Ray Parlour

Personal information
Full name	Raymond Parlour
Date of birth	(1973-03-07) 7 March 1973 (age 39)
Place of birth	Barking, London, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
1989–1992	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1992–2004	Arsenal	339	(22)
2004–2007	Middlesbrough	46	(0)
2007	Hull City	15	(0)
Total		400	(22)
National team
1992–1994	England U21	12	(0)
1998	England B	1	(0)
1999–2000	England	10	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Raymond "Ray" Parlour (born 7 March 1973 in Barking, London, UK), is a retired English footballer. He spent his career playing for Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Hull City. During his Arsenal career he was nicknamed "The Romford Pelé";^[2] although the nickname was given with an ironic sense of humour,^[3] on account of his solid performance but unglamorous image. He has been described as an "unsung hero"^[4] and praised as a "fans' favourite" for his high-energy performances.^[5] He is now a pundit on television, as well as on radio stations BBC Radio 5 Live and Talksport.

Football career[link]

Arsenal[link]

Parlour is most famous for his time at Arsenal, where he played for 14 years. He joined Arsenal as a trainee in 1989, and made his debut for the Gunners against Liverpool on January 29, 1992, where he conceded a penalty in a 2–0 defeat. Parlour continued to be a bit-part player for the next few years, and was more noted for several disciplinary problems (such as a run-in with a Hong Kong taxi driver while on tour). He did however make 12 appearances for the England U21 team during this time...

He properly broke through in 1994–95, and played in Arsenal's European Cup Winners' Cup final loss to Real Zaragoza that season (having been an unused sub in the Gunners' 1–0 triumph over Parma the previous season). However, Parlour only fully developed as a player after the arrival of Arsène Wenger as manager in 1996; he became a regular fixture playing on the right wing or in central midfield for Arsenal; in 1997–98 Arsenal won the Double and Parlour proved instrumental. He was man-of-the-match in the Gunners' FA Cup Final win over Newcastle United that season; he set up Nicolas Anelka for Arsenal's second goal in a 2–0 win.^[6] However, he missed out on the 1998 World Cup that summer (England coach Glenn Hoddle preferring Spurs' Darren Anderton instead).

Parlour finally made his England debut as a substitute in a Euro 2000 qualifier against Poland on March 27, 1999. He won ten caps for his country but did not score any goals; the closest he came was in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Finland on October 11, 2000. Parlour 'scored' with a 30-yard strike which hit the crossbar and was incorrectly designated by the linesman not to have gone over the goal-line;^[7] the match finished 0–0. Parlour did not feature in any tournament finals; a knee injury forced him to withdraw from England's squad for Euro 2000. His final cap came in a friendly against Italy on November 15, 2000; Parlour was called up into the squad several times by new coach Sven-Göran Eriksson, but he never made it onto the pitch under the Swede.

Parlour continued to enjoy success with Arsenal for another four years (winning another Double in 2002), but generally received little acclaim in the media compared with many of his more illustrious Arsenal team-mates, especially as he was almost constantly living in the shadow of Patrick Vieira for much of his time at the club. He finally claimed his place in the spotlight with a 30-yard strike to open the scoring in the 2002 FA Cup Final against Chelsea, which was famously pre-empted by Soccer AM's Tim Lovejoy with "Don't worry, it's only Ray Parlour"; Arsenal won 2–0, with the second goal from Fredrik Ljungberg. In total, with Arsenal, Parlour won three FA Premier League titles, four FA Cups, one League Cup and one European Cup Winners' Cup having played 464 games and scoring 32 goals in all competitions.

In March 2000, he hit a hattrick in a 4–2 away win at Werder Bremen in a UEFA Cup quarter final tie. Arsenal went on to reach the final of the competition that year. Parlour was the only Arsenal player successful from the spot in their shootout defeat to Galatasaray. Seven months later, he followed it up with another hattrick in a 5–0 demolition of Newcastle United at Highbury. In April 2001, he struck a spectacular 30-yard winner as Arsenal beat Valencia 2–1 in the UEFA Champions' League Quarter Final 1st leg tie at Highbury. Another one of Parlour's finest moments in Arsenal colours came in November 2003, when as stand-in captain, he led Arsenal to a famous 5–1 win against Internazionale at San Siro. Finally, one of the crowning moments of Parlour's career was his goal from 30 yards in the 2002 FA Cup Final against Chelsea. These performances over the years have led many Arsenal fans to believe that he is one of the most underrated players of his generation.^[8]

