Podolski may not make it

tracylynn

Hoeness warns Podolski may not make it
Associated Press

MUNICH, Germany (AP) - Germany striker Lukas Podolski may not make it at Bayern Munich if he does not change his attitude, the club's general manager has warned.

"When I read in an interview that he thinks he's got nothing left to prove, I must say that's a wrong assessment," Uli Hoeness said in an interview with the Sueddeutsche Zeitung published Wednesday. "On the contrary, he has something to prove. He hasn't achieved anything so far."

Podolski, considered one of Germany's brightest talents, signed for Bayern from second-division club Cologne before the 2006 World Cup.

Although playing regularly for Germany, Podolski struggled in his first year in Bayern, before missing most of the second half of the season with a knee injury.

Bayern brought in fellow Germany striker Miroslav Klose from Werder Bremen before this season and added Italy's World Cup winner Luca Toni. Podolski has only started when one of the other two have been injured. Klose and Toni have nine goals between them in six league games so far.

"If he doesn't change his attitude radically, he won't make it here," Hoeness told the Munich newspaper.

Hoeness said he expected to trigger an "angry" reaction from Podolski and that the striker now had to "ignite."

"In the next six to eight months it will be clear if he makes it or not. He's been here almost one and a half years, in his second year he has to break through," Hoeness said.

"He has only one strong weapon and that's his left foot. That's not enough," the manager added.

Podolski, 22, has scored 23 goals in 40 games for Germany, but only four in 25 Bundesliga games for Bayern.

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Uli is correct in saying that Poldi still has to prove something. There are no excuses for this year.

MUTU

Yeah, I'm with Hoeness on this. Podolski's movement off the ball is really bad; he seems to be lazy. Just notice how very few chances he gets, and compare that to the number of chances that Toni gets, because Toni is always better placed and can easily unmark himself.

tracylynn

Podolski seems lazy when it comes to kicking the ball. When it's just him and the goalie, all he seems to do is kick it straight to the goalie, He likes to keep the ball on the ground and not try to get above or around the goalie. Perhaps after seeing that awesome goal from Toni this past weekend Lukas learned that he needs to be creative in the kicking department.

podolski4life

Despite what little footage I’ve seen of last season and of this season (thank goodness for Youtube), I agree with you guys. I don’t know if he was playing over his head in the WC or if Klose was making him look good or if he’s regressed since then, but his routes to the ball and with the ball look really predictable.

I think I’m bothered more about the attitude problem Hoeness brought up. What ticks me off the most in all sports, not just football, is young guys mouthing off without having anything to back it up. He’s only 23 and he’s claiming that his performance is top-notch?

(Sorry if I come across sounding harsh and hypocritical. Young guys having overblown attitudes make me cringe, especially with the JaMarcus Russell situation.)

FCBinNYC

You don't sound harsh, poldi4life. If you've only seen a little footage, I can tell you that there's not much more as far as Poldi's concerned. He's not the same player he was at the WC, hell even last season he was better than this season so far. In the Germany shirt he seems to go off, in Bayern colors he just looks lost and honestly it's like the team is playing with 10 men when he's out there.

mackoy

FC Bajern

Podolski: Give me a chance

Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski has hit back at recent criticism by claiming he has not been given a chance to prove what he can do.

Club manager Uli Hoeneß claimed last week that Podolski had achieved nothing so far at Bayern, and would have to start delivering the goods. However the young international striker has moved to counter these claims.

“I have never had the chance to play seven, eight, or nine games in a row. If my performances were not good enough after a run of games, then the criticism would be justified” the 22 year old told the ‘Münchener Tageszeitung’.

The former Cologne forward also sees no reason to change his game. “I’ve been playing a number of years now, and have had success” he explained.

He finds himself in a difficult situation in Munich at the moment with Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose firmly established as the first choice strike pairing. Toni has hit 5 goals, while Klose has bagged 8 so far this season.

“There is no reason for the trainer to change things at the moment because the front two are scoring” Poldi mused.

