Lewandowski reiterates commitment to Barcelona – ‘I love this team and I love this club’ | OneFootball

Barcelona’s official league campaign kicks off in just over 24 hours and the whole world will have eyes on the game against Mallorca to see how they announce their return to the field.

One player who will be missing in action, however, is Robert Lewandowski who suffered a fitness setback ahead of the Joan Gamper Trophy and will be out for a few weeks.

Now 36 years of age, the striker enters the new season as the oldest player in the squad by some distance, yet continues to be a vital pillar both on the field and in the dressing room.

Lewandowski’s interview

Speaking to the media in a detailed interview recently, the Barcelona striker opened up on a number of topics elaborately, including his form, fitness and objectives for the season ahead.

He began by outlining his thoughts on the season that lay ahead and what he hoped would come of it.

“There’s always a new challenge, I want to help by scoring goals and winning titles. Because of my experience, I want to assist my teammates on and off the pitch, especially with so many young players in the dressing room.”

“I feel physically very good, especially during the preparation period when we were running and doing tough exercises, I was at my peak. I still have the same mentality, not 90% but 100%,” he added on his fitness, confirming his well-being.

Lewandowski then addressed the perennial discussion around his age with many calling him too old to be in Europe.

“Many people talk about my age and that I’m getting older, but I have no problem with that.”

“I’m proud that I’m 37 years old, but I’m sure I can still achieve my goals and help my teammates because I’m still hungry for more. I don’t feel satisfied, and that makes me stronger,” he added.

Going strong despite his age. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

The interviewer then asked him about the one flaw of last season that still rode on his mind, to which he replied,

“I got injured at the wrong time. The timing, for me personally, was bad.”

“At the moment you’re playing in the semi-finals, and when you have very important matches, I feel absolutely great on the pitch. It was painful because I couldn’t help my team as I wanted,” he added.

Elaborating on the heartbreak against Inter Milan and how it spoiled the mood in the dressing room, he said,

“We were so close to playing in the Champions League final. On one hand, if you’re that close, it means you did a lot of good things, but not enough.”

Looking ahead to the new season, the striker explained why Barcelona were stronger and better favourites across competitions – albeit with added pressure.

“If you think about the upcoming season, this season, I think this team will be stronger because the potential is huge, but on the other hand, for many players, the season will be tougher because expectations are rising.”

The veteran striker then explained what he meant by the fact that players would be. Under pressure to recreate last season’s numbers through his experience.

“Of course, if you’ve been playing at this level for years, you know what that means, but if you’ve played for one or two seasons, you have to repeat it, and that’s a big challenge for any footballer – but we have a very strong team.”

“I think we can play better than last year because we understood what we had to do on the pitch with Hansi,” he added.

Lewandowski also addressed the team’s poor run of form at the end of last year when they plummeted behind in the La Liga race.

“At the end of last year, we went through a period where we didn’t play well and lost some points.”

“But because we have a young team, we had to understand the path Hansi was trying to convey to us. I think this year, from the start, we’ve begun very well and understood a lot of things we didn’t understand before,” he added.

The Polish striker was then asked about the mistake Barcelona made against Inter Milan and how the team would correct the same, to which he replied that the team had already learnt from the mistake.

“I’ve already watched what we did wrong in that match and in the next match, I think it was in La Liga against Espanyol.”

“I don’t remember what we did in the two matches after that, but I saw what we did better than what we did in that match,” he added.

“This means we’re evolving, and from the mistakes, we try to fix them in the future. Of course, that was a semi-final, and you can’t compare those matches, but if you have a lot of young players, and sometimes you always want more, it can happen,” he concluded.

Singling out the error in itself, he said: “What was that. Slowing down sometimes or stopping the rhythm.”

Lewandowski is recovering from an injury. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)

Speaking on the particular areas Barcelona lacked last season, where they have to improve going forward, the veteran forward said:

“I think sometimes we had to find the solution—when to push forward, when to keep the ball, and when to drop back and settle for clearing the ball.”

“But from the start, we’ve already learned from that period in the previous year. And I know that in the semi-final, those big matches, there’s no room for mistakes.”

“But, well, it happened. I can say it was an almost perfect season for us, but that means we still have work to do,” he concluded.

Urging the team ahead of the new season, Lewandowski spoke on the constant need to prove that they belong at the top and how it was a motivation.

“As I’ve said for years, it doesn’t matter how many titles you’ve won, what matters is how many titles you want to win – that’s the next challenge, to prove you’re at the top, to prove that what you’ve achieved wasn’t a fluke, and to find the motivation for more.”

“If you’re playing at the top, you always have to find motivation for yourself, even if you’ve won everything. How do you maintain that high level of football,” he added.

Lewandowski also set the bar very high for himself ahead of the new season, saying,

“In my mind, so far, I’ve had a great season, but I know I can improve a lot of things and I have to improve a lot because I love this team and I love this club.”

Finally, the player opened up on Marcus Rashford and his early impressions of the new signing.

“He has tremendous potential. As a footballer, he has everything. Fast, skilful with the ball, in one-on-one situations on the wings, he can play against one or two players.”

“He also has a great vision for decisive passes from the wings. He has great potential, and he can help us a lot. I’m confident of that.”

“Of course, expectations might be high for him, but if he gives his best, he will be a great player, and I hope he helps us a lot this season,” he concluded.

Source: ESPN FC