As a father, a footballer and a published author, there are many sides to Lukas Podolski. In an exclusive DFB.de interview with reporter Steffen Lüdeke, the 28-year-old German international discusses the final league push with Arsenal, his social projects and his motivation for writing a book.
DFB.de: Mr Podolski, we can't avoid mentioning Arsenal's 6-0 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League last weekend. What went wrong?
Lukas Podolski: It's difficult to put into words. We’re all extremely disappointed. Chelsea approached the game well and showed how much they wanted to win from the opening seconds. They were sharp from the start and didn't allow us any chances. We were simply second-best that day, but it's clear that we shouldn't have allowed something like that to happen. You can lose a game to Chelsea, but not 6-0. The key for us now is to learn our lessons, put this match behind us quickly and focus on our next few games.
DFB.de: You were substituted after 24 minutes. Was that for tactical reasons after Kieran Gibbs was sent off?
Podolski: Yes, we lost our left-back so the coach had to make a change. But as I said, I don't want to dwell on that match any longer. We can't win any more points from the past, only in the future, hopefully starting with tonight's match against Swansea City (from 20:45 CET – editor's note).
DFB.de: After topping the table for months, Arsenal are currently in fourth place. What is your target for the final few matches of the season?
Podolski: For me, the Premier League is the best league in the world. The competition is incredibly close, with five or six teams challenging for the top places, so it was always clear to me that there wouldn't be a team capable of sitting on the top of the table all season long. It's extremely tough in the top four and we're still in contention. We've got to keep trusting in our strengths. Chelsea was a setback, but we can't let ourselves self-destruct now.
DFB.de: You were back on a football pitch the day after the match, this time with a large group of children on playing fields in London. What's the story behind that?
Podolski: The sun was shining, the weather was beautiful and I wanted to have a kickabout. The playing fields are near my house in London. I go there sometimes with my son Louis, and it always reminds me of my childhood. I think playing fields are awesome, and I still find it fun to have a kickabout with the kids. One ball, two goals, and everyone trying to get the ball in the back of the net – that's the beauty of the playing field.
DFB.de: How did the kids react when Lukas Podolski turned up and asked to join in?
Podolski: They were happy about it, but it wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them: it's just football. When I go over there, the kids always have questions and want to know everything they can about me. I enjoy spending time with the kids and chatting to them. I still remember being a kid and how much it would have meant to me if a professional footballer took the time to answer my questions. It's a similar story when I visit ARCHE (an institution that supports children affected by material and emotional poverty – editor's note) in Cologne or Poland and spend time with the kids there.
DFB.de: You're involved in several social projects through your foundation. How do you choose which initiatives you will support?
Podolski: Credibility is incredibly important to me, so I concentrate on a small number of projects. I think you can only do things in a credible way if you give your heart and 100 per cent to it, so my foundation is focused on ARCHE and the ARCHE homes in Cologne and Warsaw. I really enjoy this work and look forward to helping many more children through the foundation in future. I'm also a patron of the RHEINFLANKE initiative, which meets with kids wherever they are, be it at playing fields, playgrounds or schoolyards. There's also time for some one-off products like the "Stay on the ball – Exercise lowers your risk of cancer" initiative supported by the DFB. I fully support all these campaigns and believe people can see that.
DFB.de: Through your foundation, you support ARCHE not just financially but also personally. Visits from Lukas Podolski aren't a rare occurrence but they are always highlights that the children remember for a long time. What do you take from these visits?
Podolski: A great deal. It's always incredibly satisfying when we manage to make the kids laugh, whether by inviting them to the stadium, playing football with them or sharing a game of table football. Kids are fantastically honest and uncomplicated. Spending time with them also means I get a break from the "normal" world.
DFB.de: Is this part of the reason why you have also taken your son Louis to ARCHE several times?
Podolski: Because he can meet "normal" kids there?
DFB.de: Yes, partly. Your history has made you what you are today, and it meant being tenacious and overcoming obstacles in your way. You didn't get much for free. Your son Louis is growing up in very different circumstances. Do you worry that this will have a negative effect on his character?
