During his years in LaLiga, I don't think there has been anyone more critical of Robert Lewandowski's attitude and performance than me, so it is with great pleasure to admit that it is time to restore the balance. The real Robert Lewandowski has finally come forward again. He has realized that the true path to glory is to put the team before himself, and the product of this metamorphosis is quite funny.
For those new to the argument, which I think is worth highlighting has been proven to be entirely accurate, here is a summary of my constructive criticism:
There was never any hiding from the fact that the Polish striker arrived at the age of 33 and, as such, could not be the same athlete who had overcome defenses in Germany and Europe over the previous eight years. When he began to lose form and motivation in the weeks following the 2022 World Cup, the version of Lewandowski he offered was unacceptable. He played eagerly, lowered his work rate, failed to control good passes and, while it is completely indisputable that the 13 goals he scored in his first 12 La Liga games were a gigantic step towards Barcelona winning the title, his four in the next fourteen were a warning of his discomfort.
However, it was never an argument based solely on his statistics; it was about his mentality, his attitude, team play, work rate, reliability and the most basic ability to receive and hold the ball for the benefit of his team.
During the second half of last season, Lewandowski offered an increasingly pale version of himself, to the point that his inability to run beyond a high defensive line and his obvious drop in level meant that Barça often played better, more fluid football when he was not in the XI.
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At the time, Barcelona's highest earner admitted that there was a problem.
“In 2023, there were moments when I felt weak, not only mentally… that led me to feel weaker physically,” Lewandowski said in an interview with Polish soccer program Foot Truck. “In that period, all the bad things came together at the same time, everything seemed to accumulate at the same time.
“My spark went out. I can't help but say that I made some mistakes; I fell into a negative dynamic and it took me a long time to get out of it, to get back to normal. In football, overcoming something like that “It's not a one-time process. or two weeks.”
On this basis, my sympathies towards Lewandowski. While it was disappointing and confusing to watch him play with such a lack of basic criteria, the afflictions he describes are truly corrosive to the human spirit, and it is only recently that football is beginning to take the mental well-being of its participants seriously. It's good to see and hear it well again.
And it's worth emphasizing, once again, that the evidence of its return to normal service is not just about statistics.
Lewandowski arrived in Barcelona very upset by the way in which the Ballon d'Or had eluded him in recent seasons. Part of his strategy was to join a big but ailing club, team up with a returning and alluring club legend like coach Xavi Hernandez and hopefully lead the blaugrana to Champions League glory, thus greatly increasing their Ballon d'Or chances. It's not the dumbest strategy you've ever heard, admittedly, but it is torpedoed by the fact that Barcelona were embarrassed in Europe last season: they were eliminated from the Champions League in the group stage and then immediately expelled from the Europa League by a very moderate Manchester. United, who would later be defeated by relegation-threatened Sevilla.
All this seriously affected Lewandowski's morale. He had come for glory, he had come for recognition and he had barely considered the idea that European football, with Barça, could be a humiliating experience.
From the moment he accepted all this, a revival began. Two recent pieces of evidence underscore this point.
Barcelona spent last week facing two hugely important games, both of which they could easily have lost, which would have effectively ended their season: Napoli at home in the Champions League and Atlético Madrid away in LaLiga.
The first game was heading towards victory when Lewandowski, taking advantage of a glorious opportunity in the penalty area, chose to neutralize a nice cut by Raphinha in the 15th minute. His choice fooled two Napoli defenders and Fermín López was left in a splendid isolation to send the ball with the lateral foot and score 1-0. Go see it again; It was a very intelligent team game and very selfless from the forward.
The thing is, this was a move about which, last season, Lewandowski would no doubt have had tunnel vision. Ball in the box? Boy behind me? Two defenders potentially in my way? I am the powerful Robert Lewandowski — my ball, my chance. It would have been a wrong choice and Napoli would have escaped punishment.
Next example.
Barça were leading 2-0 at Atleti's Metropolitan stadium on Sunday and Lewandowski, slightly off course by the pace of the attack in the 65th minute, made a good sprint to reach the edge of the area just as Jules Koundé was looking to make a pass. The French international leaves the ball behind him and, admirably, the veteran Barcelona forward has nothing to think about other than: “What is the best option?”
Once again, last year there were countless moments when the adrenaline of “This is my moment” would have overwhelmed Lewandowski. It's time for some Polish magic! followed by a low-percentage shot aimed at Jan Oblak's corner that, in all likelihood, would have gone over the crossbar. Instead, he looks up, takes aim and delivers an absolutely pinpoint cross to the head of López (again), who drives the ball home for 3-0. Glorious.
It's worth noting that the selfless, team-oriented Lewandowski is also reaping his rewards in football's version of quid pro quo. In each of those games he scored his own goals, the decisive 3-1 midweek goal that sent Barça to play Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals and the brilliantly executed 2-0 goal in Madrid on Sunday.
The better you play for the team, the better your personal rewards will be. It's a lesson worth learning.
“This was probably the best game of the season for me, but that's not the important thing… the important thing is that, as a team, we played very well,” Lewandowski told LaLiga TV after finishing second in the standings to win. Atlético (who, in theory, they could still face again if the two Spanish teams beat PSG and Borussia Dortmund, respectively, in the Champions League quarterfinals).
Of course, there are nuances to add.
In February, as soon as elimination from the Copa del Rey knocked Barcelona out of a grueling three-match-a-week routine, Xavi took what is proving to be a smart risk by greatly increasing the athletic intensity of training. Doing it in the middle of the season, with tired players and facing an already difficult injury list, was a risk, but it has paid huge dividends.
Barça are playing better, with more confidence, winning football week after week and Lewandowski has benefited enormously. Both personally, because he is much smarter, and in terms of the type of team he plays on.
Finally, Xavi's decision to cover the large gap left by the departure of Sergio Busquets by transferring Andreas Christensen to pivot in midfield he has added defensive rigor to the team and has allowed players like Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, Ilkay Gündogan and López, alternatively, to play much higher up the pitch and much closer to Lewandowski. He is less isolated, has more passing options and is receiving better service. It's quite a process.
But the return to happy days for Robert Lewandowski began when he shook off the malaise that seriously afflicted him last year and about which very few dared to write critically. What will be his reward in the remainder of Barcelona's LaLiga and Champions seasons? Stay tuned: Big Bobby is back in his game and he's fun to watch.
