Player profile

German supporters remain utterly baffled by Podolski. A prolific scorer in international football, his club form has been woeful and after just 15 goals in three frustrating years with Bayern Munich, he rejoined boyhood club, Cologne.

The move has been an utter disaster. After scoring his first goal on 13 September, he had to wait 1,425 minutes for his next in the Bundesliga, ironically against Bayern on 7 March, a shocking return given the huge 10m Euros transfer fee Cologne shelled out for him.

Podolski was named the best young player at the 2006 World Cup after scoring three goals in Germany’s run to third place and secured himself an unlikely fan when socialite Paris Hilton said: “I think Lukas is the sexiest man on the pitch. I would really like to meet him.”

He notched six goals in qualifying for South Africa this time round but was involved in some unsavoury incidents. He had a physical altercation with captain Michael Ballack during a World Cup qualifier against Wales and became involved in a row with Christian Ortlepp, the chief reporter of the DSF sports channel, after a defeat by Argentina in March.