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.

I grew up a huge jock, a lot of basketball and football. We had a pond in my back yard growing up, and we played a lot of hockey, too. I loved to score goals.

I'm a team player. I've, you know, played team sports my whole life, at least as a kid. And I believe that you have to subordinate yourself to the greater good of the team.

When I got injured, I think I was starting to sense that there was more to the world than just sports. This dream of playing professional soccer probably wasn't the best track for me.

It is like football with coaches, like, 'We're only going to think about the next game.' It is really true, all you think is, 'Okay, we have to make a good next episode.'