Lukas Podolski marked his 130th and final appearance for the Germany national team with a spectacular finish. DFB.de has rounded up all the reaction from the match at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park.
Joachim Löw... on Lukas Podolski: "It’s obviously great for him to score the decisive goal against England. I had actually planned to bring him off sooner, but he told me at half time that he wanted to come off shortly before full time. It was good that he was on the pitch. He has always showed 100% determination on the pitch, whether he has started or come on as a substitute. He has unbelievable empathy; he has always brought his love and positive mindset to the team. Lukas has always been very dynamic. He always treated everyone with respect and importance. That’s an inexplicably important factor in any team.
Joachim Löw.... on the game: We were very nervous in the first half. We had some young players playing in this structure for the first time and we only had one training session before playing. The game improved in the second half, had more structure and the younger players in attack grew into the game. I think it was good and important for the players to gain experience. We used the space better in the second half. At the start Brandt, Sané and Werner were all very close to each other and they constantly had their backs to goal. After that we stretched the game more and were able to create more space. What Timo did incredibly well, was that he made very good runs going forward and created plenty of space.
Lukas Podolski: We won 1-0 and I scored the winner. It’s like a film. That could be my twelfth goal of the month. God or someone up there gifted me with this left foot, and I've always been able to rely on it. From the atmosphere in the stadium you could see the connection I have with people from Cologne. There were at least 30,000 people from Cologne in the stadium. It gives you goose bumps. That’s when you know where you home is, and that you’ve done a lot of good, also off the pitch. That makes me very proud.
Toni Kroos: Stuff like this can only happen in football. That he could have a farewell match in front of this crowd and then to smash the ball into the top corner like that. Fair play to him. It’s incredible that something like that happened in this game. It was no easy game out there. Everyone wanted to score that decisive goal. We made things difficult in the first half, which is fine for this new team. We had a very young team today. We played great in the second half, from which we can take a lot of positives.
Thomas Müller: You couldn’t write a better script. If I was the director I would have thought it too cheesy, nobody would have believed it. I said to Toni before the match that we need to try and set Lukas up in the penalty area. Now it’s all about enjoying the moment. Normally the stadium is empty after the match, but everyone is still here to celebrate Poldi. Incredible. Poldi is a really special guy. You don’t make 130 appearances for nothing. We will miss him at the next tournament.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen: You players come and go. Today a wonderful German footballer goes. I always try to do my job. I think things went well today. It was a tough match with few chances at either side.
Lukas Podolski marked his 130th and final appearance for the Germany national team with a spectacular finish. DFB.de has rounded up all the reaction from the match at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park.
Joachim Löw... on Lukas Podolski: "It’s obviously great for him to score the decisive goal against England. I had actually planned to bring him off sooner, but he told me at half time that he wanted to come off shortly before full time. It was good that he was on the pitch. He has always showed 100% determination on the pitch, whether he has started or come on as a substitute. He has unbelievable empathy; he has always brought his love and positive mindset to the team. Lukas has always been very dynamic. He always treated everyone with respect and importance. That’s an inexplicably important factor in any team.
Joachim Löw.... on the game: We were very nervous in the first half. We had some young players playing in this structure for the first time and we only had one training session before playing. The game improved in the second half, had more structure and the younger players in attack grew into the game. I think it was good and important for the players to gain experience. We used the space better in the second half. At the start Brandt, Sané and Werner were all very close to each other and they constantly had their backs to goal. After that we stretched the game more and were able to create more space. What Timo did incredibly well, was that he made very good runs going forward and created plenty of space.
Lukas Podolski: We won 1-0 and I scored the winner. It’s like a film. That could be my twelfth goal of the month. God or someone up there gifted me with this left foot, and I've always been able to rely on it. From the atmosphere in the stadium you could see the connection I have with people from Cologne. There were at least 30,000 people from Cologne in the stadium. It gives you goose bumps. That’s when you know where you home is, and that you’ve done a lot of good, also off the pitch. That makes me very proud.
Toni Kroos: Stuff like this can only happen in football. That he could have a farewell match in front of this crowd and then to smash the ball into the top corner like that. Fair play to him. It’s incredible that something like that happened in this game. It was no easy game out there. Everyone wanted to score that decisive goal. We made things difficult in the first half, which is fine for this new team. We had a very young team today. We played great in the second half, from which we can take a lot of positives.
Thomas Müller: You couldn’t write a better script. If I was the director I would have thought it too cheesy, nobody would have believed it. I said to Toni before the match that we need to try and set Lukas up in the penalty area. Now it’s all about enjoying the moment. Normally the stadium is empty after the match, but everyone is still here to celebrate Poldi. Incredible. Poldi is a really special guy. You don’t make 130 appearances for nothing. We will miss him at the next tournament.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen: You players come and go. Today a wonderful German footballer goes. I always try to do my job. I think things went well today. It was a tough match with few chances at either side.
