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By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- For Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, a strong striker is not only a good goal scorer. In a recent interview with Xinhua, he not only talked about what make a striker, but also fame and diet, and of course of the ambition of his team this season.
Xinhua: Mr. Lewandowski, not only newspapers in your home country Poland headlined Lewandowski as "superman" or "the terminator", which role do you prefer?
Lewandowski (laughing): Both sound nice, but I tell you what: The biggest thing for a sportsman or a footballer is not to feel like that. If you don't, you'll be reminded in the next game that you're nothing special but a normal, down to earth human being. Therefore I don' t read everything that's written about me.
Xinhua: Meaning you can't enjoy your goals?
Lewandowski: No, no, you got me wrong on that. But do you remember football players celebrating after just eight or nine games. It's not even in the middle of the season but more or less right at the start of the season?
Xinhua: Most opposing defenders are certain to think you're not real and see you more as a ghost or something similar?
Lewandowski: I've heard of some of the names that have been given to me, don't know by who though, but I know how things go. The only thing I can stick to is: Next game, next challenge. Having games every few days I can't fill my head with headlines telling me I'm a machine. There are still so many games to be played until the end of the season.
Xinhua: Is it hard to stay calm and behave as if nothing special has happened?
Lewandowski: What helps a lot is that I know the situation. At my last club I scored a goal in 12 consecutive games, in the Champions League and in the semifinal against Real Madrid. The memories help me to concentrate. I did it that time and I do it like that now."
Xinhua: Sorry that we insist, there must be a secret to your success?
Lewandowski: Maybe it is the conclusion that football not only is made out of football. Other things play a vital part for a footballer's life. When I was 18, I was on the small side and knew I had to do something to play at a higher level. Maybe for a striker, being fit is especially important. But besides that football basically is work. Fighting for space, for chances, to be strong enough physically. It's something you should never forget.
Xinhua: So work leads to the Golden Boot or being in a position to top guys like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Do you ever consider this?
Lewandowski: To be honest, I've never thought about it. Come and ask me again when we are close to the end of the season. My thoughts are on the next game, the time between the games, meaning: to recover best I can and to stay fit. Details make the man, I would say.
Xinhua: In bars, school playgrounds, boardrooms of big companies, meaning everywhere on the planet, people discuss who is the best striker ...
Lewandowski: Messi and Ronaldo are unique players, everybody knows that. And you can't really compare us. Both play in slightly different positions, Ronaldo more to the left, Messi more from behind. I am maybe more the traditional spearhead, I can look for space for 80 minutes and then score. Or I can draw two defenders to me and create space for my teammates. You could say it is a different way we play. We, all three, are part of a team.
Xinhua: It's no secret that Pep Guardiola, at least in the past, was not known as a great friend of spearheads, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was one of them, Mario Mandzukic the next. What does a coach like Guardiola demands from a spearhead?
Lewandowski: That would be a question for him I think. But for me no system is a problem. Counter attacking style, ball control, others, I know I have to adopt and play for the team's success. For me a strong striker is not only a good goal scorer.
Xinhua: As everyone is talking about you, at what point of your career do you feel you are yourself? Is it the absolute top?
Lewandowski: Maybe that is the impression you get looking at it from the outside. But I tell you from my point of view: I am 27 years old and am trying to improve every season. And, yes, maybe it is the peak for me. But I will do everything to stay at the top a long time.
Xinhua: And your feeling? The best ever or not?
Lewandowski: I can't tell you that, what I can tell you is: It might be the best ever feeling in some games, but when kicking off in the next, I start from zero again.
Xinhua: Are we wrong in our impression that Bayern's style is made for you somehow, meaning you get a lot of passes?
Lewandowski: It fits I'd say, if you get many passes you can score more goals. Our good results come because we know what we did wrong last season ...
Xinhua: And what did you do wrong?
Lewandowski: We weren't in the best shape at the most important moment and that moment is still to come this season.
Xinhua: Looking at the Germany's problems up front, they create a lot of chances but have recently had difficulties scoring. Have you talked to your teammate Thomas Mueller about it?
Lewandowski: It's not easy playing on your own that far in front of the others, but it's what a striker sometimes has to do. I think it is not his favorite position, that's not easy. In modern football you might be able to play without a central striker, but in the long run, you can't, I think. You can't surprise other teams by playing without a real striker, they can see all of your tactics in videos. I think a center forward could possibly make a difference as the opponents always have to concentrate on keeping an eye on him. But every coach has his ideas. In general you have to consider what types of players you have.
Xinhua: Former Bayern striker Giovane Elber was talking about your success with Bayern by saying, Pep Guardiola has adopted your needs and you his?
Lewandowski: I think he could be right. Both sides have been thinking in a positive way about our collaboration. (More)
