Tag: Robert Lewandowski

¡Amargo regreso! Lewandowski y Barcelona caen ante Bayern Munich

No fue el regreso que Lewa esperaba en la que fuera su casa, Barcelona compitió, se vio competitivo pero no fue suficiente

El regreso de Robert Lewandowski al Allianz Arena del Bayern Munich no fue el que esperaba, pues su equipo Barcelona cayó 2-0 ante el multicampeón bávaro y prolongó su invicto en Champions League.

La afición del Bayern Munich ovacionó a su ídolo que recibió una calurosa bienvenida a la casa donde lo ganó todo, sin embargo el futbol no alcanzó y l racha de victorias del Bayern sobre el cuadro Culé se extendió.

Barcelona planteó un primer tiempo muy interesante, cerrando los espacios a Sadio Mané que no encontró los hilos del equipo alemán y mientras se apoyó en el gran refuerzo que es el polaco Robert Lewandowski para generar peligro en el arco de Neuer.

sipa-usa

Pero las fallas frente al arco le impidieron a Xavi y sus dirigidos irse al vestuario con un mejor resultado que un empate sin goles y pagaron caro el precio de perdonar al cuadro de Munich.

Comenzando la segunda mitad el Bayern Munich pegó dos veces, las necesarias para liquidar el encuentro. Primero con Lucas Hernández tras un tiro de esquina y posteriormente Leroy Sané en una descolgada letal para enterrar las aspiraciones blaugranas.

No fue el regreso que Lewa esperaba en la que fuera su casa, Barcelona compitió, se vio competitivo pero no fue suficiente y sumaron su primera derrota en el torneo que sumado con el triunfo del Inter, ya igualan en puntos en el segundo puesto del Grupo C de la Champions League.

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Lewandowski ya es héroe del Barcelona con su hat-trick en Champions

Sin duda el polaco se llenará de cariño si sigue jugando así. Eso sí, así de rápido como los fans aman, odian también.

Robert Lewandowski se estrenó en la Champions League como jugador del Barcelona, y no pudo haberlo hecho mejor.

El polaco protagonizó un hat-trick en el 4-1 triunfal del Barça ante el Plzen. Aunque el equipo checo nunca representó una amenaza para los culés, las anotaciones de Lewandowski son dignas de admirarse.

Con su hat-trick, el recién llegado se ha ganado los corazones de los aficionados. En Twitter, los seguidores del Barcelona celebraron a su nuevo goleador y ya festejan la promesa de una gran temporada.

Sin duda el polaco se llenará de cariño si sigue jugando así. Eso sí, así de rápido como los fans aman, odian también. Así que aguas con caer del pedestal en el que lo acaban de poner.

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Robert Lewandowski scored a wildly casual backheel goal for Barcelona and soccer fans were in awe

“He makes it look so easy! It’s an art form!”

A dynamic striker, Robert Lewandowski is unquestionably one of the greatest goal scorers soccer’s ever seen. Between stints with various Polish squads, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, the 34-year-old has the 11th-most goals (346) in the sport’s history. And after breaking records and setting new bars of success with Bayern, Lewandowski is out to prove himself worthy in Catalonia with his new squad, Barcelona.

Predictably, that plan is already going quite well.

On Sunday afternoon, Lewandowski and Barcelona had Vallodolid (+1500) on the table in their first game of the La Liga season. They, of course, made quick work in an eventual 4-0 victory. But not before Lewandowski scored an incredible backheel goal that looked a lot easier than it should’ve been for the striker:

I mean, how? Having the audacity to attempt that shot on goal is one thing. But to be so gifted, it’s an accurate shot at the net? I guess that’s why Lewandowski’s a goal-scoring great.

Robert Lewandowski scored an outrageous backheel goal against Valladolid

Robert Lewandowski at Barcelona is looking an awful lot like Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich.

Robert Lewandowski at Barcelona is looking an awful lot like Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich.