Middlesbrough[link]

He moved to Middlesbrough in mid-2004, although he still remains a fans' favourite at Arsenal. He was recently named the 19th greatest player in the club's history. He played 60 games for Boro in two and a half years, and was an unused substitute in Middlesbrough's appearance in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final against Sevilla, which they lost 4–0. Parlour was released from his contract on 25 January 2007 and for a brief period trained with old club Arsenal in order to regain fitness with a view to finding a new club.^[9]

Hull City[link]

On 9 February 2007, he signed for Hull City until the end of the 2006–07 season.^[10] After helping City avoid relegation, it was confirmed on 1 June that Parlour was not offered a new contract and this meant he was released.^[11]

Parlour has emerged as one of the most influential players for The England Legends, a 16-man squad of former internationals who have played Italy, Germany, Scotland, Ireland and The Rest of The World.^[12]

Marriage[link]

Parlour married his wife Karen in 1998; the couple had three children before separating in 2001. In July 2004, they agreed a divorce settlement which awarded Karen Parlour two houses and a £250,000 lump sum but the issue of maintenance was not agreed. Ray Parlour offered Karen £120,000 p.a. on the basis that this would meet all of her and their children's needs, but she wanted more. Initially the court awarded her £212,500 a year, but both parties were unsatisfied with this and appealed.

The Court of Appeal increased Karen's award to £440,000 p.a. However, this would only be paid for five years to enable her to put aside £250,000 each year to build up her own capital resources. The case brought with it media speculation that future divorce cases would bring people a more equal share in their former partner's future earnings, and a possible increased usage of prenuptial agreements.^[13]

Honours[link]

Career statistics[link]

^[14][15]

(* Includes FA Cup match against Sheffield United of which the result was declared void, but Arsenal still include it in their statistics.)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ray Parlour

• Ray Parlour career stats at Soccerbase
• Ray Parlour article on Arsenal-land

Neil Ruddock (born 9 May 1968), nicknamed Razor Ruddock is an English former professional footballer, actor and television personality. As a player he played as a central defender from 1986 to 2003.

He made his debut at Millwall (having been associated with the club since age 13), and he had a long career playing for Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton, Liverpool, West Ham, Crystal Palace, and finally a short-lived spell as a player/coach at Swindon Town (working under Director of Football Roy Evans in a two-tier managerial structure). He was capped once by England.

Club career[link]

Southampton[link]

Ruddock joined Southampton in February 1989 in a £200,000 transfer from Millwall.^[1] A rugged, uncompromising defender, he soon became popular with the Southampton fans especially after confidently tucking away a penalty against Newcastle United on 1 April in only his sixth game for the club, thus helping the "Saints" earn their first victory in 18 matches and start Southampton on a climb away from the relegation zone. His goal celebration after the 89th minute penalty became known as the "Ruddock stomp". (Ruddock missed his next two penalties allowing Matt Le Tissier to take over for the next season.^[2])

Despite early disciplinary problems at The Dell, Ruddock's talents as a confident, left-footed defender earned him England Under-21 honours. Powerful in the air, he could tackle strongly but was also able to bring the ball forward out of defence.^[1]

In the 1991-92 season, Ruddock was a member of the Southampton side that reached the final of the Zenith Data Systems Cup, where they were beaten in extra time 3–2 by Nottingham Forest.^[3]

After three years on the South Coast, he was enticed back to Tottenham by Terry Venables in May 1992, with the tribunal setting the transfer fee at a "ridiculous" £750,000.^[1]

Liverpool[link]

Ruddock was signed by Liverpool from Tottenham Hotspur on a £2,5 million transfer.^[4] Whilst at Liverpool, Ruddock was famously involved in an on-field scuffle with Manchester United star Eric Cantona. Ruddock responded to Cantona's taunts about his weight by turning down the Frenchman's collar (in his after dinner speaking, Ruddock says of the incident- "trust me to pick the only Frenchman around who wanted a tear-up"). Ruddock was never far from controversy in his time at Liverpool, with tabloids highlighting his personal weight problems, parenting issues,^[5] womanizing,^[6] marital issues and drink driving infringements, including an infamous incident involving his "Porsche and a blonde".^[7] In 1995, he was absolved of fracturing Peter Beardsley's jaw with an elbow in a testimonial match, to which Beardsley contemplated legal action on the grounds that Ruddock acted deliberately, but later decided to withdraw charges.^[8] In 1996, Ruddock's tackle on Andrew Cole of Manchester United in a reserve game at Anfield left the player with two broken legs, and Ruddock claimed innocence, while Cole said he believed Ruddock did not intend harm.^[9] However, in a 2010 interview with Talksport, he jokingly refers to the incident that resulted in Cole suffering two broken legs in 1997 as "not big, and not clever", adding "but it was great", and that "I didn't mean to break both of his legs if I'm honest, I only meant to break one".^[10]

