Barcelona superstar opens up on lack of minutes at the start of season – ‘I had to take it easy’ | OneFootball

Robert Lewandowski has been a major talking point at Barcelona lately, especially as the forward is yet to start a single game so far this campaign.

After missing the first game against Mallorca due to injury, Lewandowski came on as a late substitute in the second game against Levante.

Following his return, one would have expected him to start against Rayo Vallecano. But that wasn’t the case as coach Hansi Flick preferred to start with in-form Ferran Torres.

Lewandowski on his game time

In a recent press conference (h/t Mundo Deportivo), Lewandowski talked about his return to the Barcelona team and the road ahead, amid the lack of minutes for him at the start of the season.

“Let’s not kid ourselves, I was injured for two weeks. But the season has just started, and it’s very long. I wasn’t under pressure to play as many minutes as possible as soon as possible,” he said.

“August is the ideal month to get into rhythm. Everything starts in September, so I knew I had to take it easy, without rushing. The season is very long; you have to look at it as a whole. But I’m happy to be 100% fit,” he added.

It appears Lewandowski is expecting things to normalise after the international break and eventually replace Ferran as Barcelona’s main striker.

“We’ll see how I feel and what the intensity of the games will be. I expect a start to the season as tough as last year’s, and we must be prepared for that.

“I prefer to focus on quality, not quantity, so we’ll talk about it. I’m also aware that the intensity is high right now, so we’ll all need to rest,” he said.

Is Lewandowski losing his prominence in the Barcelona squad? (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)

Lewandowski on Poland captaincy and Probierz

The veteran striker has had an eventful summer, which started with a flare-up with national team coach Michal Probierz.

After being stripped of captaincy, the Pole surprised everyone by announcing his international retirement. This led to Probierz eventually quitting and Lewandowski coming back and becoming a captain again, this time under new coach Jan Urban.

“This isn’t the time to recount what happened in June, but from a human perspective, I can’t say it was an easy situation.

“The beginning was a bit difficult from a purely emotional point of view, but with each passing day, I received the support of the fans; that was something special for me. I want to thank them for that,” he said about the events in June.

Talking about his return to the Polish national team, Lewandowski is delighted and ready to fight for his nation once again.

“We all understand what it means to join the Polish national team. I’m just as happy to be in the camp now. We’re aware of our situation, of what happened, especially on the pitch, because that’s the most important thing.

“We have to put some things behind us to focus on the future and what lies ahead. I wasn’t happy about it because every change of coach is also a failure for someone,” he said.

“This topic has already been discussed, I’ve expressed my opinion on it, I have nothing to add, and I want to focus on what’s next,” he added.

Lewandowski will play a key role for Poland as they take on the Netherlands and Finland in the upcoming international break.

“I think in the next two matches we will not only perform well, but we will also get points; that’s our goal. They are qualifiers, and we’re only thinking about qualifying for the World Cup,” he concluded.