The prolific Polish forward scored two more goals for Barcelona on Sunday in a 4-0 win over Valladolid, his second straight brace for his new club.

It was Lewandowski’s second goal that will generate most of the headlines, though, as the striker produced an outrageous backheel when moving away from goal that flashed across the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

After completing an offseason move from Bayern Munich, the 34-year-old now has four goals in his first three Barcelona matches.

Though it’s obviously early, that keeps Lewandowski on the blistering pace he set in his final season with Bayern, when he scored 50 goals in 46 total appearances.

Watch Lewandowski’s backheel goal vs. Valladolid

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Barcelona register most of their new signings after feverish lever-pulling

Barca wriggled out of yet another financial jam

Barcelona wriggled out of their latest jam, with La Liga allowing them to register most of their summer signings ahead of Saturday’s season opening game against Rayo Vallecano.

Despite being a reported €1.3 billion in debt, making it beyond impossible for them to make any transfers, the Catalan giants have been carrying on like they could just make their normal, big-money transfers to improve a squad that finished 13 points behind Real Madrid last season.

Somehow, they’ve gotten away with it. New signings Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Franck Kessié, and Andreas Christiansen have all been successfully registered with La Liga, making them eligible to play against Rayo.

Ousmane Dembélé and Sergi Roberto, who signed new contracts this summer and were also in danger of not being registered, have also apparently been approved, leaving Jules Koundé as the lone player out in the cold at the moment.

Ignoring the reality that financial fair play rules left them €144 million below a league-imposed spending limit—the only top-flight Spanish team in that situation—Barca went out and signed Lewandowski for €50 million. They then spent even more to add Raphinha from Leeds, and to bring Koundé over from Sevilla, taking their outgoing transfer expenditures up to €164 million.

Even free transfers like Kessié and Christiansen came over from Milan and Chelsea. There would be no discount shopping for Barcelona, who were intent on driving a Bentley no matter how much their budget said they needed to consider a year or two in a still-luxurious BMW.

Barca’s new board began referring to having “financial levers” to pull, and they sure did pull a lot of them. The club sold off half of its future domestic television rights in two such deals, and sold 49% of Barca Studios in two other deals. Earlier this week, they brought in €100 million from the GDA Luma investment fund for 24.5% of their content arm and production studio.

Barca Studios was only opened last year, around the time that they were unable to register multiple players because they were in violation of financial fair play rules for 2021-22. Leo Messi left, Gerard Pique accepted a pay cut, and everyone thought that maybe this humiliation would shake them into action.

And yet, little appears to have changed. Koundé, who Barcelona spent around €54 million to sign? Not registered! Pique, a club legend who already took a pay cut to help the club in their time of need? Relevo has reported that negotiations over another pay cut have stalled.

By the way, Barcelona is still trying to bring Marcos Alonso in from Chelsea, a situation that seems at an impasse while Frenkie de Jong—who Barca have seemingly wanted to push out the door all summer—weighs up whether he wants to head to London as part of the deal.

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Esto se llevó el agente de Lewandovski tras su fichaje con el Barça

La llegada de Robert Lewandovski al equipo de Barcelona fue una negociación redonda para las partes involucradas incluyendo al agente del futbolista que percibió una millonada de comisión por el traspaso.

La llegada de Robert Lewandovski al equipo de Barcelona fue una negociación redonda para las partes involucradas incluyendo al agente del futbolista que percibió una millonada de comisión por el traspaso.

Tras informar a la directiva del Bayern Munich de su deseo de no continuar en el equipo la siguiente temporada las negociaciones por el polaco comenzaron a llegar desde varias partes del mundo, sin embargo Robert solo tenía un objetivo, jugar para el Barcelona.

Y lo logró, sin que se hiciera oficial el representante del jugador, el israelí Pini Zahavi se habría llevado al menos 10 millones de euros por el fichaje del delantero en una comisión bastante lucrativa para el agente de futbolistas.

