A legend from Poland: Robert Lewandowski

One of the best strikers of this generation, Robert Lewandowski is still going strong at 37 years of age. He is currently playing for the Catalan giants Barcelona and continues to be a key first team player for them. In addition, he is also the captain of the Polish National Team. With Poland failing to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Lewandowski wouldn’t be able to partake at the upcoming edition of the global competition. A highly unfortunate situation for the Polish forward as this could possibly have been his last chance to play in the World Cup albeit at club-level, he still has an opportunity to win major silverware this season with the Blaugrana leading LaLiga title-race and still competing for the UEFA Champions League. 

Here, we take a look at Lewandowski’s footballing journey from the beginning, charting his meteoric rise through club football and the national team – 

Humble Beginnings 

Robert Lewandowski began his footballing journey aged nine, as an unregistered player for a local Polish club Partyzant Lezno. A few years later, he made the move to MKS Varsovia Warsaw where he stayed for seven years before moving to fourth tier club Delta Warsaw. It was at this club that he managed to get first team football and started to find his footing as a forward. 

In the 2006/07 season, Lewandowski started to show promise as a striker, ending the season as the top-scorer in the Polish third division with 15 goals and helping his club Znicz Pruszków win promotion to the second-tier. By now, Lewandowski had made massive strides in his development with consistent performances. The following season too he was the top-scorer in the Polish second tier, this time though, he ended the season with 21 goals. 

Lewandowski started making headlines in his home country and one of Poland’s most successful clubs Lech Pozna? signed him in 2008, bringing him to the top tier of Polish football – the Ekstraklasa. He ended up scoring 18 goals in 42 league games in his first season for Lech Pozna?. The following year, Lewandowski scored 18 goals again, helping his side win the 2009/10 league championship. 

Lewandowski’s performances were attracting attention throughout Europe as clubs from England, Italy and Germany were starting to show interest in the talented Polish striker. 

The Dortmund Days

In 2010, Lewandowski signed for German club Borussia Dortmund on a four-year deal. If not for a bizarre set of incidents unfolding, Lewandowski would have moved to Championship club Blackburn Rovers in England but due to the massive volcanic ash clouds caused by the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, all flights to and from the UK were suspended and the move was terminated. He was also interested in moving to Genoa in Italy but the deal was cancelled at the last moment by the Italian club’s president Enrico Preziosi. 

As they say “Someone’s loss is someone’s gain” and it was the German club that ended up having a superstar on their hands. Under the legendary manager Jürgen Klopp, Lewandowski turned into a lethal goalscoring machine. 

Though Lewandowski joined Dortmund ahead of the 2010/11 season, he didn’t feature much for them leading up to the 2010/11 league win. However, he started to find regular minutes in the 2011/12 season following an injury to Dortmund striker Lucas Barrios. 

Lewandowski made top contributions in terms of goals to lead his side to an unprecedented domestic double which included the Bundesliga title and the DFB-Pokal Trophy. Lewandowski finished the season with 22 goals and six assists that season. He was also the top-scorer of the DFB-Pokal competition with six goals in seven games and scored a hattrick in the final against rivals Bayern Munich to win the domestic cup for his club. 

The Polish striker continued to impress next season as well with his incredible goal-scoring run, helping his side reach the UEFA Champions League final which they eventually lost to German rivals Bayern Munich. 

Lewandowski had an incredible four years at Dortmund where he not only announced himself as one of the most prolific young strikers in Europe, scoring over 100 goals for the club but also achieved success in the form of league titles and domestic trophies. 

The Bayern Munich Era 

After denying a contract extension at Borussia Dortmund, Lewandowski decided to join their fierce German rivals and the most decorated club in Germany – Bayern Munich ahead of the 2014/15 season. 

This move proved to be pivotal in his career as his seven-year tenure at the Allianz Arena won him all the coveted club trophies along with prestigious individual honours as he became a household name in European and world Football. Surrounded by exceptional talent at Bayern Munich, Lewandowski became one of the most lethal and feared strikers in Europe for the next seven years.

His stint with Bayern resulted in an incredible eight consecutive Bundesliga titles, three DFB-Pokal trophies, three DFL Super Cups and the most successful season of his career winning a sextuple in the 2019/20 season.  

