Robert Lewandowski may be a household name now and is currently one of world football’s most feared marksman but it wasn’t always merry sailing for the Polish striker. Lewandowski spoke to BBC Radio 5 and opened up about his childhood ambitions and his early days.
“Growing up my dream was to play in the big stadiums with 80,000 fans but when I was young in Poland, we did not have any top players. I knew I could not just think about my country – I had to think bigger.
“When I was six, I remember Roberto Baggio at the 1994 World Cup. When I was between 10 and 14, Alessandro del Piero was the best player for me. Then my idol was Thierry Henry. He was amazing – it was not just how he scored the goals but what he did for the team.
“I wanted to be the same player like that, but to be Robert Lewandowski. I could take some aspects from one or two of the players and be like my idol. I remember when I met Henry, I was like ‘wow, I met my childhood idol’. Now he wants my jersey and I think, ‘amazing’.
“I believe that dreams come true.”
Lewandowski then went to elaborate on his Warsaw days which was one of his challenging parts of his career.
“Being released by Legia Warsaw was one of the worst situations in my life. I was injured for three months and I was coming back to training, not 100% fit, and needed time. I did not know what was going to happen after that season and if my contract was going to be renewed.
“I never met a coach who told me, ‘look, you will be a top player’. I scored a lot of goals but I did not have from a coach who said, ‘if you do this and this better, you will play at at high level’.”
Look where Robert is now – the man has scored 400 goals for club and country and reached double figures in 12 of the 13 seasons he has played.
