Robert Lewandowski EXCLUSIVE! Yamal, Rashford, Alonso, Barcelona expectations & more! | ESPN FC

We have you here on the verge of the start of a fourth season, Robert. How do you feel? I mean, you have conquered and accomplished so many things last year, so what is the challenge now? As always, the next challenge before the season is next season to try to help my teammates, the club, to win the title, to score the goals, not only on the pitch, but of course off the pitch as well. I know with my experience, in my age also, it's important to try to help my teammates, especially that we have so many teenagers players in the locker room. But in the end, I still feel physically very well, even in the pre-season when we ran, when we did some tough exercise, I was on the top. So still, they try to catch me, but in the end, that means for me a lot. That means, okay, I still have this mentality, not for 90%, but still for 100%. Even that so many people talk about my age, that I'm getting older, I don't have any problem with this because I'm... You don't feel it? No, I don't feel it, but I know I'm proud. I'm proud that I'm already 37 years old, so I'm very proud of my age, but from another side, I still know that I can achieve my goals, I can help my teammates because I'm still hungry for more. And I don't have this kind of feeling that it's enough. Okay, maybe I can do something, but not too much. No, no. Still, I have the same as a previous feeling and that makes me even stronger. Robert, last season was fun, a lot of fun. You won titles, you conquered so many things, beaten Real Madrid four times, but, complete the phrase, but, what do you think? But I got the injury in the wrong moment. The timing was for me, personality, you know, in this moment that we play semi-final, that you have some very important games, and especially that I felt really very well on the pitch. But this is the football and from one side happens for some reason. I don't know yet why, but from another side, that was hurt, you know, that I couldn't help my teammates, I couldn't help the team. And also, we were so close to playing the final Champions League. From one side, if you are so close, it means you did very things good, but not enough. And if you are thinking about the next season, this season, I think that this team is gonna be more stronger because the potential is huge. But from another side, for many players or from players can be this season more tough because the expectation is going up. Of course, if you're playing since years on this level, you know what does it mean, but if you are playing like the one season or two season on the good level and now you have to repeat, that is the huge challenge for any players in football. But we have very strong team. I think also we can play better than last year because we understand what we had to do on the pitch with the Hansi. Because in the end of the last year, we had the period that we didn't play well, we lost so many points. But because we had a young team, we had to understand which way that Hansi tried to send to us. And I think that this year, from the beginning, we started very well and we understood a lot of things that before we didn't understand. Robert, you go back to San Siro because you talked about that Champions League game, you were part of that in the last minutes. Sometimes you go back, you said we should have done this, we should have done that. It comes back to you? I already saw what we did wrong in this game. In the next game, I think that was the game against La Liga, against Espanyol. I don't know that we would next on two games after this. And I already saw what we did better than in this game. So it means that we are growing, that we, from kind of mistakes, we try to fix it in the next, in the future, in the next games. Of course, that was semifinal, you cannot compare these kind of games. But if you have so many young players and sometimes you want to eat always more, sometimes can happen. This is football. And I think if we did something wrong, it was the same in the last part of the year, that we, some games didn't play well. What was it? I mean, if you think about that, was maybe to calm down, I mean, to stop the rhythm of the game. Yeah, exactly. Sometimes, yeah, you have to find the solution when you have to, going forward, when maybe keep the ball, when to stay back, you know, and just kick the ball out. And in the end of the year, we lost something, you know. But from the beginning, we already learned from this period before, previous year. And also, I know that the semifinal, you know, that is like the big games, you don't have to, you don't have any space to make the mistakes. But okay, it happened. I can say that was almost perfectly season for us, but it means that we have still something to do and we want to do. I remember when we were cycling in Castelldefels, you told me that at that moment, it was very important for the young players to build up confidence, to know what it's like to win. You have done that. I mean, you've won. So what is the challenge now for, I mean, I believe that you have a more mature team right now, right? You know that I have this since years. It doesn't matter how many titles you already won. The more important things, how many titles you want to win. And it's the same like now. This is the next challenge, to improve, that you are on the top, that improve, that this was an accident, that you won this kind of titles, and find the motivation for more. If you're playing on the top, you have to try even, always find the motivation for yourself, even that you won everything, how to keep it, this level on football, on the higher level, you know. And in my mind, I had, even now, I had, okay, I had a really good season, but I know that I can improve again so many things. I have to improve. And I try to improve because I love this football. I love this team. I love this club. And, you know, for me, this kind of, like the feeling since years, I cannot thinking, oh, what I've already achieved in my life. Because probably since years, I will be playing for 80%, 90%. And football is not enough. You're turning August 21st, 38 years old. 37. 