Robert Lewandowski Childhood Story (What you didn’t know)
Robert Lewandowski’s Childhood Story
Robert Lewandowski was born on August 21, 1988, in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, to Krzysztof Lewandowski and Iwona Lewandowska. He grew up in a practicing Catholic family and spent his childhood in Leszno, western Poland.
From an early age, Lewandowski showed an inclination towards sports, following in his family’s footsteps. His mother, Iwona, was a volleyball player in the Warsaw Academic Sports Association league, while his father, Krzysztof, was a judoka and football player for Hutnik Warsaw. With such role models, Robert found his passion in football.
His father recognized his talent and took him to Partyzant Leszno training. At the age of nine, he joined Varsovia Warsaw. Conditions were precarious, but Lewandowski persevered. After seven years he moved to Delta Warsaw, a club that supplied players to Legia Warsaw.
Unfortunately, his father passed away in 2005, before he could see Robert play professionally. This event forced Lewandowski to mature quickly.
The story of Robert Lewandowski at his first club
His first club was Warsaw, where he played for fourth division side Delta Warsaw before joining Legia Warszawa . However, he was released after recovering from an injury. At modest Znicz Pruszków, he scored 15 goals in 30 matches, finishing as the league’s top scorer and his team gaining promotion to the Second Division . In his second and final season at the club, he again finished as the league’s top scorer, this time scoring 21 goals in 32 matches. He was also voted Polish revelation of the year.
Robert Lewandowski’s story at Lech Poznań
He was signed by Lech Poznań of the Polish First Division , who paid 1.5 million złoty . He would score 20 goals in his first season with the club, 14 of them in the league. This season he also played his first matches in European competitions, and scored the best goal of the season. His numbers improved in his second season, having scored 21 goals (18 in the league) with 14 fewer matches. In the latter, he would also finish as the league’s top scorer and national champion.
The story of Robert Lewandowski at Borussia Dortmund
2010–11
In June 2010, he was signed by Borussia Dortmund and signed a four-year contract. On 19 September, he scored his first Bundesliga goal to make it 3–0 in the Revierderby against Schalke 04 ; the game ended 3–1. He made 43 appearances and scored nine goals in his first season with the German club, coming on as a substitute for Paraguayan Lucas Barrios .
2011–12
In the 2011–12 Bundesliga campaign , Lewandowski benefited from an injury to Lucas Barrios and took over as a first-choice starter. The striker responded by finding the net twice in Dortmund’s 3–0 win over Sandhausen in the first round of the German Cup . Lewandowski opened his league account in a 2–0 win over Nuremberg on 20 August 2011, providing the finishing touch from a Mario Götze cross . On 1 October, Lewandowski provided the assist and scored a hat-trick in the club’s 4–0 win over Augsburg . Dortmund moved into second place in the Bundesliga with a comfortable 5–0 thrashing of Köln on 22 October, with Lewandowski finding the net in both halves. On 17 December, against Freiburg , Lewandowski scored twice and provided an assist for Kevin Großkreutz in a 4–1 win. Due to his great performance, he was voted the Best Player of the Year in Poland.
After the winter break, on 22 January 2012 Dortmund defeated Hamburger SV 5–1 to move level on points with leaders Bayern Munich, with Lewandowski scoring twice and providing an assist for Jakub Błaszczykowski . He scored again on 11 April in a 1–0 home win over Bayern Munich. The result gave Dortmund a six-point lead over their rivals in the title race with just four games remaining. On 21 April, Lewandowski provided the assist for Shinji Kagawa ‘s 59th-minute goal as Dortmund won 2–0 against Borussia Mönchengladbach to secure their second consecutive title. In the final game of the Bundesliga campaign, Lewandowski scored two first-half goals as Dortmund beat Freiburg 4–0 to celebrate winning the title.
Lewandowski finished the year as the league’s third-highest scorer with 22 goals, none from penalties, and six assists.
In the final game of the season for Dortmund, he scored a hat-trick in the German Cup final, a 5–2 victory over Bayern Munich, to give the club their first domestic double (League + Cup). Lewandowski finished as top scorer in the German Cup, with seven goals in six games.
