Lukas Podolski Biography

Lukas Podolski, born on 4 June 1985 in Gliwice, Poland, is a naturalized German footballer who plays as a striker. Born as a citizen of the People's Republic of Poland, Podolski began his professional career in 2003 with his youth club 1. FC Köln, for whom he also played in the Bundesliga 2 for one season as an international.

After the club was relegated again, he moved to FC Bayern Munich in 2006, where he became German champion and DFB Cup winner in 2008. In 2009, he moved back to Köln, where he was captain for a time and finally became a "club icon" until he joined FC Arsenal in the English Premier League after they were relegated in 2012, where he won the FA Cup and the English Super Cup in 2014. In the meantime, he moved to Inter Milan in the Italian Serie A for six months.

From 2015 to 2017, Podolski was under contract with Galatasaray in the Turkish Süper Lig and won the Turkish Cup in 2016, his third national cup victory. From 2017 until early 2020, he played in the Japanese J. League with Vissel Kobe, with whom he won the Japanese Cup in 2019. Since January 2020, he has been under contract with Turkish first division club Antalyaspor.

With the German national team, Podolski took part in every major tournament from the 2004 European Championship up to and including the 2016 European Championship, making 130 caps and scoring 49 goals. This makes him the third most successful goal scorer and the player with the third-most international caps in German national team history to date. He was world champion with the national team at the 2014 World Cup, runner-up at the 2008 European Championship and third at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

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All You Need to Know About Lukas Podolski Biography

He is widely known as one of the best German players of his generation. Renowned for his strong and accurate left leg shots, he is also noted for his good dribbling, speed and technique. He can play both down the flanks, as a winger, or play in the penalty area as a centre forward.

Lukas Podolski Information

Now that we know him much better, it is time to share some general information about him such as

Lukas Podolski nationality

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Lukas Podolski Bio

• Full Name: Lukas Josef Podolski

• Nickname: Poldi

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Lukas Podolski Physical Stats

• Weight: 83 Kg

• Height: 1.82 m

• Eye Color: Blue

• Hair Color: Dark Blonde

Lukas Podolski Football Information

• Position: Striker

• Jersey Number: 10

• Professional Debut: 2003

Lukas Podolski Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 4 June 1985

• Birth Place: Gliwice, Poland

• Zodiac Sign: Gemini

• Nationality: German

Now stay tuned as in this section of

Lukas Podolski biography

we want to share some more information about

Lukas Podolski childhood

.

Lukas Podolski Early Life

Podolski was born in Gliwice, in Poland's southern province of Slask, to a footballer father, Valdemar Podolski, and a handball player mother, Krystyna Podolska. His father played for a club in Gliwice in the 1970s and early 1980s, and Kristina was a player of the Polish women's national handball team.

Lukas Podolski's birthplace in Silesia was a German territory until 1945 (the former eastern territory of Germany), but when he was two years old Podolski's family was recognized as descendants of eastern immigrants, and he and his parents moved to what was then West Germany.

The family moved to the town of Bergheim, near Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia, and although he became a German citizen, he was proud to be Polish and spoke to his family in Polish. He was also a fan of his native football club, Gurnik Zabze, and loved the Polish food, music and culture.

He started playing football with his hometown club, FC Bergheim 2000 e.V., where he played in the junior league until 1995. He was then spotted by the scouts of FC Cologne, where he arrived at the age of 10 to continue his training.

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Lukas Podolski Profile

Lukas Podolski began his football career in 1991 with the youth team Jugend 07 Bergheim and moved to the D-youth team of 1. FC Köln in 1995. As a C-youth player, he was coached by Willi Breuer.

He was trained in Koln and made his debut in the first team at a very young age, in 2003, scoring 10 goals, but he could not avoid the relegation of Koln, who finished last in the league. He scored his first goal against

on 13 December 2003 in a 1:1 draw. He scored two goals against Hertha on 16 December in a 3:0 win and against

in a 1:0 win. He scored his first professional double in the second leg match against Hansa Rostock on 15 May 2004 which ended 4-0.

In the 2004-2005 season, he played in the second division, winning the top scorer's prize and leading his team to the title win and then to the promotion. On 30 August 2004 against Frankfurt, he scored his first goal in the Bundesliga 2, securing a 2-0 victory for Koln. On 17 October he scored three goals in the match against RW Oberhausen, which ended 3-2 for Koln. Five days later he scored a double against RW Essen.

On 23 January 2005, he scored four goals in the eighteenth matchday of the German second division against E. Cottbus, which was won 5-3. On 22 May, on the last day of the league, he scored a hat-trick against

, which ended 4-0. After winning the top scorer title with 25 goals, he was called up for the Germany national squad for the Confederations Cup.

