“Success doesn’t always have to do with size. It’s all about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will follow soon. ” – says Dwayne Johnson – US-Canadian actor and former successful wrestler.

This phrase is practically a guideline for achieving success in all areas of life and also applies particularly to the stages of Robert’s development.

You can, but you, of course, don’t have to, repeat Robert’s successes. His story can be an inspiration for you to work on your own development and to improve yourself in sports or in various other areas of life. What is extraordinary about this story is that Robert was able to stop the biological decline in an unusual way through his specialized training and his positive environment, as well as though the support of his family.

Most likely, Robert learned from the best during his career, but he mostly saw himself as a rival. When Robert scored the first goal in an international UEFA competition with Lech Poznan in 2008, Cristiano Ronaldo had just won the Champions League for the first time with Manchester United. Lionel Messi was voted world footballer for the first time a year later. One would think that the two world stars Messi and CR7 were competing for the crown of the world’s best footballer. That doesn’t mean that Messi and CR7 didn’t have to work hard to be successful either. However, each other’s success drove both of them to keep continuously improving.

In contrast to these two world stars, one can say that Robert Lewandowski’s success came in smaller, at least at the beginning, less spectacular steps. It took him about 12 years from the year 2008 until he was called the best player in the world by some of the most renowned  football experts in 2020 and 2021.

The most unusual thing, if you take his age into account, was the development phase over the past 3 years. Normally, footballer players decline at the age of over 30, and their technical and physical skills do not improve anymore.

This seemingly eternal truth does not apply to Robert, however. He, thus, represents a counterexample, something that the football world has never seen before in this form.

Robert knew that victory belongs first and foremost to those with the greatest perseverance.

How do you relate his journey to becoming one of the most complete football players of all time? By this we mean specifically his abilities such as: shoot with both the right and left foot. In addition, he has a very high command of the heading ability and scores a lot of goals with the head.

He took over penalty kicks from his teammate Thomas Müller and perfected his technique. He can also flick the ball over a wall into the goal. He’s constantly improving his dribble skills, getting faster with and without the ball. With his technical ability to control the ball, he is now one of the world’s best technical players as well. It is also noticeable that he subordinates every movement with the ball to the benefit of scoring a goal.

In the Bundesliga, he broke practically all-scoring records. This also includes overtaking the Bundesliga top scorer record by Bayern legend Gerd Müller when he scored 41 goals during the 2020/21 season. In recent years he has also broken a number of top scorer records in European competitions.

So what are the special events and people that guided Robert to the top of world football?

• Robert grew up in a sporting family. His father Krzysztof was a junior European champion in judo, his mother Iwona played in the highest Polish volleyball league.
• In 2013 Robert married Anna Lewanowska who herself won national and international titles in various age groups in high-performance sport in Fudokan karate.
• Robert explains that happy family events are very motivating and affect every aspect of his life. “Energy and strength for everyday activities come from the family and help a lot on the pitch.”
• His career accelerated after he moved to Borussia Dortmund in 2010. Back then, Dortmund was one of the best teams in Europe. There he was coached by his teammates and above all by one of the world’s best coaches, Jürgen Klopp.
• In 2014/2015 Robert moved from Dortmund to Bayern Munich. The culture of MiaSanMia (We are We) has also improved his mentally. His development also accelerated during the collaboration with Pep Guardiola as a football player.
• However, from our point of view, Robert’s footballing skills were improved the most while working with Hansi Flick as assistant coach and later as head coach at Bayern Munich. Robert confirmed this in an interview that he went beyond normal training sessions in intensity under Flick’s guidance. He practiced his technique, his tactical abilities and free kicks.

It is well known that constant practice improves your abilities!

Robert has preserved his superb form in 2021 and continues to score goals regularly. Even after new coach, Julian Nagelsmann, has changed the tactical requirements quite a bit, so that the team is less dependent on Robert’s goals.