How Robert Lewandowski's family built his record-breaking foundations
Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski has risen to the top of world football in 2020 after the best scoring season of his career. But Lewandowski's journey has been a long one, with help from the closest around him to assist in his incredible development.
"We've always analysed Robert's games together," says wife, Anna, a former world champion Karate athlete who is now a professional nutritionist.
"He calls after away games and wants to hear my opinion. I have a different perspective than him, but I also come from competitive sports & studied sports. It's a kind of technical discussion between athletes."
And despite scoring freely over the course of 2020 - with a personal record 34 goals in the Bundesliga during 2019/20, 15 in the Champions League and six in the DFB Cup - Lewandowski always thinks he can achieve more.
"He's never 100 percent satisfied with himself - even if he scored two goals, he says that he could have scored one or two more," wife Anna added. "He has a very clear view of himself. And his ambition is huge."
For Lewandowski, work on the training ground at Bayern's Säbener Straße isn't enough. The 32-year-old striker has undergone a transformation at home in order to get the very best out of his body, which he has said he believes he can keep at the top level for years to come.
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From eating dessert before his main course to wearing special glasses to get the best possible sleep, the Lewandowski family has taken every step to help him reach the top.
"There's a lot of little things that we started changing 12 years ago," Anna explained. "For example, the quality of sleep: a good mattress, no blue light and the right food before bed. Diet in general: We avoid lactose, wheat flour, white sugar, and fried foods.
"We eat the dessert or the carbohydrates first and then proteins, sometimes we eat more raw vegetables, sometimes only a little meat. To know what Robert needs right now, we check his blood regularly. It is also important to eat slowly. It's not easy for both of us."
With all of that - and being surrounded by talents such as Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman and Thomas Müller - Lewandowski achieved his ultimate club career goal by winning his first UEFA Champions League title in 2019/20 - to clinch a continental treble for Bayern.
"He called after the Champions League final and said: 'We did it! We won! We did it all together!' He meant the team, but also our family & friends, everyone who supported him in his career," Anna said. "The Champions League was his big dream. And we were really happy with him.
"But it was also a bit sad because we couldn't be with him in Lisbon. That's why I said to him: 'You have to win the Champions League again!'”
And after seeing his work help him live his big dream, Lewandowski must now make sure he wins a second Champions League title - so his family can be there to celebrate with him.
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