El propio Laporta indicó que la participación de Pini en la negociación fue fundamental pues se aseguró de rechazar todas las ofertas en la mesa por el delantero que eligió desde el día uno la del Barcelona.

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Robert Lewandowski returns to Bayern to say farewell, clear the air

Move along folks, nothing to see here!

Robert Lewandowski’s relationship with Bayern Munich has grown a bit testy in recent months.

The striker had been agitating to leave Bayern all summer before he completed a €50 million transfer to Barcelona in mid-July. Last week Lewandowski hit out at his former club, accusing them of lying about the reason he left.

With that backdrop, Lewandowski returned to Munich on Tuesday to bid farewell to his former teammates and staff. Bayern took the chance to try and smooth over what had until recently been an extremely productive relationship between the two sides.

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“It was nice of Robert to come by my office one last time,” Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn told the club’s official website. “We chatted about everything, left on good terms and will stay in contact in the future. Robert and FC Bayern was and is a special success story. We wish him all the best at FC Barcelona.”

Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic added: “Robert came into my office to say goodbye and we spoke for another 15 minutes. I addressed everything and we’ve cleared it all up. Robert achieved great things for FC Bayern, and that’s what should be remembered. He also knows how much he has to thank FC Bayern for. We’ve wished him all the best for his new challenge.”

As Lewandowski’s car sped away from Bayern’s offices, some observers let the striker know they hadn’t forgotten about his acrimonious departure – and attempted to let him know they will now be rooting for his new club’s bitter rivals.

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Robert Lewandowski to Bayern: Stop lying about me

Lewandowski says Bayern is making things up

Robert Lewandowski left Bayern Munich for Barcelona, but the emotions are still pretty raw, with the Poland striker criticizing his old club for providing fans with a “not true” explanation of why he left.

Speaking to ESPN, Lewandowski referred to “a lot of politics” being involved in how his final weeks at Bayern went down. “The club tried to find an argument why they can sell me to another club because before it was difficult to explain maybe to the fans. And I had to accept that even though it was a lot of bulls—, a lot of s— said about me. Not true, but in the end I knew that the fans, even in this period, still support me a lot.”

The 33 year old completed his transfer to Barcelona in mid-July, moving from Germany to Spain in a €50m move. The change of clubs came after Lewandowski announced his intention to depart, which he then reiterated numerous times.

Lewandowski pushed back against one rumor, which held that he left Bayern over their rumored pursuit of Erling Haaland, who ended up at Manchester City instead.

His push to leave had “nothing to do with Erling,” according to Lewandowski. “I don’t want to speak about what happened exactly. But if the question is if the decision to move was because of him? No, I didn’t see the problem if he joined Bayern Munich.”

Lewandowski wasn’t prepared to specify exactly who at Bayern had lied about him, but he did clarify that it wasn’t anyone within the squad. “I had a very good relationship with my teammates, with the staff, with the coach, and these are all things I’m going to miss because I spent a beautiful time there,” said Lewandowski. “We were not only friends from the pitch but also something more. But in the end this chapter is over and I open a new chapter in my life and a new chapter in my career.

“Some kind of people doesn’t say to me the truth, say something different. And for me it was always important to be clear, to stay true, and maybe for a few people that was the problem. And in the end I know that something doesn’t work well with my person as well and I knew that, OK I see and I feel that maybe it’s a good time to move out of Bayern Munich and join Barcelona.”

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Nagelsmann, Davies looking forward to ‘new Bayern Munich’ after Lewandowski’s departure

Without Lewandowski, Nagelsmann has plans to play two up top

Bayern Munich took the field on a sweltering day in Washington, DC, training and signing autographs at Audi Field Tuesday evening ahead of a Wednesday friendly against D.C. United.

New addition Sadio Mané was well-received, and fans serenaded Thomas Müller, but the major topic of the day was someone nowhere near the District. In the stands, Robert Lewandowski jerseys were arguably the most popular kit choice, and in a press conference just before the session, head coach Julian Nagelsmann and Canada star Alphonso Davies were both asked about the towering striker, who only just departed for Barcelona.