Arguably his finest game for Liverpool came on 20 January 1996, when he scored twice for them in a 5-0 home league win over Leeds United.^[11]

At Liverpool, Ruddock was also part of the squad of the 1990s under Roy Evans, known infamously as the "Spice Boys", that included the likes of David James, Robbie Fowler, Jamie Redknapp, Jason McAteer, Steve McManaman and Stan Collymore, but left in 1998 just as new coach Gérard Houllier embarked on a French revolution at Anfield.

West Ham United[link]

In July 1998 Ruddock moved to West Ham United for a fee of £300,000 making his debut on 15 August 1998 in a 1-0 away win against Sheffield Wednesday.^[12] In October 1999 whilst playing for West Ham, Ruddock was also involved in a bust-up with Arsenal's Patrick Vieira, with Vieira receiving a six-match ban and a £30,000 fine after spitting at Ruddock after some verbal sparring between the two.^[13]

In 56 games for West Ham he scored three goals, was booked 14 times and sent-off once, in December 1998, in a 4-0 away defeat to Leeds United, for a dangerous tackle on Harry Kewell. The Hammers finished fifth in the Premier League that season - their highest finish for 13 years - and qualified for the UEFA Cup to end a 19-year absence from European competitions.^[14]

Swindon Town[link]

In 2000, Ruddock moved to Crystal Palace on a free transfer, spending one season there before signing for Division Two side Swindon Town, where his appearance made him an instant cult figure.^{[citation needed]} He scored twice for Swindon, with goals against Colchester in the league^[15] and Hartlepool in the FA Cup.^[16] Relations turned sour when Ruddock refused to quit after being advised to do so by a specialist; during a period of time where the club was in serious financial difficulties. The club responded by appointing Steve Coppell as assistant manager and taking Ruddock's coaching duties away. The board eventually stopped paying Ruddock's wages in an attempt to drive him out. He took the club to an employment tribunal and in December 2002 received £57,000, representing money lost in wages and loyalty payments, with an agreement to terminate his contract as player-manager.^[17]

He was also accused by Crystal Palace chairman, Simon Jordan in November 2005, of "taking the team out and getting them wasted when we were fighting relegation."^[18]

International career[link]

He won four caps for the England Under-21 squad and one in 1994 for England B when he captained the team against Ireland B at Anfield. On 16 November 1994 he won his only cap for England, playing in a friendly against Nigeria when Terry Venables was national coach.^[19]

Throughout his career he battled with weight problems and was often criticised for being unfit; this is often thought to be one of the reasons he only ever gained one full cap for England.^{[citation needed]}

Honours[link]

Southampton

• Full Members Cup finalist: 1992

Liverpool

• Football League Cup winner: 1995

Television career[link]

He has appeared on A Question of Sport numerous times and was guest captain on 7 May 2004 edition.^{[citation needed]} In 2004, he appeared on the third series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!.^[20] He exploited this by recording a charity single, a version of Jungle Rock, with fellow contestants Lord Brocket, Peter Andre and Mike Read, recording as The Jungle Boys.^[21]

In 2006, he was involved in the television programme Razor Ruddock's Pass & Move Soccer School where children released by academies were coached by Ruddock.^[22]

In 2006, Ruddock helped produce Football Saved My Life a reality sports TV show for Bravo which attempted to change the lives of fifteen dysfunctional men through their involvement with football.^[20] Ruddock appeared on an episode of ITV's Fat Friends as John Fudd, where he helped save the life of a pregnant woman.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, Ruddock appeared on The Jeremy Kyle Show, talking about how his football career had affected his personal life, including his alcoholism and debauchery.^[23]

