Robert Lewandowski: Cold blood and the patience to make his comeback

Robert Lewandowski is Robert Lewandowski again. The Pole has now scored in five consecutive games for Barça and has regained his smile after a summer marred by the long shadow of Saudi Arabia and the striker’s difficulties in finding the net. As soon as the team’s attacking output has picked up again, the killer instinct has come to the fore. Until that happened, ‘Lewy’ used his cool head, perseverance and patience to stay positive.

It is no secret that when the team switched to playing with four pure midfielders, the ability to generate chances dropped. The stats of the Pole, a classic finisher, suffered. This trend continued throughout the summer. Even in the first two rounds of La Liga. Barça struggled to create chances and Robert struggled to get into the game. It was still the month of August and some voices remarked on the interest of Saudi Arabia in the Polish international.

But Lewandowski never hesitated, nor did he despair. Understandably, the striker was concerned that he was coming into the game less often. The ‘9’ tried to unload, play with his face…. That is to say, to look for other ways in which he could continue to help his teammates. But a predator lives for goals and no matter how much he wants to, it shows on his face when plans don’t work out as they should. It was then that the fluid contact with Xavi and his experience allowed him to find a state of calm. Going into a loop of anxiety would only have made things worse, so Robert took a deep breath and focused more on getting on with his work than on thinking about it.

In a recent interview, the striker said that Barça were more dangerous when they were more attacking. And the reality is that in the last two games, playing with three strikers, Robert has returned to his usual level: goals, assists and several chances. The arrivals of Cancelo, Joao Félix and Gündogan and the ‘explosion’ of Ferran have been wonderful for the Pole. The Portuguese striker has perfectly understood that being close to the ‘9’ is when they can generate the most danger, as was demonstrated against Antwerp, Betis and Celta. The chemistry with the player from Foios is maximum, while the relationship goes even further with Ilkay, with whom he shared a dressing room at Dortmund.

HARMONY

Although there were those who interpreted Lewandowski’s statements as a criticism, the truth is that the striker only expressed an evidence also shared by the coaching staff: the commitment to attacking football is non-negotiable, but for that you need resources and quality players. And until now no one has been performing better on the left wing than a natural midfielder, be it Pedri or Gavi. Precisely to increase offensive production, Xavi pushed for Cancelo, Gündogan and a top level attacker, who ended up being Joao Félix.

Lewandowski, who opened the way for the comeback against Celta with a brace and scored his 100th goal in European competition on Tuesday, is once again flying high because the team has moved up two gears. And as that happens, ‘Lewy’ is back to living inside the box, where he feels most comfortable, and no longer has to go looking for a life away from it. That has never been his DNA.

On the other hand, the Pole’s fuel tank is filled with goals. The higher the scoring rate, the less fatigue he has. And vice versa. Given his current sensational run, the striker feels physically at his best. “I spoke to him on Friday and he told me that he feels very good physically and in terms of confidence,” explained Xavi after the Barça-Celta game. The difficult thing now for the coach will be to convince the striker to agree to be included in the rotations sooner rather than later.

The role of a pure killer is always more a consequence of the game than a cause. It would be the latter if Robert had chances and was unable to put them away, although in recent months he hardly had any real scoring chances at all.

The experienced striker once again feels at home on the pitch, while off it he acts as an advisor to several of the young talents. This is the case with Lamine, to whom he always gives instructions, or even with Gavi, with whom he has gradually built up an affectionate ‘father-son’ relationship.