Lukas Podolski, born on June 4, 1985 in Gliwice, Silesia, Poland, is a German footballer of Polish origin. He plays as a striker for Bayern Munich and for the German national football team.
Podolski's father Waldemar Podolski was also a professional football player playing for a number of Polish clubs, while his mother played handball for So?nica Gliwice. In 1987, when Lukas Podolski was two years old, his parents settled from People's Republic of Poland to West Germany. Podolski grew up in Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, and later in Pulheim, both near Cologne.
It was at 1. FC Köln 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 November 22, 2003.
On June 1 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 the August 11 2006 with a 2:0 victory against Borussia Dortmund coming on as a substitute on the 88 minute.
On September 6, 2006, Podolski netted 4 goals in a Euro 2008 qualifying game against San Marino, which made him only third German after Gerd Müller and Michael Ballack to score 4 goals in an international match. The final score of the match in Serravalle was 0-13. In Germany's 4-1 win against Slovakia in Bratislava on October 11 2006, he scored the first and the last German goal, both on assists by Miroslav Klose. On July 6, 2006, Podolski was announced as the first Gillette Best Young Player. His club titles won 2. Bundesliga: 2005 and German Super Cup: 2007 and for the National Team: Confederations Cup Bronze medallist: 2005 and World Cup Bronze medallist: 2006.
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