In 2011, he appeared in Celebrity Total Wipeout on BBC1, coming last.^{[citation needed]} In November 2011, he appeared in James May's Man Lab on BBC2, coaching James May on how to score a penalty kick in front of 20,000 Germans at the Homelands, Ashford, Kent. James May missed the penalty.^[24]

Personal life[link]

During Ruddock's early life, he lived in Ashford, Kent with his family. His family remain local to the Ashford area, and Ruddock is frequently seen in the local area. His nickname of "Razor" is taken from the boxer Donovan Ruddock's nickname. Donovan Ruddock's boxing career peaked at the same time Neil Ruddock was playing football.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Liverpool FC profile
• LFCHistory.net profile
• Ruddock Neil Ruddock career stats at Soccerbase
• Neil Ruddock England profile at Englandstats
• England profile

Lukas Podolski

Personal information
Full name	Lukas Josef Podolski[1]
Date of birth	(1985-06-04) 4 June 1985 (age 27)
Place of birth	Gliwice, Poland
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing position	Striker / Winger[3]
Club information
Current club	1. FC Köln
Number	10
Youth career
1991–1995	FC Jugend 07 Bergheim
1995–2002	1. FC Köln
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2004	1. FC Köln II	2	(0)
2003–2006	1. FC Köln	81	(46)
2006–2009	Bayern Munich	71	(15)
2007–2008	→ Bayern Munich II	2	(0)
2009–2012	1. FC Köln	88	(33)
2012–	Arsenal	0	(0)
National team‡
2004	Germany U-21	5	(0)
2004–	Germany	97	(43)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 May 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:11, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Lukas Josef Podolski (German pronunciation: [ˈluːkas poˈdɔlski]); born Łukasz Podolski IPA: [ˈwukaʂ poˈdɔlski]) on 4 June 1985) is a German footballer who plays as a striker or winger for 1. FC Köln and for the German national team. He is a left footed attacker known for his strong shot, technique and probing attacks from the left side.^[4]

He joined 1. FC Köln in 1995 where he broke into the first team in 2003 and made 81 appearances for the club before moving to Bayern Munich. After three years in Munich with mixed success, Podolski returned to Köln. He was first capped by Germany in 2004 and has been part of the squad in all major tournaments since then. Although he was eligible to play for Germany and Poland, Podolski chose to play for Germany.

Personal life[link]

Podolski was born to Waldemar Podolski and to Krystyna Podolska, a former member of the Polish national handball team in the Silesian industrial town of Gliwice (near Katowice), Poland.^[5]

In 1987, when Łukasz Podolski was two years old, his family emigrated from Poland to West Germany and were given Aussiedler status as a result of his paternal grandparents having German citizenship prior to WWII (Gliwice had until 1945 been a part of Germany as Gleiwitz).^[6] Podolski grew up in Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, and later in Pulheim, both near Cologne.^[7]

Podolski holds both German and Polish nationality, but has stated that he does not have a Polish passport.^[8][9][10] In an interview Podolski said that the Polish football association never cared about him until he started playing for the German U21 national team and received coverage in the media. At that point, Podolski arrived at the decision, but nevertheless "there are two hearts beating" in his chest.^[8] In an interview in the Polish Przegląd Sportowy from 2011, Podolski stated that he always wanted to play in Poland as he is a Pole but plays for the German team.^[11]

Podolski's longtime girlfriend Monika Puchalski gave birth to their first child, Louis Gabriel Podolski, on 14 April 2008.^[12][13] In April 2011, the couple married in a civil ceremony in Cologne, Germany.^[14] In June 2011, they had a church wedding in Kamionna, Węgrów County, Poland.^[15] Podolski is a fan of Górnik Zabrze.^[16]

Club career[link]

1. FC Köln[link]

Podolski began playing football at the age of six in the youth team of FC Bergheim, where he played until he joined 1. FC Köln in 1995. It was there 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 22 November 2003. Even though Köln failed to avoid a drop to the 2nd division, Podolski had shown what he could do, scoring 10 goals in his first 19 senior appearances. This was the best tally by an 18-year-old in the history of the Bundesliga.^{[citation needed]}

Though his call up to the German Euro 2004 squad brought along interest from several top clubs, Podolski stayed at Köln to help the club gain promotion in the 2004–05 season. With 24 goals, Podolski advanced to become the league's best scorer. Somewhat unusually, Podolski remained part of the Germany squad, even though he did not play in the national top-tier league.

