), and Mesut Özil (20) have scored more times in the Premier League.
After a loan-spell at Inter Milan beginning January 2015 (one goal in 17 games), Podolski moved in the summer of 2015 to play for Galatasaray. During his time in the Turkish capital, he achieved the rank of top-scorer in the Super League for the 2015/16 season, and now (as of the beginning of March) has 31 goals in 64 appearances for Galatasaray.
Podolski also succeeded in winning his third domestic cup in as many countries. His 31st minute goal was the only one of the final, resulting in Galatasaray defeating intercity-rivals Fenerbahce 1-0 for the title. He was honoured as the game’s Man of the Match.
But that wasn’t Podolski’s only great game in the Turkish Cup: A 6-2 victory over third-tier side Erzincanspor on 24th January 2017 saw him score, for the first time in his career, five goals in one game. Such a haul has only been achieved by four players in Galatasaray’s history, and before Podolski, last matched by Brazilian International Mario Jardel in 2000.
The next chapter of Podolski’s worldwide career is set for the coming summer, when the World Champion will join J-League side Vissel Kobe in Japan. He follows in the footsteps of Köln players Uwe Bein (Urawa Red Diamonds 1994-1996) and Pierre Littbarski (JEF United 1993-1995, Brummell Sendai 1996-1997) as World Champions who also played in Japan.
A compatible companionship with Schweinsteiger: We can’t forget Podolski’s congenial partner Bastian Schweinsteiger when looking over his career. Both debuted against Hungary in the 2-0 loss on June 6th 2004, and quickly became table-tennis partners off the pitch. They have played in 95 games together, having only lost 17 of those games, and winning 67. Podolski later followed his friend to FC Bayern, where the two shared the pitch 96 times.
Private life: With eleven distinctions, Lukas Podolski is the most successful player in the history of ARD’s “Goal of the Month”. His last accolade was shared between him and basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki for his goal in the Nowitzki-Allstars’ charity game in July 2016.
In an effort to encourage football amongst the youths of Bergheim, Podolski donated 160,000 Euros for the new Süd-West stadium’s artificial turf pitch. Additionally, he instigated the installation of new turf for the natural grass pitch. The town acknowledged his contributions by naming the stadium the Lukas-Podolski-Sportpark.
The World Champion engaged in many charitable endeavours, and founded the Lukas-Podolski-Stiftung in 2010, which seeks to help disadvantaged children through sports and educational projects. Between August 26th and September 17th 2006 he was a FIFA Ambassador for handicapped peoples in Germany.
After football, basketball is Podolski’s favourite pastime. The 31-year-old is a RheinStars Köln share-holder, a basketball club that was founded in 2013 and currently plays in the Pro A, the second-tier of German basketball.
Lukas Podolski has some musical talent as well: In December 2016 he released the Cologne hymn “Liebe deine Stadt” in collaboration with rapper Mo-Torres and the band Cat Ballou, which reached the 26th spot of the German charts. He also released a version of the song “Hallelujah”, an edition for the European Championships, with Cologne rock-band Brings, as early as 2012. He also voiced a porcupine for the German version of the Disney series “The Lion Guard” in 2016.
Poldi’s best sayings: Important to note: one proverb is not originally from “Poldi”. Satirist Jan Böhmermann coined the line “Football is like chess – only without the dice!” which was falsely attributed by multiple media outlets to Podolski.
His phrase “Football’s like that. Sometimes the better team wins” was honoured as the “Football Quote of the Year” at the German Football Cultural Awards in 2006.
On the question of whether he speaks Polish or German to Miroslav Klose on the pitch, Podolski said: “Polish, German, hand-signals...whatever gets the ball in the back of the net.”
Many of Podolski’s other quotes have become classics, including: “The love for football is like the love you have for your wife and family. It’s always there.” “Football’s simple: stick it in the net and go home.” and “a one-two to yourself? Forget it!”
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After thirteen years of wearing Germany colours, it’s time to say goodbye to Lukas Podolski. On 22nd March, his final and 130th match for the current World Champions will take place at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park (20:45 CET) against England. DFB.de pay homage to his era by checking the facts once more on the impactful carrier of the World Champion and fan-favourite.