Podolski: It's up to us to make sure that doesn't happen. Louis is the most important thing in my life; he's number one. As the son of a professional footballer, he doesn't have the chance to have an entirely "normal" upbringing, but we can't lock him away. He's now old enough to understand that his daddy is a footballer. When he goes to the stadium, he knows that people are cheering his dad on, and he should be able to enjoy that. It's definitely a balancing act, and I think we've handled it very well so far. He should have a very unremarkable childhood in that respect, and so far that's what he's got.
DFB.de: You're a footballer, a father, and now an author too. What inspired you to take up pen and paper and write your book "Dran bleiben – warum Talent nur der Anfang ist" ("Staying tuned - why talent is just the beginning")?
Podolski: It came about thanks to all the conversations I've had with the kids at ARCHE. They asked me how I became a professional footballer, why I've got such a good left foot, what my upbringing was like, what obstacles I faced, where I come from and what's important to me. Together with ARCHE, we decided to make a book out of it. I enjoyed talking about my past. I think it's important to show that so much of what we take for granted now was a total dream back then. Nowadays, talented footballers grow up with complete support, but that's not how it was for me. There was no football school, chauffeur, no help with homework or special treatment. We had to work it all out for ourselves and it didn't do us any harm.
DFB.de: It sounds as though you'd like to turn back the clock.
Podolski: No, that's not the aim of the book, and it's not a biography either. The conversations with the kids simply prompted me to tell a lot of stories that give an impression of my life growing up and what and who was important to me. I think that makes it very readable.
DFB.de: Five years ago, you said in an interview with DFB.de that you weren't an avid reader, and now you've written a book yourself. Do you read more now than you did back then?
Podolski: Definitely more than before, but I'm still no bookworm (laughs). I tend to read books about other athletes or reports about their experiences. I like to learn how they overcome the challenges they face, but I generally tend to read articles in magazines rather than books. I do read books too, such as the other books ARCHE has published that are similar to my book, telling the stories of the kids they come into contact with.
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As a father, a footballer and a published author, there are many sides to Lukas Podolski. In an exclusive DFB.de interview with reporter Steffen Lüdeke, the 28-year-old German international discusses the final league push with Arsenal, his social projects and his motivation for writing a book.
DFB.de: Mr Podolski, we can't avoid mentioning Arsenal's 6-0 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League last weekend. What went wrong?
Lukas Podolski: It's difficult to put into words. We’re all extremely disappointed. Chelsea approached the game well and showed how much they wanted to win from the opening seconds. They were sharp from the start and didn't allow us any chances. We were simply second-best that day, but it's clear that we shouldn't have allowed something like that to happen. You can lose a game to Chelsea, but not 6-0. The key for us now is to learn our lessons, put this match behind us quickly and focus on our next few games.
DFB.de: You were substituted after 24 minutes. Was that for tactical reasons after Kieran Gibbs was sent off?
Podolski: Yes, we lost our left-back so the coach had to make a change. But as I said, I don't want to dwell on that match any longer. We can't win any more points from the past, only in the future, hopefully starting with tonight's match against Swansea City (from 20:45 CET – editor's note).
DFB.de: After topping the table for months, Arsenal are currently in fourth place. What is your target for the final few matches of the season?
Podolski: For me, the Premier League is the best league in the world. The competition is incredibly close, with five or six teams challenging for the top places, so it was always clear to me that there wouldn't be a team capable of sitting on the top of the table all season long. It's extremely tough in the top four and we're still in contention. We've got to keep trusting in our strengths. Chelsea was a setback, but we can't let ourselves self-destruct now.
DFB.de: You were back on a football pitch the day after the match, this time with a large group of children on playing fields in London. What's the story behind that?
Podolski: The sun was shining, the weather was beautiful and I wanted to have a kickabout. The playing fields are near my house in London. I go there sometimes with my son Louis, and it always reminds me of my childhood. I think playing fields are awesome, and I still find it fun to have a kickabout with the kids. One ball, two goals, and everyone trying to get the ball in the back of the net – that's the beauty of the playing field.