2012–13
Lewandowski scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 win over Bayer Leverkusen on 15 September 2012, extending Dortmund’s unbeaten run to 31 games and moving the club up to third place in the Bundesliga . Three days later, in the team’s first Champions League game of the season , he scored in the 87th minute to set up a 1–0 win against Ajax . He set a new club record for the longest scoring streak, having scored in 12 consecutive league games, surpassing Friedhelm Konietzka’s record from the 1964–65 season. On 9 February 2013, Lewandowski opened the scoring in a home game against Hamburger SV but was sent off in the 31st minute for a foul on Per Ciljan Skjelbred ; Dortmund lost 4–1. He finished the season with 24 Bundesliga goals, one goal short of top scorer Stefan Kießling of Bayer Leverkusen.
According to Borussia Dortmund director Michael Zorc, Lewandowski would not renew his contract with the club and would leave the team in the summer of 2013 or after the 2013–14 season.
On 24 April, in a 4–1 win against Real Madrid at Signal Iduna Park , Lewandowski became the first player to score four goals in a Champions League semi-final. He started the Champions League final on 25 May, in which Borussia were defeated 2–1 by Bayern Munich.
2013–14
On 27 July 2013, Lewandowski won the German Super Cup with Dortmund after beating Bayern Munich 4–2. Lewandowski scored his first goal of the season on 10 August in a 4–0 win over Augsburg in the opening game of the Bundesliga . On 1 November, again in the Bundesliga, the Pole scored his only hat-trick of the season in a 6–1 win against Stuttgart .
On 25 February 2014, Lewandowski scored twice in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Zenit Saint Petersburg , becoming BVB’s top overall goalscorer in European competition, surpassing Stéphane Chapuisat ‘s record of 16 goals . The centre-forward scored his 100th goal for the club in his 182nd appearance on 16 April, as Dortmund defeated Wolfsburg in the German Cup semi-finals. After scoring the goal, he celebrated by displaying a shirt with the number 100.
Lewandowski finished the 2013–14 season as the Bundesliga’s top scorer with 20 goals. He also scored six goals in the Champions League as Borussia Dortmund reached the quarter-finals. During the second leg of the round of 16 match between Borussia Dortmund and Zenit, Lewandowski received a second yellow card which resulted in his suspension for the first leg of the quarter-finals against Real Madrid. Dortmund were defeated 3–0, and the return leg with Lewandowski only won 2–0 and failed to overturn the aggregate.
On 17 May, Lewandowski played his final match for Dortmund, in the 2014 German Cup Final against Bayern Munich. Manager Jürgen Klopp had held him out of training prior to the final due to injury problems; although the striker played all 120 minutes of the final, Dortmund lost 2–0. Lewandowski finished the season with 28 goals in 48 appearances.
He left Borussia for free after signing a pre-contract with rivals Bayern Munich.
The story of Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich
2014–15
On January 4, 2014, Bayern Munich announced the signing of Lewandowski from July 1, 2014, on a five-year contract. He made his debut in an away victory against Hoffenheim in a match valid for the 22nd round of the Bundesliga , coming on in the 27th minute of the second half. His first goal for the club came in the following match, in a 5–0 defeat of Mainz , where he also provided an assist and was one of the best on the field.
He was decisive in the derby against Borussia Dortmund, scoring the only goal in the Bavarian club’s victory at the Allianz Arena . In the second leg of the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League , he scored the goal that opened the 7–0 rout of Shakhtar Donetsk . He scored two more in the 3–2 away win against Borussia Mönchengladbach , in a match valid for the 29th round of the Bundesliga.
He was again instrumental in the 6–1 rout of Porto in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, a result that qualified Bayern for the semi-finals 7–4 on aggregate. Against Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals of the German Cup , he scored the goal that took the match to a penalty shootout, which his team won 5–4. In the Champions League semi-final in Munich , he scored the second goal in a 3–2 victory over Barcelona ; however, Bayern were eliminated after losing 3–0 at the Camp Nou . Lewa ended the season with 25 goals scored.
