Former Germany great Podolski set to take over Polish side Zabrze
FILE PHOTO - Cologne's Lukas Podolski reacts during his farewell match at 1. FC Cologne. Federico Gambarini/dpa Former Germany forward Lukas Podolski has said he wants to gain full ownership of Górnik Zabrze, the Polish club he plays for.
The 2014 World Cup winner Podolski has shares in the club and said that "now I will buy the rest. " Podolski said around of visit of Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst from the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia to the Polish city of Katowice that Polish clubs are run by city councils and that the Zabrze council was to decide within the next days whether to sell their shares to the 40-year-old. "In my opinion a city has other duties: You must build playgrounds, do other things, improve infrastructure, but not manage a football club.
Before the club ends up in someone else's hands, I said I'd rather it ended up in good hands with me," he said. Podolski added he doesn't see himself as a classic investor but rather as "one of the fans. Someone who speaks the fans’ language and shares their passion.
Football always belongs to the fans. I want to take the club forward. " Podolski was born in Poland and moved to Germany at young age.
He joined Zabrze in 2021 in the dusk of a career that also saw him play for clubs including Cologne, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Galatasaray and Vissel Kobe. Podolski helped Zabrze win the Polish Cup for the first time this season and left it open whether he would continue playing for another year. "Let's see – it's still in the planning stages as to what happens next for me," he said.