After Köln were promoted, the pressure was on Podolski to keep the club in the Bundesliga practically singlehandedly. Podolski managed to score 12 goals in the 2005–06 season, but eventually, Köln were relegated again. It became clear that Podolski would not stay again to push them through the 2006–07 season—even more so, as Podolski was becoming an integral part of the national team.

Bayern Munich[link]

In 2006, clubs such as Liverpool F.C., Bayern Munich, Hamburger SV, SV Werder Bremen, and even Real Madrid manifested their interest in Podolski, even though he had a contract with 1. FC Köln through 2007. On 1 June 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 11 August 2006 with a 2–0 victory against Borussia Dortmund, coming on as a substitute in the 88th minute. On 9 September 2006, he came on as a second half substitute in a DFB cup game versus FC St. Pauli. Only 26 seconds after the second half started, he scored the equaliser, evening the match 1–1. On 14 October 2006, with his first Bundesliga goal for Bayern, Podolski helped to secure the club's 4–2 win over Hertha Berlin. On 26 October 2006, Podolski suffered a serious injury to his right ankle joint caused by teammate, Mark van Bommel, during a training session. Consequently, Podolski missed more than five match weeks. He returned from this injury and scored against Alemannia Aachen. He sometimes communicates with former Bayern and fellow national team striker Miroslav Klose, also a Polish-born Aussiedler, in Polish to hinder their opposition's understanding of their conversation.^[17]

When Bayern bought in Italian striker Luca Toni, "Poldi" was moved down the pecking order and received less playing time due to the coach's preference to partner Klose and Toni together instead. After a rather unhappy season at Bayern, he returned to former club Köln on 1 July 2009.^[18]

Return to 1. FC Köln[link]

After Podolski was assured by national team coach Joachim Löw that a return to 1. FC Köln would not harm his chances of international football, an agreement to sign him was agreed between Bayern Munich and Köln on 20 January 2009, although he would not return to Köln until the start of the summer transfer window. On 1 July, Podolski returned to Köln on a four-year contract, and the transfer is speculated to be around €10 million, equivalent to the fee Bayern paid to sign him in 2006.^[19][20] Köln created a website where people were able to buy pixels of an image of Lukas Podolski for €25 per 8x8 pixel square, in order to gather €1 million to reduce the cost of the transfer.^[21][22]

Having just moved from Bayern Munich, Podolski had a poor first season at Köln, scoring just three times the entire season. One of his goals however, came from a free kick against his former club to salvage a draw.

In the 2010–11 season, Podolski scored his 50th Bundesliga goal in the match against Hannover 96 in March 2011. During the entire season, Podolski scored 13 goals and 7 assists.

The 2011–12 season was the final season in his second spell for Köln. Despite the team's relegation to the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga, Podolski impressively scored 18 goals in 29 league Fußball-Bundesliga appearances.

Arsenal[link]

Podolski was linked with Premier League club Arsenal throughout the 2011 winter transfer window but no deal materialised. However, on 30 April 2012, it was officially announced that Podolski had signed for Arsenal on a long-term deal, for an undisclosed fee.^[23] He will join the Gunners once the transfer window opens on 1 July 2012.

International career[link]

Podolski playing for Germany, in 2011

International debut and breakthrough[link]

In late 2003, after several impressive performances in his first few Bundesliga games, Polish media suggested then-Polish national team coach Paweł Janas should check Podolski out, as he was still eligible to play for Poland. Janas ignored the request stating in one of the press interviews that "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." By that time Podolski was still interested in representing Poland, but as the season progressed German media increasingly highlighted his performances to suggest he should be called up to the German national team. When his full potential was finally unveiled, he had already decided to represent Germany. At the end of the season Köln were relegated, but Podolski impressed so much, that he held his debut for Rudi Völler's Germany on 6 June 2004, at age 19, in Kaiserslautern against Hungary with a late substitute appearance. He had become the first second-division player since 1975 to break into the national team.

Euro 2004[link]

Podolski played for Germany at Euro 2004, where he was the squad's youngest player. He made one substitute appearance in the game against the Czech Republic, when he came on for Torsten Frings at half-time.