2015–16
In a match valid for the sixth round of the Bundesliga , held on 22 September 2015 against Wolfsburg, Lewandowski entered the field at half-time, replacing Thiago Alcântara , and scored five goals in just nine minutes. The feat became the fastest in Bundesliga history. Guinness World Records certified him for four Bundesliga records: fastest hat-trick scorer, fastest four-goal scorer, fastest five-goal scorer and highest goalscorer coming off the bench. He had a good performance on 4 October, in the 5–1 win over Borussia Dortmund, in a match valid for the 12th round of the Bundesliga. In the group stage of the Champions League , he scored six goals, including one in the 5–1 win over Arsenal . At the end of that season, he became the Bundesliga’s top scorer with 30 goals. In total he scored 42 goals in the season, being Bayern’s top scorer and the third highest scorer of the European season, behind only Luis Suárez and Cristiano Ronaldo , respectively.
2016–17
The season began with Bayern winning the German Super Cup on 14 August 2016. On 19 August, in the first round of the German Cup , Bayern defeated Carl Zeiss Jena 5–0 with a hat-trick from Lewandowski. The Pole opened the Bundesliga season with another hat-trick, this time in a 6–0 win over Werder Bremen .
Lewandowski renewed his contract with Bayern on December 13, signing a new deal valid until 2021.
On 11 March 2017, Lewandowski reached 100 goals for Bayern in his 137th appearance for the club, scoring twice in a 3–0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga.
Due to injury, Lewandowski missed the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, and saw his team lose 2–1 to Real Madrid in Munich. Having recovered for the return leg in Madrid, Lewandowski started the match and put his team ahead in the first half. The match finished 2–1 in regulation time to Bayern. However, due to Arturo Vidal ‘s sending-off for a foul on Marco Asensio , coach Carlo Ancelotti was forced to take off the Polish striker, bringing on Joshua Kimmich to replace the Chilean. In extra time, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice from an offside position and Asensio completed the scoring, thus finishing 4–2 to the Madrid team, eliminating the Germans from the tournament.
2017–18
The season began with Bayern winning the German Super Cup against rivals Borussia Dortmund in a one-off match in which Lewandowski scored a goal in a 2–2 draw; he also converted the first penalty in a 5–4 victory for the Munich side.
On 13 December 2017, Lewandowski reached the top 10 of Bundesliga goalscorers by scoring the winning goal in a 1–0 draw against Köln . A few months later, on matchday 22 of the Bundesliga , Lewandowski scored again in a 2–1 win against Schalke 04 , thus equalling the Bundesliga record of 11 consecutive home goals. Interestingly, he went on to share this record with his coach at the time, Jupp Heynckes – who scored 11 consecutive home goals in the 1972–73 season while playing for Borussia Mönchengladbach . Despite his good form, he failed to make a difference against Real Madrid in the Champions League , seeing his team eliminated after a 2–1 defeat in Germany and a 2–2 draw in the return leg in a game marked by a major mistake by goalkeeper Sven Ulreich and an alleged uncalled penalty by Marcelo . At the end of the season, Bayern were crowned German champions, but were defeated in the German Cup final by 3–1 against Frankfurt. Lewa scored his team’s only goal in that match.
Lewandowski finished the season with 41 goals scored in 48 games, 29 of which came in the Bundesliga, making him the Bundesliga’s top scorer for the third time.
In August 2018, after much speculation about a supposed transfer to Real Madrid, who no longer had Cristiano Ronaldo and were looking for a new reference for the attack, Bayern president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said that Lewandowski was not for sale as it would not be possible to find a replacement worthy of the Pole.
2018–19
The 2018–19 season began with a rematch against Frankfurt in the German Super Cup , with Bayern emerging victorious after a 5–0 defeat of their opponents. Lewandowski was instrumental in the match by scoring a hat trick, becoming the first player to achieve such a feat in the tournament.
On 27 November 2018, by scoring two goals in a 5–1 victory over Benfica , Lewandowski became the third fastest player to reach 50 goals in the UEFA Champions League. The Pole needed 77 games to reach the milestone. Lewandowski finished as the top scorer in the Champions League group stage , with eight goals in six games.
