A proud father of two and a proud 128-times Germany international: Lukas Podolski will take part in his seventh major tournament for Die Mannschaft after the Euros 2004, 2008 and 2012 and the World Cups in 2006, 2010 and 2014. The Galatasaray striker is set for his fourth European Championships and spoke with DFB.de editor Steffen Lüdeke about the past twelve years and the upcoming four weeks.
DFB.de: Mr. Podolski, congratulations on the birth of your daughter Maya.
Lukas Podolski: Thank you very much.
DFB.de: Germany coach Jogi Löw even granted you an extra day vacation to spend with your new baby. Did you request this extra day with your family from him?
Podolski: He offered it and I gladly accepted the offer. I want to thank him for that. There are more important things in life than football. It was great for me to spend some more time at home. I now have one day fewer of training, but that's not important. Jogi Löw knows that he can rely on me.
DFB.de: How difficult will it be to focus on the national team now?
Podolski: I’m familiar with the situation from when I had my first child. Louis was born in 2008 just ahead of the European Championships in Switzerland and Austria. Saying farewell at home is obviously tough, but once you've joined the team you almost forget about it straight away. Football is my job and being away is part of that sometimes. I always enjoy my time with the DFB Team. Obviously I think a lot about my family, but my focus on the tournament isn't affected by that.
DFB.de: You will take part in your fourth European Championship. Is that something you ever imagined back in 2004 when you played your first EUROS?
Podolski: I never spent any time thinking about that, but I probably wouldn’t have ruled it out as a possibility. Why should I? You never know what will happen. But I'm obviously very proud to be taking part in my seventh major tournament. The experiences that I've made during these events, the trips, the games and the many impressions - it's simply been outstanding and no one can ever take that from me.
DFB.de: Let’s go back to 2004 when you made your debut for Germany together with Bastian Schweinsteiger after manager Rudi Völler called you into the first team from the U21s. Do you remember what it felt like to travel to the national team for the very first time?
Podolski: I remember that quite well actually. There are moments in your career, milestones, which you simply don't forget. That includes my first training session with the professionals. I remember very well when Marcel Koller introduced me to the first team's training at 1. FC Köln. My first Bundesliga appearance is also a strong memory, as was my first international game of course. My first trip to the national team was also very exciting and all the things that went on around us. At the start I was nervous, as I had a lot of respect from the experienced players in our team. But on the pitch I didn't show any nerves. I always went full throttle and didn’t go hiding.
DFB.de: The hype around you began after the 2004 European Championship. Suddenly you were making the front pages and every single step you took was watched carefully. How difficult was it for you to handle the public attention?
Podolski: It wasn't that difficult. Of course everything happened quite quickly, but I wasn't bothered by it - it is what it is. It was a special time back then and I enjoyed it too. I'm 31 years old now and the new boys are coming up and making the front pages now. That's how things go in football.
DFB.de: In 2008 and 2012 Germany made a charge for the title but fell short both times. Which of your three European Championships would you say were the best from Germany's perspective?
Podolski: We had our biggest chance to win the title in 2008, having made the final and needing just one more win. After 2004 we had good runs for the title in all our tournaments, reaching at least the semi-final each time. There was always just something missing and sometimes we lacked that bit of luck. In 2014 everything worked out for us.
DFB.de: You said that winning the title this summer is the clear goal. Would anything else be a disappointment for you?
Podolski: In the end it's all about who wins the tournament. We are World Champions, we have the quality in our team and we want to win. If we reach the final, play well but still lose then we can be proud of our performance. But if you lose, you lose, and we don't want that.
DFB.de: Your father expressed his wish, that if you were to win the title you should end your national team career and spend more time with your family. Is this something you've contemplated in any way already?
Podolski: I know that he said that. We'll see - it's hypothetical. I haven't thought about it yet. I'm fully focussed on my tasks here and on the games that lay ahead of us. We all want to play a successful tournament and then we'll see what happens afterwards.
