http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lukas-Podolski-c22896: FC Koln’s striking asset - Bundesliga Special
Germany have never been short on quality strikers. They have produced the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Miroslav-Klose-c26049, Jurgen Klinsmann and Rudi Voller. Podolski belongs to the modern generation of strikers and is certainly a free scoring player for his country. He is currently into his second reign as FC Koln player, having previously represented them for a three-year period (2003-2006).
He has an outstanding scoring rate for both his club and the country and is considered amongst one of the top strikers in German football.
The striker started his playing career by representing Koln’s youth side in 1995. His relentless skills and controlled ball possession earned him a place in the Billy Goats academy where he spent seven years. During that time, the player worked hard improving upon his skills in order to earn a place into the senior line-up. In 2002, Podolski was selected to play for Koln’s second string outfit but managed only two appearances before receiving a call-up into the first team squad, the following year.
The German international grabbed his opportunity with both hands and had an outstanding debut season with the club. From the 19 league appearances, the player amassed 10 goals, creating a record for most number of goals by an 18-year-old in his first 19 games.
Koln were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, the following year but it did not have any effect on the striker’s performances. Podolski performed a lot better during the 2004-05 season by scoring 24 league goals from 30 appearances. His breathtaking performance led FC Koln back amongst the big boys by clinching on to the 2. Bundesliga title.
The Poland born player impressed the Poland national team coach with his excellent technique and skills. The manager requested the national selectors to give the player a chance to make his debut for the country but the suggestion was overruled. At that time the player was eligible to play for http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Poland-c2983 despite inviting interest from the German national side.
The player also seemed interested to represent the country of his berth but unfortunately he wasn’t provided with a single opportunity, a chance which the Polish Football Federation still rues. The selectors turned down an offer to include Podolski into the squad by saying, "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."
The lack of interest from the Polish selectors prompted that time http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hungary-c2920 and soon became an integral part of the country’s national side. The player so far has 42 international goals to his name from 90 caps since making his debut in 2004.
The 26-year-old managed to net 12 goals on his team’s return to the first division from 32 matches. Following a consistent run of form, the German invited interest from the fellow Bundesliga outfits. The interest was also evident from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 where the top Premier League clubs were keen on signing the inspirational striker. After some long negotiations, Podolski was sold to the German giants Bayern Munich in 2006. He represented Munich for three years but couldn’t find the same goal scoring feet as he did with Koln.
He made a total of 72 league appearances for the Bavarians, scoring 15 times in return. During his spell at Allianz Arena, Podolski hung on to three accolades, one of them being the league title in 2007-2008. He also won the DFB-Pokal and DFB Ligapokal during his Munich career. The player was given the FIFA World Cup best young player award in 2006. He won the Silver Boot in UEFA Euro 2008.The player is now back playing for the Billy Goats after parting ways with Bayern in 2009.
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