Why 2014 World Cup Remains My Best Moment – Podolski

Former Germany forward, Lukas Podolski has hinted that winning the 2014 World Cup remains the best moment of his career.

Podolski, in an interview with FourFourTwo, noted that playing Argentina in the final and lifting the trophy in front of a large audience was a great memory for him.

“The best moment? Carrying the World Cup- nothing beats that,” Podolski said.

“You can see the actual trophy on television when you’re a little kid and dream about it..then one day I had it and no one can take it away from me. That was a really fun moment. We weren’t the favourites at that World Cup but beat Brazil 7-1 in the semi-finals.

“The final against Argentina was so difficult, though: we didn’t play very well at the beginning and Gonzalo Higuain missed a huge opportunity for them. We had a lot of luck that day, but that’s football. No one remembers it now. We probably had a stronger team and played better football at the 2010 World Cup, but lost 1-0 to Spain in the semi-finals. Four years later luck was on our side at the Maracana.”
Recall that Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 in the final on July 13 at the Maracana Stadium.

Style of play

Podolski possesses an explosive and accurate shot, reaching speeds of nearly 100 mph (160 km/h). Arsene Wenger described Podolski saying “He’s certainly one of the best finishers I’ve ever seen…If there’s one you want to see in front of the goal in a shooting position, it’s him”. In his early years, Podolski possessed explosive speed with great acceleration which was later affected by some lengthy injuries.

He usually cuts inside either to shoot or pass the ball. Podolski is a physically strong player able to hold up the ball and produce key passes. Podolski has good dribbling and technical skills and is also a good crosser of the ball having set up many goals for his teammates from the left side. He is a penalty specialist, having missed only two penalties in his career.