Lewandowski exchanges his goals for prizes

From a defender to a forward. UEFA chose Robert Lewandowski as the best player in the 2020 European competitions. The Polish striker happens in the list of winners to Liverpool’s central Virgil van Dijk, winner of last year. The award rewards the great year of Bayern Munich, who won all their Champions League matches until they won their sixth European Cup. And he also trades Lewandowski’s 55 goals last season for his first major accolade.

Neither Messi (down with a 2-8 that hurt his soul) nor Cristiano Ronaldo (who did not even reach Lisbon) nor even Neymar, although he was in the final. None of the three most famous footballers on the planet was on the podium, another of the rarities of this unique 2020.

The podium

The Pole outnumbered his teammate Manuel Neuer, chosen as the best goalkeeper, and the Belgian De Bruyne

Lewandowski beat his teammate Manuel Neuer, captain of the Bavarians, and Kevin de Bruyne in the vote. The German goalkeeper settled for being chosen as this year’s best goalkeeper, while the Belgian Manchester City midfielder was in the shortlist despite falling in the quarter-finals, against Lyon, and was chosen as the best half of the year ahead of Thiago.

The 32-year-old Bayern forward was the most decisive player in the 19-20 Champions League. He scored 15 goals in 10 games played in the tournament. Precisely in the only game that did not see the door was in the final against PSG. But Lewandowski was able to win his first Champions League, after losing the 2013 final at Wembley.

Until now

The forward’s highest ranking in an international award was fourth place in the 2015 Ballon d’Or

Until now, the best classification of the Pole in one of the great international prizes was his fourth place in the Ballon d’Or of 2015, when he was fourth in the vote.

Looking at the five titles that Bayern has already added this year, it is not surprising that the Bavarian giant also won the award for best defense, which went to Joshua Kimmich.