For elite level sportspeople it's not abnormal to be highly talented across a range of sports.

Last year Peter Cech joined British ice hockey side Guildford Phoenix, Andre Villas-Boas' has demonstrated a thirst for competitive motorsport alongside his football management career and the revered Italian defender Paolo Maldini even managed to qualify for a professional tennis tournament in 2017 at the tender age of 42. 

Boasting top level coordination and athleticism, many players will have participated in a range of sports at a young age before specialising in football later on.

And in light of the latest news regarding Lukas Podolski, we can assume that the former Germany international was a keen ice hockey player during his formative years. 

Indeed, the 35-year-old recently saved his local ice hockey club from bankruptcy. 

The club in question, Kolner Haie, are one of Germany's biggest outfits but they have suffered financially in light of the coronavirus pandemic. 

With the club embroiled in financial turmoil, Podolski promised supporters of the club that he would sign on if 100,000 virtual tickets were purchased ahead of the 2020/21 season. 

The magic number of tickets sales has been reached and now the former Arsenal attacker will need to find a way to balance his new ice hockey responsibilities with the demands of his football career.

Having spent two-and-a-half years with Japanese outfit Vissel Kobe, Podolski joined Antalyaspor in January 2020, and he has scored two goals from eight Turkish Super Lig games so far this season.  

In a post on Kolner Haie's official website, Podolski expressed his delight that the 100k target had been reached. 

"I am extremely happy for the Haie, that we got the 100.000 tickets. I just want to say thank you to all the people and companies that helped us.

"Once everything is a little more calm we'll sit together with the club to see how this continues. Whatever it will look like: I am looking forward to being a Haie player."