On 9 February 2019, he scored in a 3–1 win over Schalke 04, becoming the first player to score 100 goals in a competitive match at the Allianz Arena . He also scored his 119th league goal for Bayern Munich that season, moving him level with Roland Wohlfarth as the club’s third-highest goalscorer of all time. A month later, he surpassed Wohlfarth after scoring in a 5–1 win over Gladbach, with his second goal also equalling Claudio Pizarro ‘s record of 195 goals (the most goals scored by a foreign player in the Bundesliga). In his very next game of the tournament, Lewa broke Pizarro’s record by scoring twice in a 6–0 win over Wolfsburg. He saw his team eliminated from the Champions League early after being drawn against Liverpool in the round of 16 , the team that would go on to win the competition. After a 0–0 draw at Anfield , the Reds qualified by defeating the Germans 3–1 at the Allianz Arena . On 6 April, in the 100th Bundesliga meeting between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, Lewandowski scored twice in a 5–0 victory, with his first goal taking him to 200 league goals. Lewandowski finished the Bundesliga with 22 goals, thus becoming the tournament’s top scorer for the fourth time.
On 25 May, he scored a stunning goal as Bayern beat RB Leipzig 3–0 in the German Cup final, his second goal of the match. He became the all-time top scorer in the German Cup final with six goals, surpassing Gerd Müller ‘s five. Lewandowski finished the season with 40 goals in 47 appearances in all competitions, reaching the 40-goal milestone for the fourth consecutive season, and also winning his second domestic double (cup and league) with Bayern.
2019–20
The 2019–20 season began with Bayern losing 2–0 to Borussia Dortmund in the Supercup . In the following German Cup game , Lewandowski scored his first goal of the season as Bayern defeated Energie Cottbus 3–1 in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. On 16 August 2019, Lewandowski scored a brace in the opening Bundesliga game against Hertha Berlin , which ended 2–2. With his impressive start, Lewandowski set a Bundesliga record by scoring a goal in the opening game of the season for the fifth consecutive year. On 24 August, Lewandowski scored a hat-trick against Schalke at the Veltins-Arena , as Bayern won 3–0. On 29 August 2019, Lewandowski extended his contract with Bayern until 2023. On 18 September, Lewandowski scored his 200th goal for Bayern in a 3–0 win against Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League . He later scored an impressive 27 goals in his first 20 games of the season. Lewandowski became the first player in Bundesliga history to score in each of the opening nine, ten and eleven games of a season, surpassing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ‘s record of eight . On 26 November, in a 6–0 win against Red Star Belgrade, Lewandowski scored four goals in less than 15 minutes, setting a new record for the fastest four goals in a Champions League. He also became the second player to score four goals in more than one Champions League game.
On 25 February 2020, Lewandowski provided two assists for Serge Gnabry and scored a goal in Bayern’s 3–0 win over Chelsea in the Champions League round of 16 at Stamford Bridge . In the same match, he equalled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of nine away goals in a European competition.
Following the return of German football and Bayern’s first game since the COVID-19 shutdown on 17 July, Lewandowski had a remarkable season in the Bundesliga and German Cup, scoring a goal or more in most games and averaging an impressive 1.10 goals per game in the Bundesliga, finishing as top scorer, winning both the league and the German Cup. On 8 August, after finishing the Bundesliga by lifting the trophy, Lewandowski was instrumental in the 4–1 win over Chelsea in the round of 16 of the Champions League, scoring two goals and providing two assists, thus further advancing to the top scorer’s spot in the league with 13 goals. In the quarter-finals, Bayern faced and thrashed Barcelona 8–2 . The Pole provided an assist for Thomas Müller for the opening goal and scored his own goal from a cross by Philippe Coutinho . In the same match, he also had a goal disallowed. In the semi-final, Lewandowski scored for his ninth consecutive Champions League match, in a 3–0 victory over Lyon . In the Champions League final , Bayern defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1–0, with a goal by Frenchman Kingsley Coman . Lewandowski was crowned champion, top scorer and best player of the tournament.
He finished the season with 55 goals in 47 games, an average of more than one goal per game. He was also the top scorer in the three competitions his team won: the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the Champions League.
Thanks to these achievements, he was elected FIFA’s best player in the world in 2020.
2020–21
Lewa kicked off the season by scoring a penalty in Bayern’s 8–0 rout of Schalke 04, and went on to win the UEFA Super Cup after beating Sevilla 2–1 and the German Super Cup after beating rivals Borussia Dortmund 3–2. On 24 October, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 rout of Eintracht Frankfurt , becoming the first player in Bundesliga history to score 10 goals in five games.
