Profile: Lukas Podolski

Lukas Podolski described by his former coach Huub Stevens as “a young Johan Cruyff, a young Ryan Giggs or Wayne Rooney” was born on April 6, 1985 in Gliwice, Poland. Nicknamed “Poldi”, this German striker sometimes wander around the midfield area trying to snatch the ball for a sprint to the net. His cold-blooded finishing touch gives goaltenders something to fear in the field.

This young player who struggled in his early years is expected to contend in the Gillette Best Young Player Award come FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany.

After struggling early on, the kid became the highest scoring 18 year old player in Bundesliga’s 43-year history by tallying a total of 10 goals in 19 appearances.

His excellent ascent to the world of soccer made him the first second-division player in 31 years to play on the national team on his debut for Rudi Voller’s Germany on June 6, 2004 against Hungary.

Likewise, Podolski played as the squad’s youngest for Germany at Euro 2004 and brilliantly scored 3 goals in the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2005.

His contract with Cologne runs until 2007; and up until that time, both Barcelona and Bayern could only watch from the sidelines keeping a close eye on him for a possible snatch off his team. Hamburger SV and Werder Bremen have signified their interest on him as well.

Below are the highlights of Lukas career history:

03-04 FC Cologne 10 Goals, 19 Games
04-05 FC Cologne 24 Goals, 30 Games
05-06 FC Cologne 8 Goals, 25 Games
His talent coupled with a magnetic personality and communication prowess uplifted his charisma enough to have an LP-10 boots collection from Adidas and front cover picture alongside Rooney and Ronaldinho in a new computer game. Podolski is a combination of Rudi Voller’s poise and character together with the marketing potential of David Beckham. Despite his rise to fame he has kept both Oliver Kahn and Michael Ballack as his mentor. This kind of humility will ensure a massive support from the masses for the years to come.

His performance in World Cup 2006 may further boost him to greater heights. Watch out for him!

BOOKMARK FOR REFERENCE