For the sake of Germany and the striker himself, Podolski must not participate in the 2010 World Cup.

He may not have made lost the plot like colleagues Diego Maradona, Raymond Domenech, Marcello Lippi, and Dunga, but Germany coach Joachim Loew made one glaring mistake in choosing his World Cup squad: he included Lukas Podolski.

At first glace, it may seem counter-intuitive to turn down a man who has scored 37 goals in 72 international appearances. Add in the fact that he managed two assists in his most recent match for Germany, and Podolski may appear an obvious shoe-in. But that’s all superficial.

The fact of the matter is that the Koeln striker has netted nearly half of his international goals against the San Marinos and Azerbaijans of the world. Against elite teams, however, Podolski is ordinary at best. Since his 2004 international debut, the Poland native has been to the final of the 2008 European Championship, as well as the third place matches of both the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 World Cup. And yet, for all the high-profile matches he’s played in, Podolski has only managed two goals against top-caliber teams: one against Brazil in 2005, and a more recent strike against Russia.

Most recently, against Malta, he missed a sitter, and failed to beat goalkeeper Justin Haber several times despite being through on goal. Sure, he recorded two assists, but to be fair, it was youngster Kevin Grosskreutz whose exquisite through balls made both possible. Nonetheless, it isn’t his performance in a Germany shirt that should keep Podolski out of Loew’s squad. Rather, it’s his attitude.

For a player to claims to have so much love for his hometown club, Podolski sure doesn’t show it. After rotting at Bayern for three years, Podolski was rescued by Koeln, who paid an unprecedented €10m to secure his services. Their favor was not returned. In 27 appearances, the man once referred to as the “crown prince” of German football managed just two goals, and played a shockingly pedestrian style. Instead of being a “return of the king”-type story, Podolski’s return to Koeln was more “return of the ‘clown prince’” than anything else.

Many readers may be wondering why club form should matter if Podolski continues to play well for Germany. Here’s how: at 24, Podolski is no better a footballer now than he was five years ago. Back then, he was a rising talent who needed time to cultivate his potential. But during the last five years, he’s done very, very little to improve himself, and now is notorious among Bundesliga coaches for being terribly lazy.

After he scored three goals at the 2006 World Cup, one would have expected Podolski to seize his chance to become the world’s next superstar striker. Instead, he refused to put in the work to develop his skills, and will ultimately fail to reach his full potential at this summer’s World Cup. Even if he scores five goals, Podolski will not have achieved his potential, because he undoubtedly would be even better had he fully honed his skills over the years.

All this begs the question: why would Podolski be so indifferent on the pitch? To this, I answer: at Koeln, who were always destined for a mid-lower table finish, he’s had no motivation. If he, after an astonishingly poor domestic campaign, can be a starter in the Germany squad (and wear the #10 shirt, for that matter), there is little incentive for improvement. Entitlement breeds apathy, and in turn, apathy results in wasted potential. The “prince” has gone the way of Little Lord Fauntleroy, and is now no more than an entitled, sulking brat.

There is, of course, a viable solution that would benefit both Germany and Podolski himself: his exclusion from the squad. If he were to miss out on the 2010 World Cup, Podolski would be forced to work hard at the club level, and perhaps might tap the rich vein of talent he possesses. At 24, there remains plenty of time for him to develop and star at Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup. That is, of course, assuming that he opts to put his best foot forward at the club level.
 
Even from Loew’s perspective, the benefits of excluding Podolski would far outweigh the negatives: if the attacker were left out, it would show that there is no “untouchable” in the Germany squad, and would encourage the kind of competition that has made domestic clubs Bayern Munich and Schalke so successful. With in-form youngsters Thomas Mueller, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil, and Marko Marin available as alternate—and far more deserving—left wing options, Loew has more than enough depth to cover the absence of “Prinz Poldi.”

But Loew will keep Podolski in his team, and may even start the Koeln forward. With the German squad in the midst of a major transition, Loew will likely stick with several “core” members of his squad—Podolski, Michael Ballack, Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger—rather than taking the risk of using too many newcomers. And for his conservatism, Loew will be doing no favors for Podolski, or Germany.