In the 2005-2006 season he played 25 games and scored 12 goals in the Bundesliga, but despite this Koln were relegated again. Because of this, he was nicknamed Prinz Poldi. He scored his first goal of the season on the third day of the Bundesliga on 27 August 2005 against 1. Kaiserslautern, which was lost 3-2. On the fifth day on 17 September against Borussia Monchengladbach, he scored the first of his team's two goals with a left-footed shot on an assist from Lell, the match ending 2-1 in Koln's favor.

On 4 March, he scored his first double of the season against Hertha Berlin, the match being won 4-2 by Koln. On the last day of the Bundesliga, against

on 13 May 2006, he scored 2 goals; the match ended 4-2 in favor of Koln. Podolski finished the season with a tally of 33 games and 12 goals, which earned him a call-up to the 2006 World Cup in

.

Now stay tuned as in this section of Lukas Podolski biography we want to share some more information about his Bayern career.

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Bayern Munich

He moved to

in June 2006 for 7.8 million Euros. With the Bavarian club, he won a

, a German Cup and a League Cup. He scored his first goal in the UEFA

against

, which ended 2-0 to the Bavarians. On 14 October 2006 he scored a goal in the league against Hertha Berlin finished 4-2.

In the return match on March 3, 2007, he also scored 1 goal and made 2 assists, the match ended 3-2 for Bayern Munich. After beating

in the round of 16, Bayern faced AC Milan in the quarterfinals on April 3, where they drew 2-2 in Milan and were defeated 2-0 in Munich and eliminated from the tournament.

In his second season, he faced competition from Luca Toni, Franck Ribéry and Miroslav Klose. He scored two goals against

in the UEFA Cup on 8 November, the game ending 2-2. In the round of 16, he faced Aberdeen, a Scottish side, in the return leg (2-2 in the first leg) on 21 February, scoring yet another double in the tournament.

In the round of 16, Bayern beat the Anderlecht team and Podolski scored a goal in the first leg (5-0). On 29 March 2008, he scored a goal in the 1-1 draw against Nurnberg. The team lost in the semifinals against Zenit St. Petersburg, 1:1 in the first leg and a shocking 4:0 in the return for the Russian team. In the second-to-last day of the Bundesliga against Duisburg, he scored a double.

In his third season, on 15 August 2008, he scored his first league goal in the 2-2 win over Hamburg. In the UEFA Champions League round of 16 against Sporting Lisbon, he contributed to a 7-1 victory with a brace. On May 12, 2009, he was the star of a great match against Bayer Leverkusen, where he not only scored 1 goal but also made 2 assists. The match ended 3-0.

Return to Koln

Podolski returned to 1. FC Koln for the 2009/10 season. His contract ran until the summer of 2013. In order to finance part of the transfer fee, a welcome match was held against FC Bayern on 24 July, which was broadcast live by RTL and ended 0:2. In addition, the transfer fee was partly financed by an investor. However, Podolski's scoring rate fell far short of expectations in his first season; after scoring his first goal on matchday five, he did not score again until matchday 25 against his former club Bayern Munich.

Despite a torn lateral ligament before the winter break, the 2010/11 season was better for Podolski, with 13 goals in 32 games, making him the ninth-highest scorer in the league. At the start of the second half of the season, he also became the new team captain of 1. FC Koln under coach Frank Schaefer. With 44 points and tenth place, the team showed an upward trend that was to continue under the new Norwegian coach Stale Solbakken in the 2011/12 season. Solbakken, however, first appointed Pedro Geromel, who was the same age as Podolski, as the new captain.

Podolski himself played a successful season and, with 18 goals, continued his performances of earlier years as the fourth-best scorer in the Bundesliga. He scored his 50th Bundesliga goal in the match against Hannover 96 on 11 March 2011. Nevertheless, the team got deeper and deeper into the relegation battle in the second half of the season and ended up in a direct relegation place on the last matchday after a 0:4 defeat against Bayern Munich. After four years in the Bundesliga, Koln was once again relegated to the second division and Podolski left his youth club for the second time after his third Bundesliga relegation with them.

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Arsenal

On 30 April 2012, the official website of Koln announced that from 1 July 2012 Lukas Podolski will play for Arsenal, who bought him for 11 million Euros. He first chose the number 22 shirt but it was occupied by Francis Coquelin, so he decided to take the number 9 shirt which had been vacated by Park Chu-Young, who was put on the sidelines with an anonymous number 30 shirt. On 2 September 2012, he scored his first goal in the Gunners' shirt in the 2-0 win over Liverpool.

