In Pod we trust

SPORTSMAN

Galatasaray Istanbul

After a short stint in the Serie A at Inter Milan, Lukas Podolski went to Istanbul for the 2015/16 season. In the megacity on the Bosporus he signed a 3-year contract and scored his first goal during his league debut on 15 August 2015.

It’s no wonder Lukas felt at home so quickly in Istanbul. Living in multi-ethnic Cologne, he had lots of opportunities to experience the Turkish lifestyle and culture, and while growing up in his hometown of Bergheim, he shared the local football pitch with lads from a wide variety of countries, many of them with Turkish roots. And naturally his old teammates are now proud that “their Poldi” is playing for Turkey’s biggest and most famous side. And, of course, so is Lukas.

Sportsman

Arsenal Football Club

Time for a change. In the 2012/13 season, Lukas Podolski made the switch to the Premier League and joined Arsenal FC. He opened his account for the Gunners in his third league game on 2 September 2012, scoring in the 2-0 win against Liverpool.

And contrary to the expectations of many sporting pundits, he settled in quickly in England. Neither driving on the left nor the lack of his beloved Karneval season could stop this happy-natured sportsman from feeling at home in Highbury. And the colours worn by the Gunners were also no problem at all.

In terms of football shirt sales, Lukas Podolski was quickly catapulted into the top ten most popular footballers in the United Kingdom in 2012.

SPORTSMAN

National Team

Six big tournaments. More than 120 international matches. World champion.

By the age of 21, Lukas Podolski had already scored 16 international goals. That is an achievement matched by none other. On 17 June 2012, at the age of 27 years and 13 days, he played his 100th international. In so doing, he replaced the legendary Franz Beckenbauer as the youngest German ‘centurion’ and up until March 2013 was the youngest player throughout Europe that had reached this milestone in international games.

Lukas Podolski feels at home in the national team. Often, time spent with ‘the German eleven’ is a welcome break from the fast-paced life of league football. And even the intense competition and the rivalry for the few places in the sun do not unsettle him – on the contrary: he is a sportsman, lives for competition and is always ready to face every contest.

Sportsman

1. FC Köln

Although Lukas Podolski now plies his trade for Galatasaray Istanbul, he remains a cult figure for 1. FC Köln, its fans and life around Geißbockheim. He will long be remembered as a hard-working player on the pitch and someone who not only wore the badge on his shirt, but in his heart. But his roots are actually in Poland.

Lukas Podolski was not born in Cologne and didn’t take his first steps in the shadow of the city’s cathedral towers. He arrived in the Rhineland at the age of two and a half, coming with his parents from their home town of Gliwice. He quickly showed his talent as a football player, playing in Cologne’s youth team and spending a good deal of his time in the stadium’s famous south stand. He knows all the songs and he’s quite aware of what the fans expect from the players on the pitch. He truly became one of them and these days is probably more ‘Kölsch’ than many a Cologne native in the heart of Ehrenfeld – even though he currently lives on the Bosporus.

Sportsman

FC Bayern Munich

"Mia san mia" (Bayern Munich's well-known statement of confidence in Bavarian dialect: We are who we are) and Podolski is Podolski.

On 10 July 2006, Podolski left the Rhine for the Isar and signed a four-year contract with Bayern Munich. For an authentic Rhinelander, Munich can seem just as far away as London, if not further. But the Bavarians made a big effort to make him feel right at home in a team that contained many of his colleagues from the national side.

Lukas Podolski stayed in Munich for three years – three turbulent years! He won the cup and league double in 2007/08, experienced four different head coaches and some unpleasant injuries, unforgettable nights in the UEFA Cup and Champions League, and a little yearning for his home on the Rhine.

During the winter break of 2008/09 his return to 1. FC Köln at the end of the season was negotiated. The fact that Bayern agreed to a specially arranged friendly against his new club was a gesture that does them enormous credit. Lukas still has close ties to the club and many of its players to this day.

Sportsman

FC Bergheim 2000

From sporting roots to the Lukas-Podolski-Sportpark in Bergheim, Cologne – the story long before the ‘summer dream’ of the 2006 World Cup.



The youth team Jugend 07 Bergheim – the birthplace of the strongest left foot since Cologne hero Harald Konopka. This is where Lukas Podolski’s sporting roots lie. From 1991 to 1995, the energetic young player was an active and enthusiastic member of the youth team of FC 07 Bergheim before making the move to the youth set-up of 1. FC Köln in 1995.



He still has close contacts with many of his old friends from his Bergheim days – and his connections to his home town and the club remain firm to this day. Lukas Podolski visits FC Bergheim home games as often as he can and supports the team and club not only from the stands, but also in many other ways. Home is where the heart is, as they say.