Robert Lewandowski: That conversation with Jürgen Klopp changed my career

Robert Lewandowski, who plays for Barcelona in the Spanish League, spoke about the dialogue he had with Jürgen Klopp when he was just beginning his career at Borussia Dortmund, which he described as “the speech that changed my career.”

The Polish striker played for four seasons at Klopp’s Dortmund before transferring to Bayern Munich, revealing that a late-night conversation with the German manager gave him a career leap forward.

Shown as one of the best managers in the world, Liverpool Manager Klopp is a manager famous for his bond with his players. And the Lewandowski story strongly reinforces this characteristic of Klopp.

Photo: DepoPhotos.

“I DID NOT KNOW WHAT YOU WANTED FROM ME”

Lewandowski, who gave an interview to ESPN, used the following statements about his relationship with Klopp and that conversation that he cannot forget:

“I think one event changed my career while I was in Dortmund. My first season in Dortmund was perhaps the start of the second season. I wasn’t in shape, I didn’t score many goals. I didn’t know what Jürgen wanted from me. I went to him after a game we lost. It was midnight at the hotel. I told him: ‘I want to talk to you because I don’t understand what you want or expect from me. And although we thought we would talk for 5 to 10 minutes, we chatted for about 1.5 hours.”

“I MADE A HAT-TRICK AFTER THREE DAYS”

“Most importantly, he spoke to me with a fatherly warmth. I missed him too, since I lost my father when he was 16 years old. Maybe no one has talked to me like that since then. Three days later I scored a hat-trick and an assist in the Bundesliga, we won 4-0. I think it was the Augsburg game. Remember, you can’t change things in such a short time just by training.”

“EVERYTHING CHANGED AFTER THAT MOMENT”

“At that moment I realized that the mentality and what is inside your head are very important. Because I didn’t change anything. But I felt free, as if my mind had cleared. From that moment, everything changed.”

IMPRESSIVE COLLABORATION OF KLOPP AND LEWA

Lewandowski and Klopp, who walked together through Dortmund’s most successful era, won back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2010-11 and 2011-12, as well as a German Cup and Super Cup. Under Klopp, Lewandowski played more games (186) than any other coach, scoring 102 goals and providing 42 assists. Lewandowski, who now plays for Barcelona, ​​will play Real Madrid in El Clásico on Sunday.

Lewandowski, who scored 25 goals and provided 6 assists for Barcelona in all games this season, is the team’s top scorer.