FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Lukas Podolski makes no secret of the fact that his favorite club is Cologne and gets a trip to the city of his youth with Bayern Munich on Saturday, although it is far from certain he will start against his old teammates.
German striker Podolski desperately hopes for Bayern starting slot against Cologne at the weekend.
Podolski has failed to settle at Bayern since leaving Cologne two seasons ago and has been unable to secure a place in the starting 11 under new coach Juergen Klinsmann this season.
His grumbling has become more frequent and more vocal, prompting Bayern's general manager Uli Hoeness to urge him to stop "whining."
Many see Podolski leaving Bayern in the winter transfer window, possibly returning to Cologne, although media reports in England this week linked him to a possible move to newly-enriched Manchester City.
Others are urging him to stick it out in Bayern, predicting that his qualities will eventually make him a leader at Germany's biggest club.
At 23, Podolski already has 58 caps for Germany and 30 goals and could even eclipse the great Gerd Mueller's 68-goal record if he continues to score at that rate.
"I feel very strong and self-confident," he said Saturday after scoring twice in the 6-0 World Cup qualifying win over Liechtenstein.
Klinsmann has preferred to start with Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose, although neither seem to be at their best.
Toni topped the Bundesliga scoring charts with 24 goals last season but the Italian was a shadow of his sharp-shooting self at the European Championship for Italy and for Bayern this season.
Klose had to be talked into taking -- and converting a penalty in the last Bundesliga game against Hertha Berlin, a 4-1 win, his first league goal since March.
With Podolski bursting with confidence and energy, Klose was the exact opposite. Until Wednesday.
Klose returned to form with a hat trick to help Germany salvage a 3-3 draw against Finland in Helsinki, just in time to stop calls for Podolski to take his place in Bayern's starting 11.
Klinsmann will now find it hard to leave Klose out, especially after standing by him during his slump.
"I always knew what I could do and I know that when you work hard you are rewarded at the end," Klose said after the match in Helsinki.
"I did not let the whole discussion affect me, but a lot of the comments in the press were below the belt and you notice them, whether you want to or not," said Klose, who like Podolski was born in Poland.
Klinsmann said on Thursday that Klose was still not at his best.
"But he is on a good way," Klinsmann said. "You could see it in practice. We knew the goals would come some time."
Bayern will be looking for its second victory of the season against Cologne, where it won six straight while Cologne was still in the top division. Cologne returned to the top-flight this season.
Saturday's match in Cologne is only one of a number of intriguing encounters in the Bundesliga over the weekend.
Two of the three clubs that share the lead after three rounds go against each other when Borussia Dortmund hosts neighbor and old rival Schalke.
Dortmund has been rejuvenated under new coach Juergen Klopp, while Schalke has major injury worries.
First-choice goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is still recovering from a foot fracture and his backup Mathias Schober is out with a calf injury.
That leaves 19-year-old Ralf Faehrmann facing his Bundesliga debut in one of Schalke's biggest games of the season. On the plus side, newly signed striker Jefferson Farfan should make his debut after overcoming a shoulder injury.
Hamburger SV, the third team to share the lead with seven points, has a tough game against Bayer Leverkusen, which is just behind at six.
Hamburg went on a shopping spree in the just finished transfer period but it remains to be seen whether coach Martin Jol will use either of his new Brazilians, Thiago Neves and Alex Silva.
Leverkusen's young team, with new coach Bruno Labbadia, has delighted with nine goals in three games.
In other matches Saturday, it's Werder Bremen vs. Energie Cottbus, Hertha Berlin vs. Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim vs. Stuttgart. On Sunday, Hannover hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach and Bochum plays Arminia Bielefeld.
Eintracht Frankfurt kicks off the round Friday at home against Karlsruhe on a freshly laid pitch, after a Madonna concert damaged the old pitch.http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/football/09/11/germany.bayern.ap/index.html
No comments:
Post a Comment