Podolski then scored a goal from a free-kick against Southampton in the 4th day of the Premier League, a match played on 15 September and won 6-1. On 18 September he scored his first goal in the UEFA Champions League against Montpellier, which they won 2-1. His second goal in European competition came on matchday two on 3 October against Olympiakos at the Emirates Stadium, with the London side winning 3-1. On 23 January 2013, in the 19th matchday of the season against West Ham United, he became the first player of the season to score a goal and make 3 assists in a single match, which ended 5-1.

He played his first game of the 2013/2014 season on 17 August 2013 in a 3-1 home defeat to Aston Villa. In the second game of the season, he scored a brace in the 3-1 win over the Fulham. On 27 August 2013, he provided an assist for the first of Aaron Ramsey's two goals as the Gunners beat Fenerbahçe in the Champions League play-offs. He was subsequently injured with a muscle strain that kept him out of action for three months.

He returned to the pitch on 26 December 2013, scoring the third goal as Arsenal beat West Ham United 3-1. On 24 January 2014, he scored his first brace and first goals in the FA Cup competition in the round of 16 home game against Coventry City (4-0). On 16 February 2014, he scored again in the FA Cup in a 2-1 home win over Liverpool. Thanks to this victory, his team reached the quarter-finals. On 17 May 2014, he won the FA Cup, defeating Hull City in the final.

The new season opened with a 3-0 win for

over Manchester City to win the Community Shield, although Podolski did not play. He made his

debut that season in the 1-1 draw against Leicester, coming on as a substitute for Yaya Sanogo. However, the great competition in attack did not allow him to have much space. In the Champions League match against Anderlecht, he scored the decisive 2-1 goal in the last minutes of the match. Again in Europe, he scored twice in the match against

.

Now stay tuned as in this section of Lukas Podolski biography we want to share some more information about Inter career.

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Inter Milan

On 5 January 2015, Podolski moved to Inter Milan in the Italian

on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut a day later when he was substituted for Zdravko Kuzmanovic in the 54th minute of the match in the 1-1 draw against Juventus in the Derby d'Italia. In early February 2015, he was left out of Milan's Europa League squad. Of newly arrived players who had already played for another club in the Champions League that season, each club was allowed to add a maximum of one player, and coach Roberto Mancini opted for Xherdan Shaqiri, signed from FC Bayern Munich during the winter break.

Podolski scored his first goal for Inter on 28 April, matchday 33 of Serie A, when he scored the 2-1 winner against Udinese Calcio in the 65th minute of the game. He has started in eight of his 17 league appearances, scoring just one goal.

Galatasaray

He was recruited by Turkish first division side Galatasaray for the 2015/16 season, signing a three-year contract with an option to extend it for a further year. He made his first competitive appearance for the club on 8 August 2015, winning the Turkish Super Cup with them in a 1-0 victory over Bursaspor.

In his league debut on 15 August 2015 (Matchday 1), he scored the 81st-minute goal in a 2-2 draw away to Sivasspor. On 26 May 2016, he scored the 1-0 winner in the cup final and was voted player of the match. He started the 2016/17 season again by winning the Supercup (against Beşiktaş Istanbul).

Vissel Kobe

After the end of the 2016/17

season, Podolski moved to Japan to join

in the 2017 J1 League season, which was already at its halfway point. The transfer fee was €2.6 million. He made his competitive debut on 29 July 2017 in a home match against Omiya Ardija, he scored two goals. In the last match of the 2019 season, which he finished eighth with Kobe, Podolski scored three goals in a 4-1 win over relegated Jubilo Iwata.

On New Year's Day 2020, at the opening sporting event of Tokyo's New National Stadium, Podolski and his team won the Japanese Emperor's Cup for the first time. After that, his contract with the Japanese first division club was terminated.

Antalyaspor

On 23 January 2020, he was signed by Turkish side

on a free transfer. On 9 February, he made his debut with his new club in the league in the 2-2 draw at home to Kayserispor. On 23 February, in his third appearance, he scored in the 89th minute, two minutes after entering the field, the winning goal at home against Yeni Malatyaspor (1-2).

Now stay tuned as in this section of

Lukas Podolski biography

we want to share some more information about Germany national team career.

Germany National Team

In 2004, Podolski, a Bundesliga 2 player, was selected by Rudi Völler, the coach of the German football team, for the 2004 European Championship, where he was not a first-team player. He was given 45 minutes of playing time during the tournament, in the 1-2 loss in the third group match against the Czech Republic.

