I don't care for media or people being critical of me.

I had the pressure when I started my career at 18 at Cologne, when people were saying, 'Ah, Podolski, the new hero of Cologne.'

The main thing is to score a goal in the first half. Then everything will be possible.

I think when I play No. 10 or as a striker, I am in this position to score more goals, and I can shoot more.

My family is the epicenter of my life.

A little girl who finds a puzzle frustrating might ask her busy mother (or teacher) for help. The child gets one message if her mother expresses clear pleasure at the request and quite another if mommy responds with a curt 'Don't bother me - I've got important work to do.'

Well, I have a CBE and I accepted it with glee because it's not bestowed on you by the royal family, it's not bestowed on you by the government, you have to be nominated by the public.

Men have the influence and power in business and politics. It is the mother who can make the child's bedtime earlier, take away desserts or ground the child.