World Cup 2006[link]

Podolski was selected in the Germany squad for the 2006 World Cup, where he partnered Miroslav Klose as the attack duo in the starting lineup. He scored his first ever World Cup goal in Germany's third group match against Ecuador, and both goals in the 2–0 win over Sweden in the round of 16. He became the first player since 1962 to score two goals in the first 12 minutes of a World Cup match and only the third player ever to accomplish the feat.^{[citation needed]} Germany finished third in the tournament, and while his teammate Miroslav Klose won the Golden Boot competition, Podolski's three goals tied him for second place with Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Fernando Torres, David Villa, Maxi Rodríguez, Hernán Crespo and Zinedine Zidane. Podolski was named the World Cup's Best Young Player ahead of players like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

Euro 2008[link]

In a Euro 2008 qualifying game against San Marino in Serravalle Podolski netted four goals in Germany's record 13–0 thrashing. He is one of only four German players to score four goals in an international match. He was the third after Gerd Müller and Michael Ballack, and since this, Mario Gómez has accomplished this feat. In Germany's 4–1 win against Slovakia in Bratislava on 11 October 2006, he scored the first and the last German goal, both on assists by Miroslav Klose. He has continued to score goals at an astonishing rate. On 17 November 2007, in a Euro qualifier match against Cyprus, Podolski was involved in every goal in Germany's 4–0 victory. This was one of Podolski's best performances for the national team. Even though he played out of his natural position, playing at left midfield, he netted one goal himself and was voted Man of the Match.

On 8 June 2008, Podolski made his Euro 2008 entrance against debutants Poland in a Group B match in Klagenfurt, Austria. He scored both goals in a 2–0 victory. He avoided celebrating his goals, however, to show respect for his country of birth. After the game he gave an emotional interview on Polish television. The goals put him in the lead in the Euro 2008 goal-scoring list for two days until David Villa scored a hat-trick for Spain against Russia.^[24]

On 12 June, Germany played Croatia in their second Group B match, again in Klagenfurt. Podolski scored the German team's only goal of the game in the 79th minute, by which time the Croatians were already leading 2–0. He did not celebrate this goal either despite it putting him joint first on the Euro 2008 goal-scoring list with David Villa. Podolski's goal was not enough to snatch a draw, with Croatia holding out for a 2–1 victory over Germany.^[25] On 19 June, Germany played Portugal in the quarterfinal in Basel, Podolski was instrumental in the first goal, whipping a cross into the penalty box that was slotted home by Bastian Schweinsteiger in the 22nd minute to give Germany a 1–0 lead.

On the international scene, Podolski seems to be gravitating towards an attacking left midfield role from his traditional place as a striker. Initially, Löw had moved him to the wing in order to accommodate the partnership of Klose and Mario Gómez up front. When this backfired, he resumed his forward position in the UEFA Euro 2008 Final, but was unable to prevent Germany losing 1–0 to Spain. In a controversial incident, Podolski was headbutted by Spanish midfielder David Silva, although this went unnoticed by the referee and his assistants, and went unpenalised. Lukas Podolski was named in the 23 man squad as one of the players of the tournament along with countrymen Michael Ballack and Philipp Lahm.

2010 FIFA World Cup[link]

On 6 September 2008, Podolski scored the opening two goals in Germany's first 2010 World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein in Vaduz; a match that ended in a 6–0 victory for the Germans. He scored the opener in the 2–1 home win over Russia on 11 October, when he turned Vasili Berezutski on the edge of the penalty area, before unleashing a powerful shot past Russia's goalkeeper Akinfeev. He finished the qualification campaign second highest scorer of Group 4 with 6 goals, behind teammate Miroslav Klose's 7. During one of the qualifying matches, he was involved in a bust-up with team captain Michael Ballack.

On 13 June 2010, Podolski, who had become accustomed to his position as a winger scored the first goal in Germany's World Cup opening game in a 4–0 win against Australia, before assisting teammate Thomas Müller for the third goal.

On 18 June 2010, Podolski missed a second-half penalty after a handling infraction committed by Nemanja Vidić in the 1–0 loss to Serbia. The German team had gone down to 10-men after a second yellow was shown to Miroslav Klose in the 36th minute. Even though the Germans played with 10-men throughout the rest of the game, Podolski had numerous chances on goal. However he was unable to capitalize, and the game ended in a surprise defeat for the Germans. However, he managed to score against England in the last 16, giving Germany a 2–0 advantage in the first half. They went on to beat England 4–1.^[26]

In the quarter final against Argentina, Podolski assisted Klose to a goal, bringing the score to 2–0. The Germans won the match 4–0.^[27]

Euro 2012[link]

During qualification, Podolski provided assists for three goals and scored three times, helping Germany to win all 10 matches of their qualification campaign.

