Returning to his native Poland should be the emotional final chapter of Lukas Podolski’s career. The 36-year-old confirmed this Thursday as part of his official presentation to first-division club Gornick Zabrze. “This will be my last team and my last step,” Podolsky said. “I made this particular decision.”
He was born three kilometers from here, that is where I took my first steps and now I will play football here. Podolsky signed his one-year contract on Thursday, and on Wednesday many fans greeted him at the airport.
A day later, fans of Gurnick greeted Boldi enthusiastically at the stadium. Fans flooded the arena in clouds of purple smoke and loudly celebrated the “Prodigal Son”.
“What a greeting,” Podolsky wrote on Instagram and posted a video of him.
Podolski compares Gornik to 1. FC Cologne
A move to Zabrze was planned for a long time, and he kept in touch with the club at its stations “in Japan and Turkey”. The arrival is now as emotional as his return to 1. FC Köln after his stint at Bayern Munich in 2009.
“Maybe a little more emotional because I was born here,” Podolski said. “My whole family is a fan of this club. Now I’m wearing the shirt myself and I will play the last game of my career with Gornik.”
EM one-two team with Uli Hoeneß, Stefan Effenberg and Mario Basler Sunday from 11 am on TV on SPORT1
Podolski will also play in Zabrze with No. 10, starting the season just two weeks later on July 24 with the first leg at Bogon Stetten. Gurnick finished last season in 10th place.
Like Podolsky’s advisor Naseem Al-Tuwairi recently RTL He asserted that the 130-time national player was “extremely” useful to the club: “He really wanted to do it.” Longtime Bundesliga professional Thomas Hajtow recently described Podolski’s move as “the biggest deal by Polish standards in relation to a club in our national league”.