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A proud father of two and a proud 128-times Germany international: Lukas Podolski will take part in his seventh major tournament for Die Mannschaft after the Euros 2004, 2008 and 2012 and the World Cups in 2006, 2010 and 2014. The Galatasaray striker is set for his fourth European Championships and spoke with DFB.de editor Steffen Lüdeke about the past twelve years and the upcoming four weeks.
DFB.de: Mr. Podolski, congratulations on the birth of your daughter Maya.
Lukas Podolski: Thank you very much.
DFB.de: Germany coach Jogi Löw even granted you an extra day vacation to spend with your new baby. Did you request this extra day with your family from him?
Podolski: He offered it and I gladly accepted the offer. I want to thank him for that. There are more important things in life than football. It was great for me to spend some more time at home. I now have one day fewer of training, but that's not important. Jogi Löw knows that he can rely on me.
DFB.de: How difficult will it be to focus on the national team now?
Podolski: I’m familiar with the situation from when I had my first child. Louis was born in 2008 just ahead of the European Championships in Switzerland and Austria. Saying farewell at home is obviously tough, but once you've joined the team you almost forget about it straight away. Football is my job and being away is part of that sometimes. I always enjoy my time with the DFB Team. Obviously I think a lot about my family, but my focus on the tournament isn't affected by that.
DFB.de: You will take part in your fourth European Championship. Is that something you ever imagined back in 2004 when you played your first EUROS?
Podolski: I never spent any time thinking about that, but I probably wouldn’t have ruled it out as a possibility. Why should I? You never know what will happen. But I'm obviously very proud to be taking part in my seventh major tournament. The experiences that I've made during these events, the trips, the games and the many impressions - it's simply been outstanding and no one can ever take that from me.
DFB.de: Let’s go back to 2004 when you made your debut for Germany together with Bastian Schweinsteiger after manager Rudi Völler called you into the first team from the U21s. Do you remember what it felt like to travel to the national team for the very first time?
Podolski: I remember that quite well actually. There are moments in your career, milestones, which you simply don't forget. That includes my first training session with the professionals. I remember very well when Marcel Koller introduced me to the first team's training at 1. FC Köln. My first Bundesliga appearance is also a strong memory, as was my first international game of course. My first trip to the national team was also very exciting and all the things that went on around us. At the start I was nervous, as I had a lot of respect from the experienced players in our team. But on the pitch I didn't show any nerves. I always went full throttle and didn’t go hiding.
DFB.de: The hype around you began after the 2004 European Championship. Suddenly you were making the front pages and every single step you took was watched carefully. How difficult was it for you to handle the public attention?
Podolski: It wasn't that difficult. Of course everything happened quite quickly, but I wasn't bothered by it - it is what it is. It was a special time back then and I enjoyed it too. I'm 31 years old now and the new boys are coming up and making the front pages now. That's how things go in football.
DFB.de: In 2008 and 2012 Germany made a charge for the title but fell short both times. Which of your three European Championships would you say were the best from Germany's perspective?
Podolski: We had our biggest chance to win the title in 2008, having made the final and needing just one more win. After 2004 we had good runs for the title in all our tournaments, reaching at least the semi-final each time. There was always just something missing and sometimes we lacked that bit of luck. In 2014 everything worked out for us.
DFB.de: You said that winning the title this summer is the clear goal. Would anything else be a disappointment for you?
Podolski: In the end it's all about who wins the tournament. We are World Champions, we have the quality in our team and we want to win. If we reach the final, play well but still lose then we can be proud of our performance. But if you lose, you lose, and we don't want that.
DFB.de: Your father expressed his wish, that if you were to win the title you should end your national team career and spend more time with your family. Is this something you've contemplated in any way already?
Podolski: I know that he said that. We'll see - it's hypothetical. I haven't thought about it yet. I'm fully focussed on my tasks here and on the games that lay ahead of us. We all want to play a successful tournament and then we'll see what happens afterwards.
