Push Admin

Football: Robert Lewandowski, ‘the Body’ who put Messi and Ronaldo in rearview

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/reuters/12/18/soccer-germany-bay-wob-report.jpg"/><figcaption>Lewandowski (pictured) is rarely injured and former Bayern captain Oliver Kahn sees the striker as &quot;an absolute model of professionalism, a condition for staying at the highest level for a very long time.&quot; Lukas Barth-Tuttas, pool via Reuters</figcaption></figure></div><p>Nicknamed &quot;the Body&quot; and dubbed a &quot;machine&quot; by his wife, Robert Lewandowski has done what many thought impossible -- relegating superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to supporting roles at a football awards show.</p><p>On Thursday, Bayern Munich&#x27;s Polish striker claimed FIFA&#x27;s &quot;The Best&quot; prize for the year&#x27;s top footballer, a season crowned by a European Champions League medal.</p><p>&quot;He deserved it more than anyone else. He played the season of his life,&quot; said Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge after Lewandowski&#x27;s 55 goals in 2019/20 were a key factor in Bayern winning the treble.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/17/20/football-bayern-keep-pace-with-leverkusen-as-lewandowski-reaches-milestone">Football: Bayern keep pace with Leverkusen as Lewandowski reaches milestone</a></li></ul><p>The Poland forward has already scored 18 goals in 17 games this season, hitting the net twice against Wolfsburg on Wednesday to pass the milestone of 250 Bundesliga goals.</p><p>The fact Lewandowski has had to wait until he is 32 to be crowned at FIFA&#x27;s &#x27;The Best&#x27; awards is down to the way he proved himself in the knock-out stages of the Champions League last season.</p><p>Despite having been the Bundesliga&#x27;s top-scorer for five of the last seven seasons, Lewandowski was getting a reputation for struggling to find the net in key Champions League games.</p><p>Up until February, he had failed to score in his previous seven matches in the knock-out stages.</p><div><strong>- Chelsea slayer -</strong></div><p>His four goals for ex-club Dortmund in the 2013 semi-final, first-leg, against Real Madrid seemed a faded memory. </p><p>All that changed in February&#x27;s last 16 win over Chelsea, when Lewandowski scored at Stamford Bridge, then set up Serge Gnarby&#x27;s two goals in a 3-0 away win.</p><p>When the return leg was played nearly six month later, Lewandowski had a hand in all four goals -- scoring twice and creating two more -- in the 4-1 win at the Allianz Arena.</p><p>Lewandowski followed that up by scoring in the historic 8-2 quarter-final rout of Messi&#x27;s Barcelona and netted again in the 3-0 semi-final win over Lyon.</p><p>He finished as the Champions League&#x27;s top-scorer with 15 goals, two short of Ronaldo&#x27;s record for a single season and was dubbed &#x27;LewanGOALski&#x27; by Bayern team-mate Thomas Mueller.</p><p>His three goals in this season&#x27;s group stages puts him level with Real Madrid legend Raul on 71 Champions League goals, short of Messi&#x27;s 118 and Ronaldo, who has scored 134 times.</p><p>In October, Lewandowski was named UEFA&#x27;s Player of the Year after Bayern added the UEFA Super Cup to their Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League titles.</p><p>He could complete the set in February if Bayern win the Club World Cup in Qatar.</p><p>Lewandowski was spotted as a raw 21-year-old playing Polish league club for Lech Poznan, where he scored 41 goals in 82 games and joined Dortmund in 2010.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;The Body&#x27; -</strong></div><p>He made his breakthrough under Jurgen Klopp, helping Dortmund win back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2010/11 and 2011/12.</p><p>He hit a hat-trick in the 5-2 drubbing of Bayern in the 2012 German Cup final, joining the Munich giants two years later having scored 103 goals in 187 games for Dortmund.</p><p>His goals on Wednesday mean Lewandowski has now scored 264 times in 306 games for the European champions.</p><p>Nicknamed &#x27;The Body&#x27; by his team-mates, Lewandowski is known for his disciplined approach to nutrition and training, resulting in his honed physique.</p><p>&quot;My husband is a machine,&quot; admits wife Anna, a former Polish karate international who serves as his personal trainer.</p><p>Lewandowski is rarely injured and former Bayern captain Oliver Kahn sees the striker as &quot;an absolute model of professionalism, a condition for staying at the highest level for a very long time.&quot;</p><div><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVES:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zxAOKv2ndRo?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>On Thursday, Bayern Munich's Polish striker claimed FIFA's "The Best" prize for the year's top footballer, a season crowned by a European Champions League medal.</p>

On Thursday, Bayern Munich's Polish striker claimed FIFA's "The Best" prize for the year's top footballer, a season crowned by a European Champions League medal.