Podolski’s form for the national team is in stark contrast to that at his club side. For Bayer, he has only found the back of the net four times in 26 appearances. However, he has scored 23 times in 40 games for the ‘Nationalelf’.

Miss Dangerous...!!

After all, Hitzfeld's decision to go with Klose and Luca Toni has already proven to be right as the two international strikers share the scoring table lead with eight goals each - and Munich enjoy a five-point advantage atop the standings.

Podolski was last month warned by Munich general manager Uli Hoeness to finally deliver in his second season, a view also shared by national team gerenal manager Oliver Bierhoff.

"Lukas knows that he has to work on his weaknesses," said Biehoff.

Podolski will have to take his familiar place on the bench on Saturday as Klose returns from an injury layoff which kept him out of Germany's latest Euro-qualifiers.

Bochum lie 14th and appear to have little to hope for against Munich, who are the only unbeaten team in the league and have lost only once in their last 16 trips to Bochum.

There will also be plenty of attention on the match between SV Hamburg and VfB Stuttgart, the surprise teams of the previous two seasons.

Hamburg finished a strong third in 2006, only to struggle for most of the past season before at least coming seventh. Stuttgart even claimed a surprise 2007 title in May, but are now a modest 12th with just three wins from nine games.

Stuttgart are without suspended captain Fernando Meira as they seek their first points of the season away from home.

Hamburg are also likely without their skipper as Rafael van der Vaart sustained a thigh injury during Dutch national team duty. It also doesn't help Hamburg's cause that they suffered both season defeats in the first games after national team breaks.

"You could see that we had problems after international matches. We must further develop as a team and be more concentrated. We don't want to see against Stuttgart what happened in Bochum and Frankfurt," said midfielder David Jarolim.

Also on the weekend agenda are Energie Cottbus vs. MSV Duisburg (Friday), Werder Bremen vs. Hertha Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen vs. Borussia Dortmund, Nuremberg vs. Eintracht Frankfurt, Hansa Rostock vs. Schalke 04 (Saturday).

On Sunday, second-placed surprise package SC Karlsruhe host struggling Arminia Bielefeld and Hanover 96 meet VfL Wolfsburg.

Miss Dangerous...!!

The good news for Bayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld is that he will likely not be pressed to field Lukas Podolski in the near future.

Miss Dangerous...!!

Podolski remains convinced that he can nail down a first-team place with Bayern Munich. "I still have two-and-a-half years left on my contract with Bayern. I want to fulfill it," Podolski said this week.

Hoeness said last month that the player would not make it at the German giants if he didn't "change his attitude."

Podolski responded to the comment, saying "I can't be prevented from laughing."

Bayernglasgowfan

The honeymoon is well and truely over !!

Watching him walk off at half time yesterday I got the strongest impression he knew he was not walking back on in half time two.

Much as I like him and want him to make the grade I fear time is no longer on his side - two strikes against Bolton is not enough for me to change my mind right now.

MUTU

Yes, he definitely needs to pick up where he left off against Bolton, and then he'd be a serious threat to Toni and Klose.

FCBinNYC

So I didn't see the game, and I realise it was against Cyprus, but could there be hope for Podolski as a winger? All I keep hearing about was how great he was this past weekend, playing on the wing and hooking it up for everyone else. Playing in midfield would definately force him to be involved, which I think we're all agreed on is usually his problem. What do you guys think? Did anyone see the game? If he actually can be effective on the wing (as opposed to it being a one-off good performance), then we could have some serious firepower, not to mention that it could help break our "Ribery dependence." Though it would be too bad for Schweini...thoughts?

MUTU

I think it's too early to start talking about a new position for Podolski. He's had one good game in that position, and by no means does that mean that he's going to cut it there. His prime position remains as a striker, and that's where he'll play against Wales.

Miss Dangerous...!!

I believe that no matter how Podolski played well, as long as Toni and Klose are in their best form.. he won`t have a place in the starting line-up

So sad for him but it`s the truth Confused

and since the team comes first. we all hope that Toni and Klose will stay great like this till the end of the season. Podolski is a very good subtitute for us. but I don`t think that he`d like to stay on the bench. so, his future with us is still in doubt.