In the Club World Cup opener , he scored both goals in a 2–0 victory over Al-Ahly , taking Bayern to the final. He won the title by defeating Tigres 1–0 in the final, and was named the best player in the World Cup, winning the Golden Ball of the competition.
The season was also marked by a historic feat in the German championship, scoring 41 goals in just 29 games, breaking Gerd Muller’s previous record. Lewandowski became the top scorer in a Bundesliga season. He also won his first Golden Boot and became German champion.
Lewandowski was crowned the best men’s footballer in the world for the 2020–21 season by FIFA’s ” The Best ” award.
2021–22
At the end of the season, Lewandowski transferred to Bayern, leaving the club as the Bavarians’ second-highest goalscorer with 344 goals, behind only Gerd Müller . He also won eight Bundesliga titles and was top scorer in seven editions. The center forward scored 41 goals in the 2020–21 season, a record for a single season.
The story of Robert Lewandowski in Barcelona
2022–23
On July 16, 2022, Lewandowski was announced as Barcelona ‘s new signing . The amounts involved in the deal were not revealed, however, the German press claims that the Catalan club paid 45 million euros (around R$245 million) for the contract.
He made his debut for the team on 24 July, in a friendly against Real Madrid held in Las Vegas , at the Allegiant Stadium . However, the one who ended up shining was Brazilian Raphinha , who scored the goal that sealed a 1–0 victory. Lewandowski then played against Pumas of Mexico , in a match valid for the Joan Gamper Trophy . The forward scored a goal, provided two assists and had a great performance in the 6–0 rout that also featured goals from Pedri , Ousmane Dembélé , Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Frenkie de Jong .
He scored his first official goals for the club on 21 August, in a 4–1 win against Real Sociedad , valid for La Liga . He had another good performance on 28 August, against Valladolid , scoring twice in a 4–0 rout, including a backheel goal. He was the standout on 12 October, against Internazionale , in a dramatic match at the Camp Nou. Lewandowski shone, scoring twice late on, securing a 3–3 draw and preventing Barcelona from being eliminated in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League .
On 17 October, at the 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony , Lewandowski was the winner of the Gerd Müller Award, an honor given by France Football magazine to the top scorer of the season in football. The Polish striker scored 56 goals in 53 official games for Bayern Munich and the Polish national team in the 2021–22 season.
He won the Spanish Super Cup on 15 January 2023, his first title with Barça . In a match held at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh , Lewandowski scored the second goal in a 3–1 victory over Real Madrid. On 14 May, he scored two goals in a 4–2 derby win against Espanyol away from home, to clinch the La Liga title for Barcelona. Lewandowski would end the season not only with the two titles, but also with another top scorer in his career, being the winner of the Pichichi Trophy with 23 goals.
2023–24
On 3 September, Lewandowski reached the milestone of 50 competitive appearances for Barcelona in a 2–1 victory against Osasuna . The Polish striker had scored 35 goals with the Barça shirt until then, which gives an average of 0.7 per match. In the Champions League , he scored his first goal in that edition on September 19, in a 5–0 victory over Royal Antwerp , from Belgium , in a game valid for the group stage . With the goal, he reached the milestone of 100 goals in European competitions, behind only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo .
The story of Robert Lewandowski’s family
Robert Lewandowski ‘s parents
Robert Lewandowski’s father
Krzysztof Lewandowski was a huge influence on Robert’s life. He was a caring figure and taught values that Lewandowski carries to this day.
Robert Lewandowski’s mother
Iwona was a pillar of support for Robert, especially after his father’s death. She played a pivotal role in his upbringing and success.
Robert Lewandowski’s sister
Milena Lewandowski, a professional volleyball player, was there for Robert during the difficult times of his childhood and continues to be a source of support in his life.
Robert Lewandowski’s grandmother
Robert’s grandmother lived to be 91 and was an important figure in her family.
Robert Lewandowski’s wife
Anna Lewandowska is a Polish athlete and nutrition expert. Married to Robert since 2013, she has played an important role in the player’s lifestyle and career. Together, they have a daughter named Klara.
Children of Robert Lewandowski
Robert and Anna’s first daughter, Laura, was born on May 6, 2017. Two years later, they welcomed another baby girl – Klara – on May 4, 2019.
Despite his busy schedule of training and games, the doting father always makes time for his children.
