ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI

YOU ASK THEQUESTIONS

“Sir Alex Ferguson wanted me and I said yes – even though it was very tough to understand every word he was saying!”

Interview Chris Flanagan

Robert Lewandowski could, the story goes, have been playing for Blackburn Rovers in 2010 if an Icelandic ash cloud hadn’t prevented him from flying to England to meet Sam Allardyce. Months later, Venky’s bought Blackburn, Allardyce was sacked and the Polish striker might have found himself in a relegation battle under Steve Kean. Instead, having joined Borussia Dortmund, he helped Jurgen Klopp’s exciting side to win the Bundesliga in each of his first two seasons playing there, and the rest is history. Thanks a lot, Eyjafjallajökull.

Now, Lewandowski has 12 league titles in three different countries and more than 700 career goals, giving him a collection of Golden Shoes and Golden Boots that would make Imelda Marcos feel inadequate. He has twice been named FIFA’s best player in the world, even if the Ballon d’Or has eluded him. Many felt that he deserved to beat Lionel Messi in 2021, after COVID led to the surprise cancellation of the award in 2020 – FourFourTwo conducted a journalists’ poll that year, using a similar format, and Lewandowski earned almost five times as many votes as any other player.

At 36 years of age, he has been astonishingly prolific once more this season: by early December, he had netted 16 times in as many La Liga matches for Barcelona, putting him well clear at the top of the division’s scoring chart. It also put him on the verge of a contract extension until 2026, triggered if he plays in half of Barça’s fixtures this term.

A keen gamer, Lewandowski is speaking to FFT as global ambassador of G2A.COM, an online platform where people worldwide buy and sell gaming-related items. He meets us to answer your questions, discuss an incredible career, reveal the truth about what actually happened with Blackburn – oh, and explain how he could have signed for Manchester United…

Who were your footballing heroes when you were growing up?

Jason Read, Hexham When I was six, it was Roberto Baggio; later it was Alan Shearer; but the real one was Thierry Henry. I watched not only how he scored goals, but how he ran – his technique and his movement on the pitch.

Your father was a footballer and a judo champion, while your mother was a volleyball player – how much did you play other sports?

Sebastian Banaszewski, Wroclaw In the beginning I tried judo with my father, at home for many hours, just for fun. When my father saw I was going to be good at judo, though, he was a bit afraid. He didn’t want me to train more professionally, because he knew how hard judo was. He also knew that I loved to play football. I don’t know if I chose football – football chose me!

I played volleyball with my mother and sister in the garden, too. I also played basketball and handball, and did gymnastics because my father was the PE teacher at school.

You’ve always been very good at reacting when the ball arrives in the penalty area, quickly moving your body into the right position to score. Did your family’s background in different sports help with that?

Julian Wilusz, Gdansk Yes, a lot. At school, I always wanted to play football, but we never did! I would ask my father, “Why? I want to play football!” He’d say, “No, you have the training session later – that’s enough. Different sports will be good for your body, for your flexibility.” At the time I didn’t understand, but many years later I did, because if I compare myself even now to different footballers, my body is still on a different level – it can adapt quickly to new exercises, even at 36. In other sports, you need completely different moves. If you only play football, your body remembers only football moves, and sometimes it doesn’t have the time to react differently on the pitch. If your body is more prepared, then it’s easier to do something. It has helped me a lot throughout my whole career – even now, I am hugely thankful to my father. As a child, I didn’t know why we were doing those things, but now, after so many years, I am grateful for it.