Young star: Podolski celebrated his first game for the national team on June 6th 2004, two days prior to his 19th birthday, in a 2-0 international loss against Hungary in Kaiserslautern. Manager Rudi Völler brought him on in the 73rd minute for Fredi Bobic. Days beforehand, Podolski was selected as a striker for the Germany 2004 European Championship squad, despite the fact he had not played for the National Team yet. The young talent’s first appearance in the tournament in Portugal came in a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic, in the final group stage game on July 23rd 2004. He replaced Torsten Frings at the half-time mark, but ultimately could do nothing to prevent Germany’s group-stage exit from the tournament.
Podolski became a regular starter under new National Team manager Jürgen Klinsmann, who took over the role from Rudi Völler in July 2004. Klinsmann gave Podolski his first start in a game against Japan (3-0 win) on December 16th 2004 in Yokohama. Five days later he scored his first international goal in a 5-1 victory over Thailand in Bangkok. It only took Podolski 17 games before he recorded his first hat-trick on September 7th 2005 against South Africa in Bremen (4-2 win). The only other time he scored three or more goals came on September 6th 2006, when Germany defeated San Marino in the European Championship qualifiers 13-0, in which he got four of the goals.
Appearances, goals, and successes wearing the Germany shirt: Until now, Podolski has played in 129 international games for Germany, good for the third most of all-time, trailing only Lothar Matthäus (150) and Miroslav Klose (137). Lukas can also be found amongst the best in terms of goals scored too, as his 48 goals in the Germany shirt are surpassed only by Klose (71), Gerd Müller (68) and East Germany’s Joachim Streich (59). Six of his goals came from instances where he was brought on as a substitute, and five came from dead-balls: three from the penalty spot, one from a free-kick, and another from a corner.
Strike-partner Klose’s ten assists meant he was the top provider for Podolski throughout his international career. The European Championship match against Poland on June 8th 2008 was a special game for both of them. Klose, who like Podolski was born in Poland, set up both goals for Lukas in a 2-0 win.
On May 29th 2013 Podolski claimed the title of Germany’s fastest goal in a meeting against Ecuador in Boca Raton. According to UEFA, the goal, which was scored in six seconds, is also the fastest goal ever in an international match.
Along with that record, 2006 was Podolski’s most successful year at the international level: A quarter of his goals (12) were scored in the year of “Summer Fairytales”. His two goals in the 2006 World Cup in the quarter-finals against Sweden (2-0 win) in Munich will always be remembered. The high-point followed eight years later in 2014, with the title of World Cup Champion, where he came on as a substitute in a 4-0 win and a 1-0 win against Portugal and the USA respectively. Along with the success in that World Cup, Podolski was a part of the Germany teams that came runner-up in 2008’s European Championship, as well as third in 2006 and 2010’s World Cups. Bar the 2004 European Championships where Germany made a group-stage exit, he always helped the National Team get to at least a semi-final in every major international tournament.
Prolific for Köln, successful at Bayern: At the age of ten, Podolski arrived at 1. FC Köln, and in 2003 he was promoted to the first team by manager Marcel Koller. His Bundesliga debut came in a 1-0 loss to Hamburg on November 22nd 2003, and it was the beginning of a run in the starting eleven for him. Three matchdays later, the 18-year-old scored his first Bundesliga goal in a 1-1 draw in Rostock. He became a young sensation in the league, scoring ten goals in 19 games, but it wasn’t enough to stop Köln’s relegation that season. He remains the only Bundesliga player to have scored ten goals before his 19th birthday.
He played excellently in the DFB-Pokal, with his first goal coming in his second game on August 21st 2004, in a 4-1 win in Saarbrucken. He ended up scoring all four for Köln, and nobody has replicated that achievement for the club in the DFB-Pokal since. As a result, he became the youngest player to score four goals in a DFB-Pokal game at the age of 19 years and 78 days old.
Following relegation, Podolski was the top-scorer of the second division, scoring 24 goals for 1. FC Köln in 2005, the most any player for Köln has ever achieved in the 2. Bundesliga.
Despite twelve goals from Podolski, 1. FC Köln failed to avoid relegation again in the following season, and Podolski joined FC Bayern München at the season’s end. During his time in Munich he scored 15 goals in 71 league games, and also celebrated the double in 2008. In the 2-1 2008 DFB-Pokal final triumph over Dortmund, he was brought on and set up the winning goal for Luca Toni in the 103rd minute.
Podolski returned to his true love in 2009, meaning 1. FC Köln enjoyed his services for three more seasons, during which he scored 33 goals in 88 games. His last Bundesliga season in 2011/12 was also his best in terms of scoring, as he tallied up 18 goals, but yet again Köln went down for the third time with Podolski, who subsequently moved abroad for the first time in his career.
