Lukas Podolski (40) has been playing for Gornik Zabrze since 2021. Now he wants to become the owner of the traditional Polish club.
Here we go again, old boy! Lukas Podolski is about to start his fifth season in the Polish league with Gornik Zabrze. The 2014 World Cup winner decided in May to extend his contract for another year. He still enjoys playing soccer too much. And that’s despite celebrating his 40th birthday just over a month ago. In his 109 league appearances for Gornik to date, Podolski has scored 23 goals and set up 21 more. The veteran star still gives his all in every game, even in preseason friendlies, with the referees sometimes turning a blind eye to his antics.
But Podolski’s value to Gornik goes far beyond the sporting aspect, as Jan Urban confirms. He will be presented as Poland’s new national coach this Thursday and was Zabrze’s coach last season until his dismissal six games before the end of the season. “He is a blessing for his teammates, who look up to him and can learn from him, and a blessing for the club. Gornik has benefited from Lukas, both in terms of prestige and marketing,” said Urban.
New squad, new coach – soon a new owner?
And now there are signs that Podolski could soon take on a key role not only as a player on the pitch, but also as the owner of the entire club. Rumors have been circulating for years that the city of Zabrze wants to sell the club. In recent months, there has been significant movement on this issue. Of the two companies initially interested, LP-Holding GmbH, in which Podolski has a stake, remains in the running. The deal is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks. In an interview this week, he expressed some frustration that the purchase was not finalized before the start of the season: “We all know how long the talks with the city, the email exchanges, and the meetings with the lawyers took. It’s hard to say if things are moving in the right direction. Both parties have to be ready for it. We’ll see what happens.”
It also remains to be seen how Gornik will fare in the new season, which kicks off this weekend. The squad has been revamped once again, and a new coach, Michal Gasparik, has been brought in. The 43-year-old Slovakian is working in Poland for the first time and is not yet familiar with the very balanced league. Under these circumstances, it is likely to be difficult for Gornik to finish significantly better than last season (9th place). The favorites for the title are champions Lech Poznan, Rakow Czestochowa, and Legia Warsaw. Jagiellonia Bialystok and Pogon Szczecin are outsiders.