- Lukas Podolski: "The Germans like to whine"
Former football national player Lukas Podolski attributes a tendency to complain to the Germans. "The Germans like to complain. The envy factor is also at a different level here, that's already the case," the 39-year-old told the German Press Agency in Cologne. The 2014 World Cup winner has lived and played in many different countries during his career, giving him a good external perspective on the Federal Republic. Nevertheless, "Poldi" added similarly: "But if you know and can estimate that, then you can also handle it well."
Podolski has played 130 international matches for Germany and is considered a great fan favorite, especially at his former club 1. FC Cologne. In the city on the Rhine, no living celebrity is probably worshipped as much as "Prince Poldi". Abroad, he played for FC Arsenal in England and Inter Milan in Italy, among others. Currently, Podolski still plays for the club Gornik Zabrze in Poland.
In addition, he is also active as an entrepreneur. He is currently preparing for a new edition of the Glücksgefühle music festival (12th to 15th September) at the Hockenheimring. In 2023, he launched the festival with his partner Markus Krampe.
Podolski feels at home with his family in Poland
"What the Germans definitely like are events: sports, concerts, festivals," said Podolski. "In this area, the Germans are already ahead." At his festival at the Hockenheimring, Podolski also wants to camp himself. "Yes, that's already cool," he said. "If you wake up in the morning and can walk over the grounds when there are hardly any people around."
When asked where he likes to be in Germany, Podolski said he feels at home everywhere. "I've been in Cologne, Munich, Istanbul, Japan, London. Now I've been in Poland for three years. I try to feel at home everywhere. That's my attitude," he said. He tries to live the culture of the respective country. He still has a year left on his contract with Gornik Zabrze in Poland and doesn't have any plans yet for afterwards. "We feel at home as a family in Poland at the moment, the children go to school there and I like it there," he said. "There's no plan to leave there at the moment."
"No one has the energy to work anymore"
While many of his colleagues focus entirely on football, Podolski has built several pillars in different industries in recent years - not just with the music festival, but also with doner restaurants, clothing, and ice cream shops.
"I want to do, try, and approach things with 100 percent passion," Podolski said about his entrepreneurial activities. "I know the mentality of people today," he said. "It's like this: home office, no one has the energy to work, no one wants to carry boxes anymore, and the phone is in silent mode after 21:00. That might be the new generation, but that's not me." He is "made of different stuff". "If someone needs me at 2:00 AM, I'm there. And at 5:00 AM too," Podolski explained. That's how you can be successful.
Despite his success in countries like England with FC Arsenal and Italy with Inter Milan, Lukas Podolski currently calls Poland his home, playing for Gornik Zabrze and feeling at ease with his family there.
During his career, Podolski has experienced different cultural nuances, including the love for events in Germany, which he believes helps set them apart in this area.
