Thursday, July 8th, 2021
“Last club, last step”
Podolski announces the end of his career in Poland
He played in the Bundesliga, in England, Italy, Turkey, Japan – and now he’s drawn back to his very old homeland. Lukas Podolski ends his career with the Polish club, which is based next to his birthplace. The 36-year-old is certain that it will be emotional.
The return to his native Poland should be an emotional last chapter of his professional career for Lukas Podolski. The 36-year-old confirmed this during his official presentation to the first division soccer team Gornik Zabrze. “This will be my last club, my last step,” said Podolski: “I made this decision especially.”
He was “born three kilometers away from here, this is where I took my first steps and now I will play football here.” Podolski signed his one-year contract, and he was received by many fans at the airport on Wednesday.
The move to Zabrze had been planned for a long time, and he had maintained contact with the club at his stations “in Japan and Turkey”. The arrival is now as emotional as his return to 1. FC Köln after his time at Bayern Munich in 2009.
“Maybe even a little more emotional because I was born here,” said Podolski. “My whole family is a fan of this club. Now I wear the shirt myself and I’ll play the last game of my career for Gornik.”
Podolski will also play in Zabrze with the number 10, the season starts in just over two weeks on July 24th with the away game at Pogon Stettin. Gornik finished last season in tenth place.
As Podolski’s advisor Nassim Touhiri recently confirmed at RTL, the 130-time national player was financially “considerably” in favor of the club: “He really wanted to do it.” Long-time Bundesliga professional Tomasz Hajto recently called Podolski’s move the “biggest deal by Polish standards as far as a club from our national league is concerned.”
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