"Robert Lewandowski talks Champions League and World Cup aspirations at Expo 2020"

" \n Robert Lewandowski talks Champions League and World Cup aspirations at Expo 2020 \n \n\n \n With 69 goals in 2021, Robert Lewandowski is described as \u201cthe best No 9 in the football world right now.\u201d But the striker for German club Bayern Munich \u2013 and captain of the Poland national team \u2013 already has his sights set on 2022, and explained during a visit to Expo 2020 Dubai on Tuesday why his club is a serious contender in the Champions League. \n \n\n \n Lewandowski said: \u201cI\u2019m always up for a new challenge. You have to find something extra for yourself from inside. Right now I\u2019m focused on this season, and on winning the Champions League for Bayern Munich.\u201d \n \n\n \n The head coach of Bayern Munich, Julian Nagelsmann, has developed a reputation for being an innovator, who does things a little differently, and Lewandowski says the tactics of the record-breaking coach are paying off: \u201cThere\u2019s a connection between Nagelsmann and the players. Everything\u2019s going well because there is good communication, and we all understand what we need to do and which way we need to go.\u201d \n \n\n \n Lewandowski was in town to attend Monday\u2019s (27 December) Dubai Globe Soccer Awards, where he collected the Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year and the TikTok Fans\u2019 Player of the Year Award. He is looking forward to returning to the region for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. \n \n\n \n He said: \u201cI know the World Cup next year in Qatar is going to be special. It\u2019s the first time a World Cup is being played during winter, and the first time in the Middle East, so it\u2019s going to be different. But when you come to the UAE and see how they do things here \u2013 just look at the amazing construction of the Expo 2020 site \u2013 you know that it\u2019s going to be top-notch. Especially when you see how perfectly they do things in Dubai.\u201d \n \n\n \n Poland faces a series of playoffs to reach the finals, taking on Russia first in March. Lewandowski is up for the challenge of leading his team to World Cup triumph: \u201cFor us to go in the playoffs is for sure the difficult way, but we are ready to win, to use our best skills, to stay positive and go all the way.\u201d \n \n\n \n With Arsene Wenger recently making a case for a biennial World Cup, Lewandowski countered that if fans wanted to watch the highest levels of football, then competing in a competition of that size and stature every two years was not feasible.\u00a0 \n \n\n \n Read This: Emirates indefinitely suspends flights from Accra to Dubai \n \n\n \n \u201cPlaying 60 games every season without a break for the summer is impossible if fans are expecting the same type of quality. We are humans, not robots. We will not be able to play at the same intensity. Sure, it may be possible for those who only want to play football for a few years, but not if you want to have an extended career in the game. For the new generation it is already much tougher as expectations are so high and every year the game is getting faster and more intense.\u201d \n \n\n \n When asked about his secret to getting even better with age, the 33-year-old laughingly replied: \u201cOh, I have many secrets to share!\u201d \n \n\n \n Not only does he agree with the sentiment that with age comes knowledge and self-awareness, but he has also learnt more about his physicality \u2013 and today is in the best shape of his life. \n \n\n \n \u201cThe most important point for me is to listen to my body to understand it better, to know when I can exert it more, and when it needs to relax,\u201d he said. \n \n\n \n As taxing and distressing as COVID-19 has been on the world, Lewandowski used lockdown to work on himself: \u201cWhen you\u2019re playing matches every three days, you don\u2019t have enough time to do the training that your body needs, so I took this bad period of our lives to focus on training sessions that could help me to keep up with the high intensity required for my life on the field.\u201d \n \n\n \n The potent striker was attending a football freestyling event at Al Wasl Plaza, where fans came out in their droves to see him and to watch a riveting performance, combining break dancing and football, by two-time Freestyle World Champion S\u00e9an Garnier, together with three leading UAE players.\u00a0 \n "

"Robert Lewandowski talks Champions League and World Cup aspirations at Expo 2020"

Interstate deals fuel drive for African single roaming regimeAMP

More African founders secure $1M+ funding in new trendAMP

Cocoa extends gain back toward record high on global shortageAMP