Individual honours followed with Best FIFA Men’s Player (2020,2021), UEFA Men’s Player of the Year (2020), FIFA Club World Cup Golden ball (2020), the Gerd Müller Trophy (2021, 2022) and the European Golden Shoe (2021, 2022) amongst numerous other honours. 

Lewandowski departed Bayern Munich after the 2021/22 season, having scored an unbelievable 344 goals from 375 appearances – becoming the second highest all-time goal scorer for the club only behind the legendary Gerd Müller.

The Big Switch to Barcelona 

Having spent the prime of his career in Germany, Lewandowski made a big switch to Spanish giants Barcelona ahead of the 2022/23 season, stating that his partnership with Die Roten had run its course and he wanted a new challenge elsewhere. 

In July 2022, Lewandowski was revealed in the famous Blaugrana colours as he signed a four-year contract for a transfer fee of €45 million (rising up to €50 million with add-ons) and became the most expensive transfer sale for his former club. 

The Polish attacker again marked his first season with his new club with a major trophy as Barcelona secured the Spanish LaLiga and the Supercopa de España titles in his debut season for the club. Lewandowski ended up scoring over 30 goals for the club in all competitions and also won the Pichichi Trophy for being the top-scorer in LaLiga with 23 goals in 34 matches. 

This was indeed a reflection of true greatness as it’s never easy for an ageing striker to challenge himself in an unfamiliar league, playing for one of the best clubs in the world and still perform as if nothing had changed. 

Lewandowski continues to play for Barcelona and has already won two LaLiga titles (2022/23, 2024/25) with the 2024/25 season bringing a domestic treble and a Champions League semi-finals appearance. The current season could lead to a third LaLiga title along with other silverware as Barcelona is leading the title-race. 

Lewandowski still doesn’t cease to amaze with his anticipation, positioning in the box and clinical finishing. He has already scored over 100 goals for Barca in the last four seasons and amidst rumours that he may leave the Camp Nou in the summer, Lewandowski may depart yet another historic club as a certified legend, not that it was ever in doubt. 

Performances in National colours

Lewandowski represented his home country Poland at the national level starting with the Under-19 team. His national team debut came in 2008, where he scored a goal on debut in a 2-0 win in a World Cup qualifying game. 

Lewandowski made 165 appearances for his national team over the years, scoring 89 goals and becoming Poland’s top scorer. He had two FIFA World Cup appearances (2018, 2022). He has also represented Poland in numerous UEFA Euro Championships (2012, 2016, 2020, 2024), scoring in multiple editions of the competition. 

Presently, he couldn’t help his side secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and based on his emotional outburst on social media after missing out, he may be considering retirement from international football. 

Legacy and Impact  

Lewandowski started at an unknown club back home in Poland and grew through the ranks to play for two of the most storied clubs in Europe in Bayern Munich and Barcelona, winning every possible club trophy and becoming one of the best players of his generation. 

While it’s true that forwards in football earn the majority of the accolades and attention, the expectations from them are higher and the pressure of scoring goals every game is immense. Therefore, producing consistent performances every season is very challenging and when a player comes along and performs at the top most level with the same consistency season after season, no matter the opposition or the competition, they create a lasting impact and legacy on the sport. 

Robert Lewandowski is certainly one of the most prolific scorers to watch in the past 15 years. It’s not just the goals and the assists that count, it’s also the impact of scoring and winning games in tight and difficult encounters. Those are the performances that leave a lasting impression on the minds of the fans and Lewandowski has certainly produced match-winning big game performances for both club and country. 

There has been a lot of talk about Messi and Ronaldo being the best players of their generation and rightly so, however, Lewandowski has been one of the most underrated greats of his generation. In his prime, Lewandowski had every quality required in a world class forward – pace, power, dribbling, technique and finishing. 

As he approaches the twilight of his career, we might not see the best of the Polish marksman but he has already left an indelible impact on the game of football with his elite consistency, incredible fitness and an unrelenting mentality.

It will be heartbreaking to see him go when he bids adieu to the game but he would undoubtedly leave as a world class player and a true legend of the sport!