The Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona’s big signing, had his first big day yesterday Friday in the so-called Spotify Camp Nou, where more than 55,000 spectators gathered, a presentation of the most crowded in the history of the Blaugrana entity.
According to the Catalan club, 59,026 tickets were withdrawn to attend the event. The attendance at the stadium was on par with the big shows in recent years. Fewer came close than when Diego Armando Maradona wore that Meyba shirt in 1982, although then the presentation was a joint one for the whole team.
More spectators were cited to watch Lewandowski’s first touches in the number nine than when Neymar jr debuted in 2013 (56,000) or when Zlatan Ibrahimovic first donned the Barca shirt in 2009 (50,000). They were more than when Ronaldinho gathered 20,000 people in 2003 or when the desired Thierry Henry, in the summer of 2007, gathered 35,000 fans in the same arena
Lewandowski jumped with the nine on his back until now in the possession of Memphis Depay – “a strategic decision of the club”, said the president Joan Laporta – and the Camp Nou went crazy.
Laporta acted almost as speaker in the stadium. Microphone in hand thanked the player for his effort to come to Barça. “It wasn’t easy, believe me. This operation was possible because the player wanted to come here”, said the manager, who especially thanked the player’s representative, Pini Zahavi, for his effort in the operation. “Today is a historic day,” said an exultant Laporta. The striker’s first words were in Catalan: “I’m very happy to be in Barcelona”.
“I am very proud to be a Barça player. It’s been hard, but I’m here in the end. My happiness is great, I am sure that I will score many goals in this stadium and we will win many titles”, he told the audience. Afterwards, in the press room, he admitted that the affection of the spectators had been “incredible” and that he had felt “moved” during the presentation.
“It’s hard to find the words. When I saw the project, I made the decision to come. I know that Barça is coming from a difficult time, but everything will be much better. My teammates have a lot of potential and with this team we can do very good things”, he said. Lewandowski does not feel his age and considers that Barcelona was “the perfect next step” in his career. “I am very satisfied”, said the Polish forward.
