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Podolski Torn Over Poland Pounding

Germany striker Lukas Podolski has confessed he has ‘mixed feelings’ after scoring a brace to down the country of his birth…

The Bayern Munich hitman was born in the industrial city of Gliwice, before he and his family move to the German town of Bergheim while he was a child.

And while the 23-year-old admitted there was hint of regret as Germany ran out 2-0 winners in their Group B opener in Klagenfurt, he is focused on maintaining that sort of form throughout EURO 2008.

"Obviously I have mixed feelings," said Podolski. "I was born in Poland and I have a big family there so it's a very important thing for me. We applied what we worked on in training and must push forward from here.

"As I said, this is the first step and we must continue – we can't relax. We have two days to refresh ourselves and then it's back to training and everything continues from there."

Obvious

Podolski was named man of the match by the UEFA Technical Study Group, as he provided a constant threat to the Polish defence at the Wörthersee Stadion.

Roy Hodgson, one of nine expert panellists, claimed the decision was tougher than it appeared on paper, given the efforts of Germany’s midfield duo Michael Ballack and Torsten Frings.

"I think he was the obvious choice for the award because, apart from playing very well, he scored two goals," said the Fulham boss.

"However, it would be unfair to say he was the difference between the two teams, because I feel the two central midfield players, Ballack and Frings, were very important.

"But it would be hard to justify not giving Podolski the award because he was very impressive and scored both goals."

Hard Done By

Hodgson added that he believes Poland performed well against their more fancied opponents, insisting their downfall came at the hands of Germany’s steadfast defence.

"Germany are a hard team to beat because they have a lot of experience, pace and strength in their team," he said. "I thought the Polish had an equal share of possession but came up against a strong defence.

"At 1-0 down they were having to chase the game so they were always in danger of being caught on the counterattack as they were obliged to throw people forward. But they can feel a little hard done by."

Goal.com - Euro 2008 - Podolski Torn Over Poland Pounding