Career statistics[link]

Club[link]

As of 5 May 2012

International career statistics[link]

National team statistics[link]

^[28][29]

International goals[link]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	21 December 2004	Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	3–1	5–1	Friendly
2.	21 December 2004	Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	5–1	5–1	Friendly
3.	26 March 2005	Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Slovenia	1–0	1–0	Friendly
4.	4 June 2005	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	4–1	4–1	Friendly
5.	15 June 2005	Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany	Australia	4–2	4–3	FIFA Confederations Cup 2005
6.	25 June 2005	Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany	Brazil	1–1	2–3	FIFA Confederations Cup 2005
7.	29 June 2005	Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany	Mexico	1–0	4–3	FIFA Confederations Cup 2005
8.	7 September 2005	Olympiastadion Berlin, Berlin, Germany	South Africa	1–0	4–2	Friendly
9.	7 September 2005	Olympiastadion Berlin, Berlin, Germany	South Africa	3–1	4–2	Friendly
10.	7 September 2005	Olympiastadion Berlin, Berlin, Germany	South Africa	4–2	4–2	Friendly
11.	27 May 2006	Badenova Stadion, Freiburg, Germany	Luxembourg	3–0	7–0	Friendly
12.	27 May 2006	Badenova Stadion, Freiburg, Germany	Luxembourg	5–0	7–0	Friendly
13.	20 June 2006	Olympiastadion Berlin, Berlin, Germany	Ecuador	3–0	3–0	FIFA World Cup 2006
14.	24 June 2006	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Sweden	1–0	2–0	FIFA World Cup 2006
15.	24 June 2006	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Sweden	2–0	2–0	FIFA World Cup 2006
16.	2 September 2006	Gottlieb Daimler Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany	Republic of Ireland	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
17.	6 September 2006	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	1–0	13–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
18.	6 September 2006	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	5–0	13–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
19.	6 September 2006	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	8–0	13–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
20.	6 September 2006	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	10–0	13–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
21.	11 October 2006	Tehelné Pole Stadion, Bratislava, Slovakia	Slovakia	1–0	4–1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
22.	11 October 2006	Tehelné Pole Stadion, Bratislava, Slovakia	Slovakia	4–1	4–1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
23.	12 September 2007	Rhein-Energie Stadion, Cologne, Germany	Romania	3–1	3–1	Friendly
24.	17 November 2007	AWD Arena, Hannover, Germany	Cyprus	3–0	4–0	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
25.	26 March 2008	St. Jakob Park, Basel, Switzerland	Switzerland	4–0	4–0	Friendly
26.	8 June 2008	Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt, Austria	Poland	1–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2008
27.	8 June 2008	Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt, Austria	Poland	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 2008
28.	12 June 2008	Wörthersee Stadion, Klagenfurt, Austria	Croatia	1–2	1–2	UEFA Euro 2008
29.	6 September 2008	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	1–0	6–0	FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying
30.	6 September 2008	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	2–0	6–0	FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying
31.	11 October 2008	Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany	Russia	1–0	2–1	FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying
32.	28 March 2009	Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany	Liechtenstein	4–0	4–0	FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying
33.	29 May 2009	Shanghai Stadium, Shanghai, China	China PR	1–1	1–1	Friendly
34.	9 September 2009	AWD-Arena, Hanover, Germany	Azerbaijan	4–0	4–0	FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying
35.	14 October 2009	HSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg, Germany	Finland	1–1	1–1	FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifying
36.	18 November 2009	Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Côte d'Ivoire	1–0	2–2	Friendly
37.	18 November 2009	Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Côte d'Ivoire	2–2	2–2	Friendly
38.	29 May 2010	Stadium Puskás Ferenc, Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	1–0	3–0	Friendly
39.	13 June 2010	Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa	Australia	1–0	4–0	FIFA World Cup 2010
40.	27 June 2010	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa	England	2–0	4–1	FIFA World Cup 2010
41.	7 September 2010	RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany	Azerbaijan	2–0	6–1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
42.	12 October 2010	Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan	Kazakhstan	3–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
43.	2 September 2011	Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Austria	3–0	6–2	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying