Robert Lewandowski discusses his early footballing idols in interview with Lothar Matthäus

Bayern Munich and Germany legend Lothar Matthäus recently conducted a video interview with Robert Lewandowski for Sport Bild, during which the Polish ace was asked about his footballing idols during his childhood and who he thinks the best footballer is. Matthäus officially conducted the interview as the editor-in-chief-of Sport Bild, but also as an admirer of Lewandowski and how much he’s accomplished in his career thus far.

From a very young age, Lewandowski said that he most admired Italian striker Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Del Piero. “I remember exactly. When I was six years old, there was only one idol for me: Roberto Baggio! Alessandro Del Piero later became my role model in football, and I admired him. However, I was not yet able to judge exactly what characterizes his style of play, I was just too young for that,” he explained.

As he grew a bit older and started to develop more and more of a tactical grasp on the game and techniques of all-around strikers, he revealed that he grew quite fond of Arsenal and France legend Thiery Henry. “It later became Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. His movements, the runs in depth, the finishes - as a young footballer these were the qualities I wanted to have. I wanted to imitate Henry everything,” he said.

Photo by Christopher Lee - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

Of course, at the moment, Lewandowski’s name is touted in the same breathe as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Even those who don’t follow Bayern or the Bundesliga would argue that Lewandowski was more of deserving of winning the Ballon d’Or last year, but it was scrapped, partially because of the fact that Ligue 1 wasn’t able to properly finish their season and both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were technically in the running.

Matthäus, though, wanted to know who Lewandowski felt was the best player of all time. Lewandowski didn’t want to give that prestige to any one player as he explained that he fells it changes as time passes and the game changes. “There isn’t a single player who can be singled out. Players shape epochs. It used to be you [Matthäus]. The last 10, 15 years Messi, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho. Previously the Brazilian striker Ronaldo. There are always extraordinary talents, appearances that simply convey fun in football. World stars manage to make difficult things appear easy and simple,” he explained.