It’s hard to remember a time without Lukas Podolski. He burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old after scoring 10 goals in his first 19 Bundesliga appearances with FC Köln . . . that was 16 years ago.
He’s since gone on to play for Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Galatasaray and Vissel Kobe, as well as representing Germany 130 times before announcing his international retirement after Euro 2016.
After spending a few years out in Japan playing alongside Andrés Iniesta and David Villa, Podolski returned to Europe back in January with Antalyaspor of the Turkish Süper Lig. Why Turkey? Because the man loves kebabs.
He might be 34 and without the speed and acceleration of old, but a left foot capable of weltering shots nearly 100 mph is never out-dated. So Podolski is now the world’s most fearsome super-sub. Arsene Wenger once said that if there’s one person you want to see in front of goal in a shooting position, it’s Podolski, and that’s essentially what they wheel him out for now.
Making his third substitute appearance for Antalyaspor on Sunday (his two previous appearances totaled 30 minutes), Podolski was given all of three minutes to make the difference with the score knotted at 1-1 against Yeni Malatyaspor.
He managed to smash in a dramatic, match-winning left-footed volley just two minutes after coming on.
Podolski signed a one-and-a-half-year deal with Antalyaspor so he’ll be playing professionally at least one more season.
