'Podolski has to prove himself'
Bayern Munich manager Uli Hoeness insisted on Wednesday that German striker Lukas Podolski still has to prove himself - more than a year after joining the Bundesliga giants.
The 22-year-old joined Bayern in July 2006 from Cologne, but having arrived with an impressive goal-scoring record for his old side, he only scored four goals in 22 games last season.
But Podolski has only just come back to form after suffering a knee injury which has kept him out since April.
"He has been at Bayern for nearly a year and a half and this season he must show what he is worth, but he hasn't proved anything yet," Hoeness told the German daily newspaper Sueddeutschen Zeitung on Wednesday.
"In the next six to eight months to come, he must show us that he is worth his place in the team," said the Bayern boss.
Before his arrival in July 2006, Podolski, voted the best young player at the 2006 World Cup, had scored 24 Bundesliga goals for Cologne, but his place in the Bayern first-team is now blocked by Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni.
Italian World Cup winner Toni was signed from Fiorentina for 11 million euros in the summer, while Klose was brought in from rivals Werder Bremen and between them the pair have already scored nine goals this season.
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