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Farewell, Lukas Podolski

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I do not write about football or footballers much, but I am an avid fan of the German national team since the age of 15. That is almost half my life now! Last night was a sad night, as it was Lukas Podolski’s last international game.

podolski-winning-goal-final-game-against-englan
Lukas Podolski cheering after scoring his last goal in his final International Game. What a star!

Born on the 4th of June, 1985, Lukas will be 32 this year. Although he was born in Poland, he has German nationality, which allowed him to play for the German national team.  As a youth, he started off his career in Cologne. He later on joined Bayern Munich, then returned to his home town in Cologne. In 2012 he signed with Arsenal for a fee of £11,000,000. This is the club, together with Cologne in which he shined the most. Currently he is still playing with Galatasaray, a turkish football club, with a salary of around £2,500,000 each year.

He was capped by the German National team in 2004, and since then he became the third most capped player in Germany history, with 130 caps, and also the third highest goalscorer in German history, with 49 goals. In 2013, Podolski scored the fastest goal in German history; he scored after only 9 seconds in a friendly game against Ecuador.

After the Euro Cup 2016, Podolski announced his retirement from international football in order to focus on his family life. He married Monika Puchalski in 2011, and together they have a son, aged 8 (born 2008).

podolski+son

I have watched Podolski’s career closely with the national team and he has been one of my favourite players. Last night’s win against England would not have happened if it wasn’t for his unbelievable winning goal. What a tribute, and a great way to finish his career with the German team!

Watch the goal here:

Watch his top 10 goals below:

My Life, People worth Remembering, Steffi Says

My confession…

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A lot of people, think it is a bit strange for me to support the German National Football team, rather than any other team which is much more popular over here in Malta; namely England and Italy. I do not know how many times I had to answer why I am a supporter of the German team….

Today, I will write it on my blog, and for a reason.
Today, it is his birthday. 

Back in 2002, while I was watching one of the World Cups that I Fußball WM Deutschland - Südkoreaactually vividly remember, I have spotted this really amazing goalkeeper. He conceded only one goal in the course of the cup until the final, in which the German team lost against Brazil with the score of 2-0. I was impressed by his skills and precision, and this is when football made sense to me. This is when I chose my team. I am writing about the one and only… Oliver Kahn.

Today, he is 45 years old.

Among the honours and awards along the years:

  • He was voted the Best player and Goalkeeper during the 2002 World Cup which is in my opinion very well deserved.
  • He has also been given the title for the World Goalkeeper of the Year in 1999, 2001 and 2002.
  • Others worth mentioning are four consecutive years (1999, 2000, 2001, 2002) as UEFA Club Football Awards: Best Goal-keeper
  • Gaining third place in 2001 and 2002 in the Ballon d’Or.

In remembrance: