1. FC Köln: Lukas Podolski “at the wrong time in the right place for me”

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Kombi with Baumgart would be “great”

The former world champion Lukas Podolski regrets that he played in difficult years for his heart club 1. FC Köln. “I was in the right place for me at the wrong time,” said the 37-year-oldCologne City Gazette“And added: “I would have loved to have played with FC in the European Cup, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to do that.”

Podolski, who is under contract with first division club Górnik Zabrze in his native Poland, grew up in the FC youth, made his professional debut in 2003 and then played for Domstädter until 2006 and later again from 2009 to 2012 – he rose with the club three times from the Bundesliga now and then. In total, the attacker played 181 games in which he scored 86 goals, making him one of the club’s top 15 goalscorers. He also contributed 41 templates. When he switched to FC Bayern in 2006 and to Arsenal in 2012, he brought in proceeds of 10 million and 15 million euros respectively, which is why he is represented twice in the ranking of the ten most expensive FC sales.

Jakobs in the top 10: the most expensive sales of 1. FC Köln

20 – Youssef Mohamad | 2011/12 for 2.53 million euros to Al-Ahli

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Status: March 2023

19 – Christian Clemens | 2013/14 for 2.8 million euros to FC Schalke

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17 – Kevin Vogt | 2016/17 for 3 million euros to Hoffenheim

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17 – Dominique Heintz | 2018/19 for 3 million euros to SC Freiburg

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15 – Anthony Ujah | 2015/16 for 4.5 million euros to Werder Bremen

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15 – Yuya Osako | 2018/19 for 4.5 million euros to Werder Bremen

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14 – Salih Ozcan | 2022/23 for 5 million euros to Borussia Dortmund

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13 – Anthony Modest | 2022/23 for 5.1 million euros to BVB

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12 – Anthony Modest | 2017/18 for 5.7 million euros to TJ Quanjian

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9 – Serhou Guirassy | 2019/20 for €6m to Amiens SC

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9 – Leonardo Bittencourt | 2018/19 for 6 million euros to Hoffenheim

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9-Kevin Wimmer | 2015/16 for 6 million euros to Tottenham

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8 – Ismail Jakobs | 2021/22 for 6.5 million euros to AS Monaco

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7 – Thomas Haessler | 1990/91 for 7.8 million euros to Juventus

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6 – Lukas Podolski | 2006/07 for 10 million euros to FC Bayern

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5 – Yannick Gerhardt | 2016/17 for 13 million euros to VfL Wolfsburg

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4 – Sebastiaan Bornauw | 2021/22 for 13.5 million euros to VfL Wolfsburg

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2 – Jhon Cordoba | 2020/21 for 15 million euros to Hertha BSC

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2 – Lukas Podolski | 2012/13 for €15m to Arsenal

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1 – Anthony Modest | 2018/19 for 29 million euros to TJ Tianhai

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A rental fee of EUR 5.7 million had already been paid beforehand

In 2017, the Cologne team qualified for the European Cup for the first time in 25 years, and this season they have played internationally again. According to Podolski, Steffen Baumgart played a major role in this. “Steffen gets the maximum out of the team as a coach. The players are willing to go the extra yards for him,” he said. And further: “I think the coach Baumgart and the player Poldi – that would be a great combination.”

It always seemed clear that it would eventually return to FC in some capacity. But since the departure of managing director Alexander Wehrle a year ago, “there has been radio silence,” said Podolski, who has his sixth foreign station in Zabrze in the fifth country and recently extended the expiring contract by two years. With a view to a commitment in Cologne, he does not know “what will happen in a few years and who the contacts in the club will be then. In football, as is well known, they change quite often.”

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