DFB.de: How did the kids react when Lukas Podolski turned up and asked to join in?
Podolski: They were happy about it, but it wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them: it's just football. When I go over there, the kids always have questions and want to know everything they can about me. I enjoy spending time with the kids and chatting to them. I still remember being a kid and how much it would have meant to me if a professional footballer took the time to answer my questions. It's a similar story when I visit ARCHE (an institution that supports children affected by material and emotional poverty – editor's note) in Cologne or Poland and spend time with the kids there.
DFB.de: You're involved in several social projects through your foundation. How do you choose which initiatives you will support?
Podolski: Credibility is incredibly important to me, so I concentrate on a small number of projects. I think you can only do things in a credible way if you give your heart and 100 per cent to it, so my foundation is focused on ARCHE and the ARCHE homes in Cologne and Warsaw. I really enjoy this work and look forward to helping many more children through the foundation in future. I'm also a patron of the RHEINFLANKE initiative, which meets with kids wherever they are, be it at playing fields, playgrounds or schoolyards. There's also time for some one-off products like the "Stay on the ball – Exercise lowers your risk of cancer" initiative supported by the DFB. I fully support all these campaigns and believe people can see that.
DFB.de: Through your foundation, you support ARCHE not just financially but also personally. Visits from Lukas Podolski aren't a rare occurrence but they are always highlights that the children remember for a long time. What do you take from these visits?
[bild2]
Podolski: A great deal. It's always incredibly satisfying when we manage to make the kids laugh, whether by inviting them to the stadium, playing football with them or sharing a game of table football. Kids are fantastically honest and uncomplicated. Spending time with them also means I get a break from the "normal" world.
DFB.de: Is this part of the reason why you have also taken your son Louis to ARCHE several times?
Podolski: Because he can meet "normal" kids there?
DFB.de: Yes, partly. Your history has made you what you are today, and it meant being tenacious and overcoming obstacles in your way. You didn't get much for free. Your son Louis is growing up in very different circumstances. Do you worry that this will have a negative effect on his character?
Podolski: It's up to us to make sure that doesn't happen. Louis is the most important thing in my life; he's number one. As the son of a professional footballer, he doesn't have the chance to have an entirely "normal" upbringing, but we can't lock him away. He's now old enough to understand that his daddy is a footballer. When he goes to the stadium, he knows that people are cheering his dad on, and he should be able to enjoy that. It's definitely a balancing act, and I think we've handled it very well so far. He should have a very unremarkable childhood in that respect, and so far that's what he's got.
DFB.de: You're a footballer, a father, and now an author too. What inspired you to take up pen and paper and write your book "Dran bleiben – warum Talent nur der Anfang ist" ("Staying tuned - why talent is just the beginning")?
Podolski: It came about thanks to all the conversations I've had with the kids at ARCHE. They asked me how I became a professional footballer, why I've got such a good left foot, what my upbringing was like, what obstacles I faced, where I come from and what's important to me. Together with ARCHE, we decided to make a book out of it. I enjoyed talking about my past. I think it's important to show that so much of what we take for granted now was a total dream back then. Nowadays, talented footballers grow up with complete support, but that's not how it was for me. There was no football school, chauffeur, no help with homework or special treatment. We had to work it all out for ourselves and it didn't do us any harm.
DFB.de: It sounds as though you'd like to turn back the clock.
Podolski: No, that's not the aim of the book, and it's not a biography either. The conversations with the kids simply prompted me to tell a lot of stories that give an impression of my life growing up and what and who was important to me. I think that makes it very readable.
DFB.de: Five years ago, you said in an interview with DFB.de that you weren't an avid reader, and now you've written a book yourself. Do you read more now than you did back then?
Podolski: Definitely more than before, but I'm still no bookworm (laughs). I tend to read books about other athletes or reports about their experiences. I like to learn how they overcome the challenges they face, but I generally tend to read articles in magazines rather than books. I do read books too, such as the other books ARCHE has published that are similar to my book, telling the stories of the kids they come into contact with.
