footballer:you understandthe game
better,you canjudgethe pitchbetter,
youcanseesituationslongbefore
theywillhappen.”
Ronaldoand Messicontinuingto
scoregoalswellintotheir30scould
beexplainedaspart of theirusual
convention-defyingexcellence,but
theBayern man’sformhints at awider
trend.ThelikesofNeymar, Mohamed
SalahandHarryKane,whoare all
approachingtheir30thbirthdays, will
betakingnote:theirbest yearsmay
yetbe aheadofthem.
“Ageisonlya numberand,with my
experienceand preparation,I know I
canplay on at thetoplevelfora few
years longer,” said Lewandowskirecently,
after collectingthe GoldenShoetrophy.
“Maybe,like wine,I cangroweven
better with age.”
Bayerncertainlyhopeso,asdo
Poland.Lewandowskiscored three
goalsfor hiscountryatEuro 2020- hisbest-ever returnata major
tournament– butitwasn’tenough
forthemtoadvancefromthegroup.
Evenwithhisabilitytodefy the
ageingprocess,Qatar 2 02 2 maybe
hislast opportunitytoplayata World
Cup.Hehas done everythingwithinhis
power to getthere:Polandlosttwo
gamesinqualifying– 2-1defeatsto
EnglandandHungary – theonlytwo
gamesinwhichthecaptaindid notplay.
Hehad a handinmore thana third
oftheirtotalgoals,scoringeightand
assistinganotherfour. Whentheyface
Russiaintheplay-offsinMarch,they
willneedhimtodeliveronceagain.
GettingtoQatar,andthenreaching
theknockoutstages,willbe among
thetopofhistargets for 2022 , as will
reclaimingBayern’sEuropeancrown.Theevidenceofthisyearshowsthat,as
longashe’splaying,bothteamshave
every chanceof achievingtheirgoals.
Andif he doestickoff allofthose
objectives?This timenextyear, we’ll
probablybediscussingthe first player
towinthisaward threetimesina row.
JamieEvansplayedfewerthan 30 leaguegames
sincehearrivedinGermany back
in 2010. Thatdidn’tstophim from
producinghismostprolificcampaign,
winningthe first GoldenShoeofhis
careerinthe process.
Therewereplentyofotherrecords
thatLewandowskisenttumblingalong
theway, too.Hescoredin 13 consecutive
homeleaguegames,a Bundesliga-
record streakthatincluded 24 goals;he
broke a Bayernrecord by scoringin 19
consecutive gamesinall competitions,
a runthatendedin October; he wonhis
fourthBundesligaGoldenBootina row,
andsixthintotal,movingwithinone
ofanotherofMuller’sall-timerecords;
andhesurpassedKlausFischeronthe
league’slistof all-timetop scorersto
moveintosecondplace– again,
behindMuller.
After 12 gamesofthecurrent
campaign,Lewandowskihadalready
scored 14 Bundesligagoals,takinghis
overalltallyto 2 91. Mullerison 365 ,
whilethe Germanylegendalsoleads
inthe Bayernrecordbooks,with 5 63
goalstoLewandowski’s 3 19.
Lewandowskiturned 33 inAugust
and,usually, it wouldbefairtoassume
thattimeisrunningout forhimto catch
Muller. Buthisexploitsoverthelast
coupleofyearshaveforcedusto
reconsiderwhata player’s peak
yearsshould be.
“It’showfootballis now,”said his
formermanagerJurgenKlopprecently.
“33, 34 – that’sthebestageofaGoldenShoe...
Lewandowski
withthetrophy
(Credit:Kicker)
Playerofthe
Year...Robert
Lewandowski“Ageisonlyanumber...IknowIcanplayon
atthetoplevelforafewyearslonger.Maybe,
likewine,Icangrowevenbetterwithage”
RobertLewandowskiAge 33 (21.08.88)
ClubBayern Munich(Ger)
CountryPoland
PreviousclubsDelta Warsaw,
LegiaWarsawII,ZniczPruszkow,
LechPoznan,BorussiaDortmund
HonoursChampionsLeague 202 0;Club
World Cup2020;Bundesliga 201 1, 2012 ,
2015 , 2 01 6, 20 17, 2018 , 2019 , 2 020 , 2 02 1;
DFB-Pokal 2012 , 2 01 6, 2019 , 2020;DFL-
Supercup 2013 , 2 016 , 2017 , 2 01 8,2020, 202 1;
UEFA SuperCup2020;Ekstraklasa 2010 ;
PolishCup 2 009;PolishSuperCup 2009FACTFILE