Lukas Podolski’s posts on Instagram and Twitter show a beaming, content man, seemingly at ease with his new surroundings. After all, what is not to like about playing for Internazionale, champions of Serie A 18 times and three times winners of the European Cup?
But those posts, written in Italian, are deceptive. The German has carried on where he left off at Arsenal: that is to say, no one appears to know what to do with him.
In a poll in the daily sports newspaper, Gazzetta dello Sport, Alessio Cerci, who joined Milan from Atlético Madrid, was voted the worst signing of the January transfer window. Podolski, who has signed on a six-month loan, came second, with 36% of the votes. At least they don’t have to go far to console each other with their poor starts to life in Serie A.
The striker, who was in the squad but on the fringes of Germany’s World Cup victory last summer, is seemingly on the periphery once again. He played against Fiorentina in Serie A on 1 March but was hauled off by Roberto Mancini after an hour, replaced by Xherdan Shaqiri, who was another January arrival. And a much more popular one.
Inter lost that home game 1-0 and Mancini was quick to criticise Podolski. The manager said: “Seeing how Shaqiri played, which effectively changed the game, I regret not playing him from the start.”
Mancini’s patience has worn thin and those comments would appear to rule Podolski out of starting the league game away against Napoli on Sunday [8 March], unless an injury to Mauro Icardi hands the German a reprieve. But Mancini has given the man with 121 caps and 47 goals for Germany a good run. He brought Podolski on as a substitute, against Juventus on 6 January, having just signed him, and that was arguably Podolski’s best performance for Inter. If Icardi had scored from Podolski’s pass, Inter would have won.
He has started all eight domestic games Inter have played since. The key word there is domestic. Inter are in the Europa League, and play Wolfsburg in the last 16 on Thursday, but Mancini did not put Podolski in his squad list for the competition. With restrictions forcing a quota of homegrown players, Mancini put Davide Santon, another January transfer, in his European squad. Although Santon was signed from Newcastle, he came up through the youth ranks at Inter.
Shaqiri, however, is in the Europa League squad so Podolski signed without even having the full confidence of his manager.
Podolski, who will be 30 in June, arrived possibly hoping a change in position would lead to a change in his fortunes. He coveted the centre-forward role at Inter, something denied him at Arsenal by Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck.
But Icardi is the clear first-choice striker at Inter, leaving Podolski stuck out on the left of a forward three, once again, as he was at Arsenal. Perhaps the best that can be said about Podolski, who has not scored since moving to Italy, is that he has helped Mancini to introduce that 4-2-3-1 formation, and Inter’s form this year has been improving slowly. They have lost three times in the league but did draw 1-1 with Juventus and beat Sampdoria 2-0.
Inter’s league form before Christmas is what has condemned them to a mid-table embrace with their neighbours Milan that does not suggest they will be among Europe’s elite next season. Unless Inter win the Europa League and qualify for the Champions League that way. And that, of course, would happen without Podolski.
However, the former Bayern Munich and Cologne striker is trying to remain as upbeat as those tweets and Instagram pictures would suggest, although they don’t mention the corner he took against Fiorentina that failed to reach the penalty area. “You need to swallow [criticism] in professional football,” he said. “There is always another direction, meaning a positive one.
“I don’t care for media or people being critical of me. I know that this is part of the business. It’s important to know what you have to be better. The folks always want to see you hit rock bottom. I had a good start here but what is missing is that one goal. You can’t just hit the switch. I want to score in every game, play well and set up goals.”
Podolski has been waiting a long time for that switch to flick. He scored the last-minute winner in Brussels against Anderlecht in the Champions League in October and then scored twice against Galatasaray at the Emirates the following month. Since then, three months and no goals.
With Inter all but certain to let Podolski return to Arsenal this summer, and Arsène Wenger sure to sell, his agent has been talking about where Podolski could go next. Perhaps appropriately, given who he scored his most recent goals against, Turkey seems to be favourite.
