Robert Lewandowski has been the talk of the town in the football fraternity in recent years. More so in the past 48 hours because many believe he was robbed of Ballon d’Or 2021. In addition, France Football called off the ceremony last year despite all the football action, which many believed was Lewandowski’s year for the award. So, many fans and pundits are sore for snubbing Lewandowski two years in a row. While there’s no point in crying over spilled milk, let’s look back at the career of Lewandowski, which has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Lewandowski is a curious case as he runs out of favor on multiple occasions for what he can do – simply because he does it day in and day out with so much ease that it leads people to think that any player can do that with the kind of team Bayern are. The sheer ruthlessness when it comes to putting the ball to the back of the net no matter the situation of the game, to have the insatiable hunger to score just that one more time is how he has made himself noticeable amongst other giants of the game and made a ground for himself.
The scary thing is, he only seems to get better with time. At the age of 33, he is at the peak of his powers physically and producing outrageous numbers. Seeing him in the scoresheet has been so regular that it is almost a shock when he does not.
Rise of RL9
Robert put the world to notice when he was in the semifinals against arguably the best UCL side in Real Madrid in the 13/14 season, scoring four times in the first leg to help Borussia Dortmund to the finals. And the very next season, he joined Bayern Munich on a free transfer. And his numbers for Bayern are incredible to put it the simplest way possible. His returns for Dortmund are not bad either (145 goal involvements in 187 games) helping them win the Bundesliga twice in a row. As he has made a habit of out-doing himself every season that his stat for the former club is not talked about enough. Since coming to Bayern he has 384 goal contributions (317 goals, 67 assists) in 346 appearances across 8 seasons (current included).
Lewandowski’s Laurels
Robert has always been a very good player. But what he has done in the last few years has made a compelling case for himself to make an argument as one of the best, if not the best. Since 15/16, he has scored 40+ goals every season, across competitions – most notably 55 goals in the 19/20 season that helped his side to Champions League glory alongside Bundesliga. He had such a prolific season that most pundits and fans saw him as an outright contender to win the Ballon d’Or. However, France Football canceled the ceremony in a controversial fashion that year stating the Covid issues.
Since he joined the German Giants, he has won 7 Bundesliga, 1 Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup, 5 German Super Cup, 3 German Cup. His individual accolades in Bayern include 5 Bundesliga Golden Boots, 1 European Golden Shoe, 1 The Best FIFA Men’s player, 1 UEFA Men’s Player of the year.
Better than Ever
Robert Lewandowski is a specimen of the rarest kind. He does whatever he does with the most beautiful of smiles- making it all the more painful for the opponents and enjoyable for his followers. He is too good not to be liked. Last season, Lewa broke Gerd Muller’s 49-year-old record of 40 Bundesliga goals, scoring 41. And if age ever comes into the conversation, his 64 goals for club and country this year (with games to play) is a slap to their face in the kindest way possible.
While the discussion of the best player in the world is very subjective, if we put all our biases aside, Lewandowski probably should have tipped Messi for the Ballon d’Or 2021. Messi had a terrific year himself, but Lewandowski has had an otherworldly season and reached the numbers only prime Messi and Ronaldo used to. All said, Lewandowski’s life and career have not been short of setbacks, and this will only fuel him to perform better and break more records.
