Barcelona may have returned back to the Europa league for a second straight season, but it is fair to say that Robert Lewandowski has had an inspiring effect to the team’s season so far. In 16 appearances across all competitions, the Polish striker has found the net a total of 17 times. However, setbacks such as the one Barcelona experienced on Wednesday night in their 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich, can affect a mentality champion such as him as well.
“I’m neither a machine nor an animal but a human being with all its complexity. I have bad days and have my problems, and we tend to forget that,” Lewandowski had told L’Equipe after winning the Gerd Muller Trophy recently.
“It’s very difficult to always be on top. I’ve been working at this for more than 20 years and you can’t always do the perfect job. And whether you’re a little off or not feeling good about yourself, what we ask you to do is to perform.”
Satisfaction is barely the key for Lewandowski, who moved to Barcelona from Bayern Munich earlier this summer.
“You may have scored, had a great game and eased that tension, but there’s always an after and I can’t linger on it for too long. If you stop at ‘I’m the best’ it doesn’t work anymore. When I was little, I scored a lot and I was never satisfied.”
The 34-year-old also added that not mulling over defeats for too long and keeping instinct are important to be a successful striker.
“I don’t dwell on goalless streaks too much either, it’s something that the media and the fans look at, but I try to look at the rest. Sometimes I have to say that it hurts, but that’s not football.
“The main thing is that when everything starts, I’m in the right place. It’s not a superpower, I don’t think you can be born with it. You can have a natural talent, something that makes you different, yes, but instinct is never acquired.”
