Robert Lewandowski talks about Bayern’s coaching situation and his failed transfer to Manchester United

Robert Lewandowski is having an incredible season at Bayern Munich — especially since Hansi Flick took over as interim manager. The Polish international currently tops the race for Törjagerkanone with 25 goals. In an interview given to The Guardian, he talks about topics including his life in Germany under different managers.

It has been said several times before that the players are very happy under Flick and that everyone is developing a positive mentality. Lewandowski added his thoughts on the topic:

The players feel more confident because they know what the trainer wants from them. The communication is much better. I still believe that one day we will play in the Champions League final and we will win it.

Lewandowski had some very special moments under Pep Guardiola, including his five goals in nine minutes against VLF Wolfsburg. He spoke about his experiences under the Spaniard:

When Pep came to Bayern Munich, people thought that we would be playing without a No. 9. For me, that was like: ‘Maybe I should try to play another style. I learned a lot from Pep. We spoke a lot about tactics and for me that was something new. I knew that if I could play for Guardiola with his mind and his ideas - about tactics, about strikers - that it would be good for me. In modern football it’s very difficult to play without a striker. I’ve not seen that for a few years.

The Pole had some fun time during the training sessions at Dortmund. He explained how Klopp helped him develop a competitive mentality:

At Dortmund we bet that if I score 10 goals then Jürgen Klopp gives me 50 euros. The first training sessions, I score three or four. Then after five, six, seven sessions I score seven, eight. Then after three months I score every training more like 10. After a few weeks Jürgen said: ‘No more, it’s too much for me. I don’t want to pay you anymore.’ That was part of my mentality. That was very helpful for me. And good in another way.

If it weren’t for Borussia Dortmund not letting Lewandowski join Manchester United, things could’ve been very different today. The striker revealed that he had desire to join United when Alex Ferguson contacted him back in 2012. Honestly, it would’ve been a big mistake if he had signed for the Premier League side — he fits in the Bundesliga more than anywhere else:

I was speaking with him (Sir Alex Ferguson) after two years at Dortmund and at that time I was really thinking about a move to Manchester United. Because of Ferguson and because of Manchester United. Borussia Dortmund said: ‘No, that’s that.’ That was the first time I was thinking about the move because if you get a phone call from Sir Alex Ferguson, for a young player it was something amazing. That was a special day for me.

Lewandowski has a fierce mentality and has a clear idea of where he wants to be in a few years. He explains how he does not want to be the player who waits the whole game for his teammates to deliver the ball to him. He said:

I want to play for a long time. I don’t feel 31 years old and everything I am doing now is working to keep me in top for the next five, six years. I don’t want to be a striker who spends 90 minutes in the box waiting for the ball. I don’t like just getting the ball 10 times during a game. It’s not enough for me; I find those games difficult.

He repeats how he wants to play differently from most of the other strikers. He prefers to play with a different pattern:

Sometimes you have to be there waiting for the ball and if you get it once in the 90 minutes you have to be ready. But I say: ‘I want to be part of the team, of the game, I want to move and pass and not just wait for the ball.’ That’s why I am always looking for space to get the ball and find my teammates. I can work on everything still. But one thing? Maybe to shoot from distance.

As the knockouts of the Champions League is approaching, the Bavarian is very much confident and hopeful that the Bundesliga title holders would be able to go a long way in the competition this time.