Barça’s Robert Lewandowski: “I still have that feeling and that passion” to play football

Elite footballers have always lived by personal challenges and Robert Lewandowski, at 35-years-old, is facing a new one: to prove to the football world that his decline has not yet arrived. After last year’s World Cup, his drop-off was a hot topic, with many people announcing that he was on his way down.

He travelled to the Qatar World Cup with 13 goals in 14 games for Barcelona; after, he did not get past 10 in the next 20 games in the league. Even so, he still managed to win the top scorer award in LaLiga and restore Barça as the league title holders, just what Laporta had asked of him upon his arrival.

With only two goals in his last seven games, as well as three consecutive Champions League matches without scoring, something that has not happened in the last decade, the alarm bells have sounded for Lewandowski. For the first time in years, he is looked at with a confused expression on the pitch. Against Atlético Madrid, he was involved in almost all of Barcelona’s chances, but he failed to score.

Robert Lewandowski or Vitor Roque?

Lewandowski was wasteful at Montjuïc: he misdirected a header and skewed an acrobatic shot in which he connected late with the ball. Even in the move in which he showed his class, a long run into space in the second half in which he sat Hermoso on the floor, he sent the ball past Oblak and wide of the goal... even the player himself didn’t believe it. Xavi admitted at the end of the match that he was frustrated and Catalunya Ràdio assured that the player had not had a great time after the final whistle, with no answers to explain his goal drought.

There is a strong level of respect for Lewandowski at all levels of the club. From the board to the dressing room, he is considered one of the greats and is lauded for his professionalism, with Xavi set to maintain his status as the undisputed starter, with or without Vitor Roque. Despite not being at his best, the striker has been the difference in two key matches for Barça in LaLiga (Celta and Alavés).

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' I think I can still play football for three or four years’

“I feel very good, I know that everything has gone well, not only within the club, but also outside because I see how the fans support me. I feel I’m in the right time and the right place. I don’t think about what I’ve already won or what I’ve already done. I still have that feeling and passion inside me. I think I can still play for three or four years, because physically I feel very good,” he insisted in a statement to the Club.

The situation of the striker, however, will be dealt with at the end of the season. Until then, Lewandowski wants to prove that he is still at the top. After the painful hangover from the match against Atlético Madrid, the former Bayern player has now had time to clear his mind.

The match against Girona (Sunday, December 10, with kick off at 3 p.m. ET / noon PT.) could be a good time for a reset. Lewandowski showed against Atlético that his fitness is not an issue, but he needs to re-find his nose for goal that we have become used to seeing on the pitch.