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Lukas Podolski

Personal information
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Bayern Munich
Number	11
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:47, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

Lukas Podolski (Template:IPA-de) (born as Łukasz Podolski on 4 June 1985 in Gliwice) is a German footballer who plays as a striker for Bayern Munich and is a member of the German national team.

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, but Podolski said in 2008 that he has Polish blood in him. Podolski grew up in Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, and later in Pulheim, both near Cologne. He still has Polish citizenship, but he travels with a German passport.

Club career

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.

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. He will return to 1. FC Köln on 1 July 2009.. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 only the third German after Gerd Müller and Michael Ballack to score four goals in an international match. 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.

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. 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.

Personal life

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

Career statistics

Club performance

As of 20 March 2009

Played in Second Bundesliga.

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

Awards and honors

FC Köln

• 2. Bundesliga: 2005

Bayern Munich

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

Individual

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

References

1. "Bayern Munich FC profile". Bayern Munich. 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
2. "Germany: 20 Lukas Podolski". www.uefa.com. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
3. "Germany 2 Poland 0: Polish-born Podolski strikes twice to double German delight". The Independent. Retrieved 09 June 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
4. "Podolski und Klose - Zwei Polen im Einsatz für Deutschland" (in German). Kleine Zeitung. Retrieved 06 June 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
5. "Lukas Podolski" (in German). em-08.info. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
6. "M 02.11 Lukas Podolski" (in German). www.bpb.de. Retrieved 17 October 20077. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
7. "Nie mam polskiego paszportu" (in Polish). Interia.pl. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
8. "Podolski und der polnische Pass" (in German). Netzeitung. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
9. "10 Things you need to know about Manchester City target Lukas Podolski". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 09 August 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
10. "Die polnische Staatsangehörigkeit soll Podolski und Klose entzogen werden" (in German). Polen-digital.de. Retrieved 09 June 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
11. "20 - Lukas Podolski". euro2008.uefa.com. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
12. "GERMANY/ OFFICIAL, Podolski at Koeln next summer". 19 January 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
13. "Podolski double gets Germany going". euro2008.uefa.com. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
14. "Olić kick-starts Croatian celebrations". euro2008.uefa.com. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
15. "Spain dominate Team of the Tournament". euro2008.uefa.com. 30 June 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2008.

External links

• Lukas Podolski – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Official website Template:De icon Template:Pl icon
• Career stats at fussballdaten.de Template:De icon
• Lukas Podolski at IMDb

Lukas Podolski - Navigation boxes and awards

v t e Germany squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Kahn (c) 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 Brdarić 15 Kehl 16 Jeremies 17 Ziege 18 Ernst 19 Schneider 20 Podolski 21 Lahm 22 Frings 23 Hildebrand Coach: Völler v t 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 Brdarić 12 Lehmann 13 Ballack (c) 14 Asamoah 15 Ernst 16 Hitzlsperger 17 Mertesacker 18 Borowski 19 Schneider 20 Podolski 21 Schulz 22 Kurányi 23 Hildebrand Coach: Klinsmann v t 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 (c) 14 Asamoah 15 Hitzlsperger 16 Lahm 17 Mertesacker 18 Borowski 19 Schneider 20 Podolski 21 Metzelder 22 Odonkor 23 Hildebrand Coach: Klinsmann v t e Germany squad – UEFA Euro 2008 runners-up 1 Lehmann 2 Jansen 3 Friedrich 4 Fritz 5 Westermann 6 Rolfes 7 Schweinsteiger 8 Frings 9 Gómez 10 Neuville 11 Klose 12 Enke 13 Ballack (c) 14 Trochowski 15 Hitzlsperger 16 Lahm 17 Mertesacker 18 Borowski 19 Odonkor 20 Podolski 21 Metzelder 22 Kurányi 23 Adler Coach: Löw Awards Preceded byInaugural Gillette Best Young Player 2006 Succeeded byIncumbent Preceded byRuud van Nistelrooy & Wayne Rooney UEFA Euro Silver Boot 2008 Succeeded byIncumbent

• German footballers
• 1. FC Köln players
• FC Bayern Munich players
• Germany international footballers
• UEFA Euro 2004 players
• 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players
• 2006 FIFA World Cup players
• UEFA Euro 2008 players
• First Bundesliga footballers
• Germany under-21 international footballers
• People from Gliwice
• Silesian Germans
• Germans of Polish descent
• 1985 births
• Living people