In total, Podolski played in 210 Bundesliga games, scoring 70 goals. For “his” FC, Poldi made 181 appearances and scored 86 times, with 51 of them coming before his 21st birthday.
Globetrotter: Podolski has played exclusively for foreign clubs since 1. FC Köln were relegated in 2012. He signed for Arsenal, achieving 19 goals in 60 games for the Londoners, and also won the FA Cup. Only Jürgen Klinsmann, Uwe Rösler (29 goals each), and Mesut Özil (20) have scored more times in the Premier League.
After a loan-spell at Inter Milan beginning January 2015 (one goal in 17 games), Podolski moved in the summer of 2015 to play for Galatasaray. During his time in the Turkish capital, he achieved the rank of top-scorer in the Super League for the 2015/16 season, and now (as of the beginning of March) has 31 goals in 64 appearances for Galatasaray.
Podolski also succeeded in winning his third domestic cup in as many countries. His 31st minute goal was the only one of the final, resulting in Galatasaray defeating intercity-rivals Fenerbahce 1-0 for the title. He was honoured as the game’s Man of the Match.
But that wasn’t Podolski’s only great game in the Turkish Cup: A 6-2 victory over third-tier side Erzincanspor on 24th January 2017 saw him score, for the first time in his career, five goals in one game. Such a haul has only been achieved by four players in Galatasaray’s history, and before Podolski, last matched by Brazilian International Mario Jardel in 2000.
The next chapter of Podolski’s worldwide career is set for the coming summer, when the World Champion will join J-League side Vissel Kobe in Japan. He follows in the footsteps of Köln players Uwe Bein (Urawa Red Diamonds 1994-1996) and Pierre Littbarski (JEF United 1993-1995, Brummell Sendai 1996-1997) as World Champions who also played in Japan.
A compatible companionship with Schweinsteiger: We can’t forget Podolski’s congenial partner Bastian Schweinsteiger when looking over his career. Both debuted against Hungary in the 2-0 loss on June 6th 2004, and quickly became table-tennis partners off the pitch. They have played in 95 games together, having only lost 17 of those games, and winning 67. Podolski later followed his friend to FC Bayern, where the two shared the pitch 96 times.
Private life: With eleven distinctions, Lukas Podolski is the most successful player in the history of ARD’s “Goal of the Month”. His last accolade was shared between him and basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki for his goal in the Nowitzki-Allstars’ charity game in July 2016.
In an effort to encourage football amongst the youths of Bergheim, Podolski donated 160,000 Euros for the new Süd-West stadium’s artificial turf pitch. Additionally, he instigated the installation of new turf for the natural grass pitch. The town acknowledged his contributions by naming the stadium the Lukas-Podolski-Sportpark.
The World Champion engaged in many charitable endeavours, and founded the Lukas-Podolski-Stiftung in 2010, which seeks to help disadvantaged children through sports and educational projects. Between August 26th and September 17th 2006 he was a FIFA Ambassador for handicapped peoples in Germany.
After football, basketball is Podolski’s favourite pastime. The 31-year-old is a RheinStars Köln share-holder, a basketball club that was founded in 2013 and currently plays in the Pro A, the second-tier of German basketball.
Lukas Podolski has some musical talent as well: In December 2016 he released the Cologne hymn “Liebe deine Stadt” in collaboration with rapper Mo-Torres and the band Cat Ballou, which reached the 26th spot of the German charts. He also released a version of the song “Hallelujah”, an edition for the European Championships, with Cologne rock-band Brings, as early as 2012. He also voiced a porcupine for the German version of the Disney series “The Lion Guard” in 2016.
Poldi’s best sayings: Important to note: one proverb is not originally from “Poldi”. Satirist Jan Böhmermann coined the line “Football is like chess – only without the dice!” which was falsely attributed by multiple media outlets to Podolski.
His phrase “Football’s like that. Sometimes the better team wins” was honoured as the “Football Quote of the Year” at the German Football Cultural Awards in 2006.
On the question of whether he speaks Polish or German to Miroslav Klose on the pitch, Podolski said: “Polish, German, hand-signals...whatever gets the ball in the back of the net.”
Many of Podolski’s other quotes have become classics, including: “The love for football is like the love you have for your wife and family. It’s always there.” “Football’s simple: stick it in the net and go home.” and “a one-two to yourself? Forget it!”