Podolski was voted the greatest talent of the 2006 World Cup. The striker of Die Mannschaft beat Cesc Fabregas, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Valencia and Tranquillo Barnetta to get the award. The German succeeded American Landon Donovan, who took the title four years earlier in Japan and South Korea. Before the World Cup, the young striker was considered one of the German team's biggest talents and he lived up to that expectation during the tournament. With three goals, he had a major impact on reaching the semi-finals.

Podolski was also part of the German squad at the 2008 European Championship, the 2010 World Cup, the 2012 European Championship, the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 European Championship. His teammates and he reached the final at the 2008 European Championship but lost to Spain in that event. He won the 2014 World Cup with Germany. He appeared twice in that tournament, in two group matches.

Podolski played his 100th international game for Germany on 17 June 2012, scoring a goal during a 2-1 win over Denmark. Podolski retired as an international in March 2017. He bid farewell in a friendly match against England, in which he scored the only goal. Now stay tuned as in this section of Lukas Podolski biography we want to share some more information about his playing style.

Style of Play

Podolski has an extremely powerful shot on goal - especially with his stronger left foot - and a direct and straightforward style, with which he often gives targeted assists and scores pinpoint goals from long range. He is therefore also considered a good free-kick taker. Formerly used in an attacking duo with Miroslav Klose, in the national team he mostly played on the left side as a hanging point, but could also play in the centre of the attack, as he did for long periods at 1. FC Koln. At FC Arsenal he was mainly used as a playmaker behind the front line, where he often played in a variety of attacking positions. He also played in the left-wing.

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Reception

Podolski is widely renowned in the football world and amongst the critics and fans as one of the best German strikers of all time. He is the third most capped player of the Mannschaft and the third most goal scorer in the history of the national team, two records that just prove his status as one of the best German players.

Goal Celebration

Lukas Podolski has scored many goals during his career as a striker, but as he never had a signature goal celebration for himself, we have seen him celebrating his goals scored at the club and international level in different ways.

Lukas Podolski outside Football

In December 2016, Podolski released a song together with the rapper Mo-Torres and the band Cat Ballou called "Liebe deine Stadt" (Love your city), which reached number 26 in the German music charts.

Since 2014, Podolski has been the owner of his own fashion label LP STRASSENKICKER, which sells leisure and sportswear designed especially for him. In addition to worldwide online sales, the fashion label has its own flagship store on Cologne's Alter Markt.

Podolski opened an ice cream parlor under the name "Ice Cream United" in the Belgian quarter of Cologne in June 2017. On 6 January 2018, together with restaurateurs of Turkish origin from Cologne's Eigelstein district, he opened the kebab restaurant "Mangal Döner" on Chlodwigplatz in Cologne, which he co-owns and which bears his name with the number 10 as an addition. According to his own account, he has a special relationship with the food kebab and ice cream, having grown up with the former after immigrating to Germany. Podolski also has a stake in the brewery "Zum Prinzen" on Cologne's Alter Markt.

Lukas Podolski Personal Life

In this section of Lukas Podolski biography, stay tuned as we take a deeper look into his personal life, sharing some insights about

Lukas Podolski life story

and

Lukas Podolski religion

.

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Family, Children and Relationships

In his personal life, he has been in a relationship with a woman named Monika Puchalski since 2004, and they had a child together in April 2008. They married in April 2011 in Cologne and had a wedding ceremony in June 2011 in a church in the village of Kamionna, Poland.

Philanthropy

In 2010, he founded his own charity, the Lukas Podolski Foundation, which implements sports and educational projects for disadvantaged children and young people. Among other things, Podolski supports the Sepp Herberger Foundation, the charity Die Arche and the campaigns of the German Bone Marrow Donor Centre.

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

Legal Issues

The Breitbart News Network used a 2014 photograph of Podolski wearing a German national football team jersey to illustrate an article about human trafficking in Spain in August 2017. After Podolski's lawyers announced a cease-and-desist letter, the editors stated that there was no evidence that Podolski "belonged to a smuggling gang".

Lukas Podolski Career Statistics

In this section of Lukas Podolski biography, we will take a look at his career stats on the club and international level.

Club

During his career as a footballer, which started in 2002, Lukas Podolski has played a total of 556 matches and scored 200 goals in all competitions. His best goal ratio was his first spell at FC Koln where he scored 51 goals in 85 matches.

International

Lukas Podolski has played a total of 130 matches for German national team, scoring 49 goals. Podolski scored 12 of his goals at 2006, where he was one of the best players of the World Cup.

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Lukas Podolski Honors

Podolski has won many titles during his career which include Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, FA Cup, Turkish Cup, and Japanese Emperor's Cup among others. He has also won 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany.

Of his notable individual titles and awards, we can include FIFA World Cup Best Young Player, UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament, kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season and some others.

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