Germany striker Lukas Podolski announced his decision to retire from international football on Monday.
Podolski, 31, announced his retirement from the Nationalmannschaft 12 years after making his debut in a 2-0 loss to Hungary prior to the 2004 European Championship. The former Arsenal attacker won 129 caps for Germany and scored 48 goals, and is the last member of the 2006 World Cup team to step down.
The Poland-born Galatasaray striker took to Instagram to reveal that his priorities have shifted in recent years and that it’s time to leave the Germany team for good.
“I have told the Bundestrainer [Joachim Low] that I will no longer play for the national team. I will take things easier and devote myself to other things,” Podolski wrote on Instagram.
“The decision has been difficult for me. The Nationalmannschaft has always been a matter of the heart for me. But I felt on holiday after the Euros that my focus has shifted. There is a time for everything, and my time with the DFB is over.”
Podolski and Mirsolav Klose (who retired after the 2014 World Cup) both had major influences on the Germany team, not only on the pitch but also in the way it has been perceived after being born in neighbouring Poland.
“I am proud of what I have experienced with the DFB,” Podolski continued. “Nothing can replace what the national team has given me in joy, passion and team spirit. From the two-year-old Polish boy who arrived in Germany with virtually nothing but a ball under his arm to lifting the World Cup. It’s more than I could have dreamed of.”
Podolski was the third highest goal scorer in German history, however, in recent years he had been limited to a substitute role and only made one brief appearance at the 2016 European Championship in the round of 16 tie against Slovakia.
The attacker is the second Germany player to retire from international football following Bastian Schweinsteiger’s announcement in late July.
Schweinsteiger and Podolski had been the last members of the historic 2006 World Cup team who played on home soil. Five members — Klose, Philipp Lahm and Per Mertesacker being the other three — went on to form the core of the team which would win the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
