Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-0 away from home. Also, Arsenal's new striker, Lukas Podolski, scored his first goal.
Being both Polish and a fanatic soccer fan, I can't believe I never wrote anything about Podolski all this time. For those unfamiliar with this player, here's some background: he was born in Poland, both his parents are Polish, but they left Poland and settled in Germany when he was two years old. He holds a double citizenship. According to FIFA rules, if a player with a double citizenship is wanted by two national soccer teams, he can choose which one he wants to play for; however, he only gets to make that choice once and cannot change his mind later. Podolski chose to represent Germany and not Poland, mainly because the Polish federation was very late to the party and did not call him for the Polish national squad until he was 21. Some Polish soccer fans are very angry because of this, either at Podolski himself (for being a "traitor") or at the German soccer federation (for "stealing" a Polish player).
What's interesting in all this is that Podolski plays for Germany even though he feels more Polish than German. He always speaks Polish to the Polish media. Whenever Germany plays Poland, he makes a point of singing both national anthems before the game; also, when he scored two goals against Poland in the opening game of Euro 2008, he chose not to celebrate as a show of respect for Polish fans. He is married to a Polish woman and says that he will move to Poland once his professional soccer career is over.
All in all though, one has to remember that even though he is Polish, he is not a Polish soccer player. He started playing soccer in Germany, was picked out by German scouts, developed by German youth coaches, gained his experience in German soccer league. Polish fans who think he's been stolen need to realize that had his parents never moved to Germany, he'd most likely not become a player of the quality that he now has.
Being both Polish and a fanatic soccer fan, I can't believe I never wrote anything about Podolski all this time. For those unfamiliar with this player, here's some background: he was born in Poland, both his parents are Polish, but they left Poland and settled in Germany when he was two years old. He holds a double citizenship. According to FIFA rules, if a player with a double citizenship is wanted by two national soccer teams, he can choose which one he wants to play for; however, he only gets to make that choice once and cannot change his mind later. Podolski chose to represent Germany and not Poland, mainly because the Polish federation was very late to the party and did not call him for the Polish national squad until he was 21. Some Polish soccer fans are very angry because of this, either at Podolski himself (for being a "traitor") or at the German soccer federation (for "stealing" a Polish player).
What's interesting in all this is that Podolski plays for Germany even though he feels more Polish than German. He always speaks Polish to the Polish media. Whenever Germany plays Poland, he makes a point of singing both national anthems before the game; also, when he scored two goals against Poland in the opening game of Euro 2008, he chose not to celebrate as a show of respect for Polish fans. He is married to a Polish woman and says that he will move to Poland once his professional soccer career is over.
All in all though, one has to remember that even though he is Polish, he is not a Polish soccer player. He started playing soccer in Germany, was picked out by German scouts, developed by German youth coaches, gained his experience in German soccer league. Polish fans who think he's been stolen need to realize that had his parents never moved to Germany, he'd most likely not become a player of the quality that he now has.
