Dortmund September 22, 2015. Allianz Arena. Bundesliga match. It ends the first half with 0-1 for Wolfsburg. Robert Lewandowski comes in to finish the match. And it makes world history. A Guinness record. Minutes 51, 52, 55, 57 and 60. Five goals from the Polish striker in eight minutes and 59 seconds. Pep Guardiola smiles in disbelief and admiration and puts his hands on his head. He is well remembered by his second coach at Bayern, Domènec Torrent. “It was five very different goals. Lewandowski has marked them in all colors, ”he summed up in a conversation with ARA. “He has scored against the head, to be brave, to get his toe out, to be attentive to the rebound, to shoot with both legs. He has a lot of intuition to know where the ball will fall, he has more speed than it may seem and he is also very good, ”says Torrent.
Lewy’s figures are anthological. With 312 goals in 384 games (four seasons with Borussia Dortmund and eight with Bayern), he is the second highest scorer in Bundesliga history, surpassed only by Gerd Müller (365 goals in 427 games). Lewandowski is the most productive foreign striker in the German league. And, in the Champions League only Cristiano Ronaldo (140 goals) and Leo Messi (125) are more prolific than him (86).
And that the Polish star came relatively late to the European elite. He made his Bundesliga debut a day after turning 22. In comparison, Messi made his debut in the Spanish League at the age of 17; Cristiano Ronaldo also with 17 in Portuguese and 18 in English. Benzema also had 17 when he played his first Primera match in France; Mbappé was 16 years and 11 months old, and Haaland 19 when he made his debut for Borussia Dortmund. “As a young footballer I was unlucky that my coaches in Poland did not extract everything from me. It was only when I arrived in the Bundesliga that I realized my chances. I often thought it would have been nice if someone had taught me this at the age of 14 or 15, ”admits Lewandowski himself.
Lewandowski’s skills
Precisely for not having refined his football at a young age, Lewy does not have a radical technical skill. He doesn’t have much dribbling, he doesn’t have very fine ball control, he doesn’t have the magic at the feet of other superstars. “Lewandowski does everything very well, but he does nothing exceptional,” says German journalist Oliver Fritsch. In a podcast a time online, this reporter ironically says that Lewy has the best job in Germany: being a Bayern striker. “He is the great beneficiary of his team’s enormous dominance. Bayern create a lot of chances per game “, he says, noting that Lewandowski, on the other hand, has not been able to bring the Polish team to a relevance similar to that given by Bale to the Welshman.
“Lewandowski is the best Polish player in history,” said Jan Urban, Osasuna’s iconic former striker in the 1990s. or Boniek, has not achieved anything with the team, although he is the top scorer with 76 goals in 172 games, but now the national level is not the same, Urban argues in statements to this newspaper.
What the former Osasuna star does concede is that his compatriot “can cost much more to score goals in the Spanish League than in Germany.” “There is a higher level of football in Spain. There is not as much difference between Barça and Madrid and the other teams as there is between Bayern and the other Bundesliga teams “, he explains.
Best player in the world for FIFA in 2020, Golden Boot in 2021 and champion of all possible titles with Bayern, Lewandowski wants more and more and more. This jump from Munich to Barcelona is “another galaxy for the minds of Poles,” says Eleven Sports TV journalist Marcin Gazda from Warsaw, while recalling that President Florentino Perez tried “three times” to sign. for Real Madrid.
The arrival at Barça will further increase the turnover of RL9, Lewandowski’s trademark. “In Poland he and his wife Anna have an economic empire,” says Gazda. “Lewy is very generous with solidarity initiatives, but he also has a reputation for being very picky and tough when it comes to negotiating his things,” smiles the journalist.
Lewandowski is one of the ten richest footballers in the world
Seconds Forbes, the Polish striker is one of the ten richest footballers in the world. The Lewandowski couple is involved in some thirty companies and projects. Robert, basically, in the technological and service branch, but also in real estate, with apartments and a three-storey restaurant in Warsaw, and, Anna in the health and healthcare sector. fitness.
Anna Stachurska, now Lewandowska, bronze medalist at a World Karate Championships, is a renowned advisor and iinfluencer of nutrition. It has its own food brand that is sold in Polish kiosks and various health centers. He relies heavily on the “reverse diet”: meals begin with desserts and water-rich foods and end with more consistent dishes. This, he argues, promotes digestion and fat burning. Lewandowskis consume gluten-free foods and avoid dairy. In the fridge they say they have mostly fruits, vegetables and a special coffee that is brewed with steamed herbs and should be kept cold.
Lewandowski has his own brand of coffee, but deprives himself of any chocolate that does not contain more than 80% cocoa. “In Poland we say he’s a boring guy, free of scandals,” Gazda laughs.
“Lewandowski has always been very careful. He is very clear that his body is his temple, his working machine “, recalls Torrent. “He is humble, he understood the reason for the things you told him. For a coach it is a delight. He always trains and plays to the fullest. Nothing is ever left “, points out the Catalan coach.
He spent overtime in the gym and on the training camps, where he learned to be a specialist in foul throws and, above all, penalties. From eleven meters it reaches 91% accuracy.
Meticulous, disciplined. Take care of body and mind. During his career he has also hired a specialist to help him optimize sleep. High-end mattresses, head-cushions, essential odors in a completely dark room and a temperature of up to 21 degrees.
Lewandowski and the importance of visible and invisible training
The importance of visible and invisible training. Since arriving at German football in July 2010 Lewandowski has only missed 24 games due to injury. Lewy is an athlete from the cradle. Her mother, Iwona, was a volleyball player and her father, Krzysztof, a renowned judoka. Both were physical education teachers. “In sports class at school they made me do a lot of gymnastics and judo. Now, thanks to my mastery of the body, I can react more flexibly to many party situations “, he explains.
Lewandowski was 16 when his father died. “I would not wish for anything more vehement than for him to ever come to the stadium to see me with my mother. How many times do I think I would love to ask him for advice today! ”Says Lewy.
Today he is on the field and is only interested in the game and the goal. Michael Zorc, sporting director of Borussia Dortmund, said of Lewandowski that he knew of no other professional who could disconnect so perfectly from any outside influence in the match as he did.
Since 2015/2016 Lewy has scored 40 or more goals per season. In 2020/21 he made 41 in the Bundesliga alone, beating Gerd Müller’s all-time record. “In the end it doesn’t play a role if I have great talent or super-great talent. I am aware that I have to work continuously to move forward “, he concludes.