37, 37. You told me 37, I said 37, 36, you made me doubt. Yeah, but okay, you can be 38. For me, just a number, so it's not a problem. You're turning 37 in August 21st. You're going to pick any ideas from Lamine's birthday? Ideas, you mean? Ideas to throw a party, I mean. You know, Lamine, he's so young, he can enjoy the life. He has to also enjoy the life because everything, not in football, but outside the football is in front of him. And of course, that will be also a tough moment for him, how to handle all these things around him. And for sure, that will be not easy, but he has to also enjoy everything, what still in this age you can. And probably, in the future, that he cannot. So you have to just find the balance, you know. And he's a very good guy, you know. Do you think there's like this criticism, why he dresses like this, or why he's like... I mean, it's not very... I mean, you see NBA players, they dress the way they like, they are the way they want to be. But in football, there are sometimes like a way of thinking that you should behave this way, or you shouldn't do this. I know, I know this feeling, because growing up and also in this part of the life, that the people doesn't understand that we want to show something that we are. And maybe we are different than... You are different than me, I am different than you. It's normal. And also, there might be the people expect that they try to do a weird, try to be perfectly for kind of like the reason. But what does it mean perfectly? That we wear the same clothes everywhere, everyone, or we clothes, or we doing some simple things. But, you know, I think when we are talking about De Laming, he show what he is, you know. And of course, that will be so many speculation, that will be a lot of talk about this. It depends how he handle this, you know, for the long term, not only for the next months, or one year, or two years. I think the most important for him, and probably he has to answer himself, that for him, that will be too much in two, three, four years. Because, you know, I think that the talent is enough if you are 20 years old, plus, minus. But later is what I feel more important is that workout, how you working hard. And he is working hard. But, you know, the part outside the football, I mean, the emotion that you in one day on social media, you are like the, you know, here, and the next day you are on the ground. It means that also for your body, for your mind, for your head is the huge pressure, you know. And that is the question to everyone in football, to everyone in not only football, in the world, in the life. How strong you are, or that makes you more weak, every time one, two, three percent less, or that make you more power, but also for the long term, that is going to be good, or it's going to be in the wrong way. So, I don't know the answer for this. And he probably also has to find the answer for this in the future. Robert, in Madrid, they say they have signed the new Lamin, Franco Mastantuono. It's a new signing for Real Madrid, they paid more than 16 million. Is there a chance to have another Lamin? I think you never, you cannot compare the players, especially in this young age. And what I see that the football is going that for the, take it so many young players, they put on pressure on them, you know. And it's not about the football, but I think so many people in this age, they are not ready mentally to take this everything on the back, you know. And I think that makes them more weak, but not now. Is the question what's going to happen when they is going to be 25, 26 years old, or 28? They still going to play on the high level or not? Because if you're starting so young, also that is a huge challenge to staying on the top for them, not five years, but 10 years or even longer. Do you think that the fact that Barcelona has Lamin right now has created the need at Real Madrid to have a figure like that? For sure they have pressure to find someone like Lamin. I think that will be impossible. And it's better that you're following your own way. Of course, the fans, the expectation is always, oh, we have to find some kind of Lamin, but you cannot find because this kind of guy cannot born in every city every year, you know. It's like one time in 10 years. Yeah, exactly. It's the same like the previous, like Cristiano Messi that was completely different players. So you cannot find the next Messi or you cannot find maybe the next Cristiano Ronaldo because they are unique. Talking about great players, one that has become a great coach, Xabi Alonso, you have shared many years with him at Bayern. How do you see him? I mean, it's his first year. You just said there's a lot of pressure. They have lost against Barcelona in every single game last year and they have not achieved in any competition. So how do you picture Xabi? Oh, he has the great future as a coach, for sure, as not from the tactics side, but also as a personality. I think he's going to be the coach on the top level for sure. Okay, I know that the first season can be sometimes complicated for him. It's not easy already to find the best solution right now. Also, maybe he needs the time. There's normally football. But in the future, I know that he's going to be the great coach. He's going to be one of the best, maybe the best. But, you know, he is the guy who can bring the best from every job player. I'm sure. I hear you in an interview that you have learned how to be precise when passing the ball, that you saw that he took some time before the training session to practice. Can you tell me that story? When he came to Bayern Munich, I remember exactly that I started to train with him, you know, before we started the training session. And always before every training session, he started to play just an easy pass on the ground, you know, and I started to do it with him. And of course, when his pass was 10 of 10, like on the ground, perfectly, like this ball goes, like, you know, without any move. And my pass, every three passes, I was like, bam, bam, bam. And I was, I have to change. I have to learn more. I have to be more focused, you know, this even that we are starting with five minutes before the training session, 10 minutes, just easy pass, easy pass. And I remember exactly that after one month that my pass, every four passes, five passes was wrong. But after two months, we could play like 20 passes, me and him like perfectly on the ground. And that means for me, I improved this kind of small details. But in the end, it was very important because I saw on the pitch later that helped me a lot also. Last one. New signing, Rashford, coming from Man United. What does it mean for the team to have a player with the experience and the profile that he has? He has pretty huge potential, you know, as a player, as a football players, he has everything, you know, he has like, he's fast. With the ball, he's really good. Once against once on the side, he can play one against one or once against two even. And the last pass on the side also, he sees a lot. So he has really, really huge potential. And he can help us a lot. And I'm really sure that, of course, that expectation can be high for him. But if he shows his best football, he will be really good players. And I hope so that he can help us a lot in this season.