Nagelsmann brought Lewandowski up himself in discussing one of Bayern’s new recruits, defender Matthijs de Ligt (who, despite having just flown in to join the team, could possibly play Wednesday).

“We have to compensate that we miss probably 40 goals next season,” Nagelsmann told a packed media room. “We have a lot of players who can score goals, but we also need defending players who can score goals and Matthijs also has the capability to do to this.”

“It’s devastating, him leaving the club. He was a big, big part of this team,” added Davies. “It’s tough to see him go, but we understand his decision and we have to address it and play without him now. So I’m sure we have quality on the pitch, we’re able to do it as well.”

Nagelsmann openly indicated that a leading possibility for Bayern’s adjustment without Lewandowski is to play with two forwards rather than a three-man front line with a lone center forward.

“One of the solutions to compensate the 40 goals, we have the idea sometimes to play with two strikers,” said Nagelsmann, who expressed a desire to have more of a set formation after admitting he changed the team from that angle too often in 2021-22. “This season, probably will be solution to play with two forwards.”

Nagelsmann, who said he was particularly pleased with how Bayern played out of a 3-5-2 formation last season, and Davies both highlighted the fact that it’s not just about formation, but what kind of service Bayern’s forwards get.

“I think we have a lot of players who could play forward and think it’s not that easy to defend it. They can move quickly behind, between the defense lines of the opponents, between the midfield and defense lines,” explained the second-year Bayern boss. “It’s not that easy to get man-on-man coverage against our forwards. So I think our movement will be very dangerous for the opponent’s goal.”

“Whoever plays up there, whether it’s Sadio or whoever it is, we try to feed them the ball,” said Davies. “Sadio, he’s not as big as Lewandowski, but he has the strength to hold up the ball, make plays. He’s definitely quicker than Lewy, so balls in behind, I think that’s a little bit new for for the wingers.”

Nagelsmann had a positive spin on losing Lewandowski, which centered on the fact that teams knew where Bayern was going to go in the attacking third, and that his team can be a bit less predictable this year.

“When play against Bayern Munich, you know that you try to solve the situation with Lewy, and when you get a good man-on-man coverage against Lewy, it was a bit easier to play against Bayern Munich. Now, it’s not that easy to find the best solution—when I talk about the opponents—to defend us,” said Nagelsmann.

“We’ll have a good solution for the future… I look forward to see the new Bayern Munich, after Lewy.”

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Esto es lo primero que dijo Lewandowski como jugador oficial del Barcelona

Se nos advirtió, se nos cumplió. Robert Lewandowski es ahora oficialmente un Culé. Este lunes el jugador confirmó su firma de contrato con el Barcelona. Y ahora que está con el equipo español tiene sed de triunfo. “Estoy aquí para ayudar al Barça a …

Se nos advirtió, se nos cumplió. Robert Lewandowski es ahora oficialmente un Culé.

Este lunes el jugador confirmó su firma de contrato con el Barcelona. Y ahora que está con el equipo español tiene sed de triunfo.

“Estoy aquí para ayudar al Barça a regresar a lo más alto y ganar tantos títulos como sea posible. Siempre he querido jugar en un gran club de LaLiga y esta es una gran oportunidad para mí. También es un reto para mi vida privada”, fueron las primera palabras del futbolista.

Está convencido de su llegada al club, algo que todo el tiempo confirmó mientras buscaba nueva casa.

“Por fin estoy aquí. Estoy muy contento de estar en el Barça. Los últimos días han sido largos, pero al final el acuerdo se ha hecho realidad. Estoy preparado para afrontar este nuevo reto en mi carrera. Soy un tipo al que le gusta ganar partidos y títulos. Espero que la temporada empiece y acabe bien en este sentido”.

Ahora la pregunta es si realmente podrá ver esos triunfos junto con el Barcelona. Por él y por los fans, esperamos que sí.

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