It’s not a bad 24 hours for your career when you join Gerd Muller in the 250 Bundesliga goals club and then beat Ronaldo and Messi to a prestigious award.
At 7:30pm GMT on Wednesday Lewan’s epic 24 hours began by scoring two against Wolfsburg to join Gerd Muller and Klaus Fischer in the Bundesliga 250 goal club, then on Thursday he was donning a suit and tie to collect the Best Fifa Men’s Player award off Messi and Ronaldo.
Over the last eighteen months, under the most difficult of circumstances, Lewan has been a revelation, producing the most productive goalscoring period of his career at the grand young age of 32 and taking home the treble, including his dream of winning the Champions League. The scary thing is he doesn’t intend to finish yet.
“I’m 32, but that doesn’t mean I feel 32! I don’t just want to stay at the top of my game for the next two or three seasons, I’m looking more long-term than that.”
What fans said on social media after Lewan took Best Fifa Men’s Player 2020:
Congratulations the BEST Men’s Player of 2020. Robert Lewandowski is a GREAT player and it is always with huge interest and joy we watch him playing. Yes Robert, you deserve the Trophy.
He deserves it. Keep the good work going, more glory is coming to you.
I love Ronaldo always and forever but this one time I think Lewa was deserving after all he has done for his team last season.
THE BEST THE POLISH KING Robert Lewandowski #FIFAFootballAwards #TheBest #BayernMunich
Deserving for the performance throughout the last season. Wish he had the Ballon D’or too.
Further articles:
–Lewan scores his 250th and 251st goals to help Bayern come from behind against Wolfsburg: Match Report
–Edin Terzic wins first game in charge as Borussia Dortmund coach after Favre sacking: Match report
–Favre sacked by Dortmund: reaction and analysis
–Aberdeen draw with Hamilton on the day Diego Maradona dies: Reaction
Lewandowski – “I’m convinced the best period of my career is AROUND THE CORNER”
Anticipating that he’s yet to reach his peak leaves us wondering what the hell this period is all about.
Lewan told France Football: “I’m 32, but that doesn’t mean I feel 32! For me, age has no importance in terms of everything that I do, of my involvement in football and my life away from it. I don’t just want to stay at the top of my game for the next two or three seasons, I’m looking more long-term than that.”
On winning the Best Fifa Men’s Player award Lewan said: “When you win an award like this, in an era with Messi and Ronaldo, it means a lot and it’s a wonderful feeling. It shows no matter where you come from, no matter what your name is, what you do is important.”
Overcoming adversity and turning away from ego to become the best
To overcome challenges is one of the traits that runs through the background of GOATS in any sport.
Nothing comes easy no matter how good you are.
Aaron Rogers was picked 25th in a draft where he was supposed to be 1st and had to move to the freezing cold plains of Wisconsin instead of the sun lit vineyards of California at the beginning of his epic Super Bowl winning career in the NFL.
Michael Jordan was rejected by numerous colleges and told he wasn’t good enough before building his legacy at the Chicago Bulls.
In Lewan’s case, the biggest team in his home country – Legia Warsaw – dropped him at 17 years of age partly due to a knee injury, partly because they thought they had better strikers.
Lewan’s career continued to raise challenges in a meandering journey that almost saw the Polish star sign for Blackburn Rovers if it hadn’t been for the eruptions of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull which grounded all flights in Europe in 2010. So instead Lewan signed for Borussia Dortmund, where a certain Jurgen Klopp had a propensity to play Lewandowski on the right of a front three in favour of Paraguayan striker Lucas Barrios. Then at Bayern, doubts were raised about Lewan’s ‘egostical attitude’.
German football writer Raphael Honigstein told the BBC this week how Lewandowski was always most concerned with his goalscoring record. He was the last in the dressing room, first out, spoke little to his teammates and even criticised them if they didn’t help him score.
Then, with thoughts of a move perhaps to Real Madrid dissipating, and beginning to accept that he was at the team he would remain with for the rest of his career, Lewan started to integrate himself more in the club.
Now it’s reported that he stays behind and works with the youth teams giving tips and helping train Bayern’s production line of strikers.
It’s been a long road to the top for the boy from Warsaw, but he’s finally got there, and now, in Lewan everyone trusts.
Harry Jamshid Reporter Sports Pages 