Arsenal’s £11million target runs a 9th-tier football club!
HIGH POD ... Lukas Podolski celebrates another goal for Cologne
EXCLUSIVE
By CHARLIE WYETT
Last Updated: 01st April 2012
LUKAS PODOLSKI sticks a couple of stunning left-footed shots into the top corner of the net.
He jokes with the first-team squad, plays football with a couple of young children and speaks at length to a pensioner watching from the side.
Yet one of Germany's biggest football stars is not at Cologne, the club where he is about to end a second spell before joining Arsenal for £11million.
Podolski is at his real home — the Lukas Podolski Sportpark where FC Bergheim 2000 play.
Although born in Poland, Podolski was two years old when his family moved to Germany and he grew up in Bergheim.
Remarkably, a couple of times a week, Podolski — who has 95 caps for Germany — returns to the pitches where he first kicked a ball to watch the local team that plays in the ninth tier of German football.
Podolski, 26, is incredibly proud as he talks of the improvements he has made to this once run-down sports centre.
These trips will become less frequent when he becomes Arsene Wenger's latest signing. Yet he smiles when I remind him that the Emirates is slightly bigger than the ground which uses his name.
He breaks into a grin when I mention the prospect of him playing alongside Robin van Persie.
In Cologne, where he is known as Prince Poldi, the striker is mobbed wherever he goes.
But here in Bergheim, a town of 60,000 residents near the borders with Belgium and Holland, Podolski appears a genuine, fun-loving lad.
And the welfare of FC Bergheim 2000 has become a major passion. He not only attends training but also helps the manager select new players while they discuss team tactics.
Podoslki, understandably, had to avoid speaking about his imminent move to Arsenal as it has yet to be officially announced — even though it is football's worst-kept secret and will be confirmed within 10 days. Instead, he wanted to talk about this complex which means so much. He said: "Look at this astroturf pitch. It was an ash surface but I had it relaid. There is also a junior pitch with the same astroturf.
"I also had the main grass pitch relaid — and the changing room and things like that.
"If they need new flooring or showers, the club ring me and I make a phone call. If they need new balls or kit, I ring adidas.
"I lived two minutes away and I love this centre. I biked here every day after school and played with my friends until 10pm. This was my life.
"It is only 50 minutes from Cologne. My friends play here and on Sunday, if I'm not playing for Cologne, I'm here having fun, eating food with my friends. This is normal for me. Everyone knows me here and it's nice.
"My big interest is the junior team. We are looking for the new Podolski.
"My dream was to be as good as Ronaldo. In 2005 I played against him and Brazil in the Confederation Cup — that was some moment and we changed shirts.
"I am lucky to have now played in some major tournaments — and now I have another one coming up."
Podolski grins again when reminded of another shirt-swap — collecting an Arsenal shirt after a pre-season friendly last summer.
He said: "Yes, I got an Arsenal shirt but there was no name on the back. And yes, of course, I like English football. It is like Germany."
Wearing a white adidas top with the hood pulled over his head, he proved to be camera shy.
Yet after a kickabout with two mates, he snatched the camera from my photographer and spent the next 20 minutes taking pictures of the local team training.
After returning the equipment, he asked for a CD of the pictures so he could email them around to the team of part-timers.
Ingo Haselbach, 42, is the manager of Bergheim.
He said: "I speak with Lukas every day. We look at players together and decide what is best for the team. He is a fantastic person. He comes once or twice a week. If he is not playing he comes to watch. He puts so much into this. Normally, it is only when a player is 36 he comes back.
"He is Germany's No 1 player and here at Bergheim is a special place for him. It is a holy place."
Hardly surprisingly, his move to Arsenal is not exactly a secret around these parts.
Haselbach added: "When he joins Arsenal, he will play with the heart and I think the fans will love that."
Podolski's oldest friend in football is Cologne coach Willie Breuer.
The 57-year-old has been persuaded by Podolski to drive to Bergheim twice a week to coach youngsters.
Breuer said: "I have known Lukas since he was 10. He has not changed at all since he made his debut for Cologne and broke into the German team.
"It is also good that he will go to the Premier League. We spoke six months ago about moving there. I told him he would be a success.
"He is fast and physically strong and Arsenal will be a good move. And I am sure he will be a good fit with Van Persie."
Breuer hopes he will get the chance to watch Arsenal.
And having seen the generosity of his most famous protégé, Breuer will not struggle for a ticket at the Emirates.
