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Tag: Lewandowski

  • Poland coach resigns after Lewandowski boycott

    Poland coach resigns after Lewandowski boycott

    Michal Probierz has resigned as Poland manager in the wake of Robert Lewandowski saying he would not play for the country under him.

    Lewandowski, who is Poland’s record goalscorer with 85 goals in 158 appearances, quit his national team on Sunday after Probierz replaced him as captain with Piotr Zielinski.

    Probierz’s decision to resign also follows Poland suffering a 2-1 loss in Finland in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.

    The defeat left Poland third in their group on six points after three games, with the Netherlands second on six points after two games and Finland top on seven points having played four games.

    “I have come to the conclusion that in the current situation the best decision for the good of the national team will be my resignation from the position of coach,” Probierz said in a statement., external

    “Performing this function was the fulfilment of my professional dreams and the greatest honour in my life.”

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    Probierz, 52, took over as coach in September 2023 but his side finished bottom of their group at Euro 2024 and were the first country to be knocked out of the tournament.

    In his 21 matches in charge he won nine, drew five and lost seven.

    He added: “Thank you, of course, to all the footballers I have had the pleasure of meeting along the way.

    “I will keep my fingers crossed for all of you, because the national team is our common national asset.”

  • Lewandowski tips Bellingham for Ballon d’Or

    Lewandowski tips Bellingham for Ballon d’Or

    Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski has named the leading contenders for the Ballon d’Or, amid rumours he could belatedly be awarded the 2020 prize.

    Lewandowski was viewed as the clear favourite in 2020, only for organisers to cancel the award due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The Poland superstar finished as the runner-up the following year to Lionel Messi.

    Lewandowski was asked by Sport Bild for his views on the best players in the world currently, with the forward naming Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham as one of the leading candidates for this year’s prize.

    Bellingham has enjoyed a stunning debut season in Madrid, scoring 21 goals and providing 10 assists in all competitions.

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    Lewandowski also put forward PSG forward Kylian Mbappe, who played a key role in eliminating the Catalans from this season’s Champions League and is expected to join Real Madrid this summer.

     “It’s difficult to say because we still have the European Championship and the last, decisive games in the Champions League ahead of us,” Lewandowski said. “But at the moment Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham are the outstanding players in the world for me.”

    Lewandowski also addressed rumours he could retrospectively be awarded the 2020 Ballon d’Or.

    He had scored 55 goals in 47 matches during the 2019-20 season, as Bayern Munich completed a stunning Treble.

    The German giants won the Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB Pokal, before winning the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in the second half of 2020.

    Lewandowski admitted he believed he could have been awarded the Ballon d’Or in either 2020 or 2021, adding he would be happy to receive the former should it be retrospectively awarded.

    “Of course I would have liked to receive the Ballon d’Or award one day,” Lewandowski said.

    “It’s not that I’m mad or sad that this trophy is still missing, but my feeling is that it would have been my turn in either year.

    “The one from 2021 belongs to Lionel Messi. I noticed that there are rumours about a retrospective award for 2020.

    “This year was outstanding for me, I was at my highest level, we won everything.

    “Let’s put it this way: If I were to receive the 2020 Ballon d’Or four years later, I certainly wouldn’t act offended – it would be a great honour and I would accept the award.”

    Lewandowski had been named as the winner of the Best FIFA Men’s Player award in both 2020 and 2021.

  • Saudi not giving up on Lewandowski pursuit

    Saudi not giving up on Lewandowski pursuit

    Saudi Arabia will continue their pursuit of Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski as they seek to bring more European talent to the nation, according to reports.

    The oil-rich Kingdom splurged over £700m on new recruits in the summer as they pressed on in their attempts to raise the status of the Saudi Pro League and make it a top footballing nation.

    Lewandowski quickly rejected interest from the Middle East in the summer as he remains committed to Barcelona but will have more offers presented to him in future, as reported by SPORT.

    Barcelona are braced for another offer for their superstar striker who will enter the last year of his contract at the end of the season and could look to cash-in.

    Saudi Arabian side Abha Club have placed the Poland international at the top of their shortlist but face competition from three other Pro League sides who are also keen.

    Should Lewandowski make the move then he would add to an already impressive list of elite players who were lured to the Middle East by the huge salaries being offered.

    Cristiano Ronaldo paved the way for other stars when he decided to join Al-Nassr after having his contract terminated at Manchester United.

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    His former Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema departed the Santiago Bernabeu to join Al-Ittihad, while former Barcelona star Neymar called time on his PSG career and signed for Al-Hilal.

    Premier League talents have also been recruited with a host of former Liverpool stars leaving Anfield for various Saudi Pro League sides.

    Jordan Henderson was the first England international to make the switch as he joined Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq while there were also moves for Robert Firmino, Fabinho and former Red Sadio Mane.

    However, Mohamed Salah stayed put on Merseyside despite being targeted as Saudi Arabia’s marquee summer target.

    Liverpool had no interest in accepting an offer for their talismanic striker despite Al-Ittihad willing to sanction a proposal exceeding £200m for the Egyptian.

    Jose Mourinho also knocked back a £26m-per-year managerial offer from the nation in favour of staying in charge at Roma.

  • Poland unleash Lewandowski, 21 others on Super Eagles

    Poland unleash Lewandowski, 21 others on Super Eagles

    The Polish Football Association has announced a list of 22 foreign-based professionals for their home friendlies against Nigeria and South Korea this month.

    As exclusively reported by to allnigeriasoccer.com yesterday, Ipswich Town goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski has been handed a maiden call-up to the Poland’s senior team by manager Adam Nawalka and he will challenge former Arsenal stars Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski for a spot in the starting 11 vs Nigeria.

    The headline name on the list is Bayern Munich goal-machine Robert Lewandowski who will captain the team.

    Ola Aina’s teammate at Hull City Kamil Grosicki, Grzegorz Krychowiak of West Brom and Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik have made the cut.The domestic based players will be added to the roster next week.

    Poland will face Nigeria at the Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw on March 23, before tackling South Korea four days later at Stadion Slaski (Chorzów).

     

    Poland Squad For Nigeria Friendly

    Goalkeepers (4): Bartosz Bialkowski (Ipswich Town FC, England), Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea City AFC, England), Lukasz Skorupski (AS Roma, Italy), Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus FC, Italy).

    Defenders (7): Bartosz Bereszynski (UC Sampdoria, Italy), Thiago Cionek (SPAL 2013, Italy), Kamil Glik (AS Monaco FC, France), Pawel Jaroszynski (AC Chievo Verona, Italy), Marcin Kaminski (VfB Stuttgart 1893, Germany), Tomasz Kedziora (Dynamo Kyiv, Ukraine), Lukasz Piszczek (BV Borussia 1909 Dortmund, Germany).

    Midfielders (6): Jacek Góralski (Ludogorec Razgrad, Bulgaria), Kamil Grosicki (Hull City AFC, England), Grzegorz Krychowiak (West Bromwich Albion FC, England), Karol Linetty (UC Sampdoria, Italy), Maciej Rybus (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia), Piotr Zielinski (SSC Napoli, Italy).

    Strikers (5): Dawid Kownacki (UC Sampdoria, Italy), Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern München, Germany), Arkadiusz Milik (SSC Napoli, Italy), Jakub Swierczok (Ludogorec Razgrad, Bulgaria), Lukasz Teodorczyk (RSC Anderlecht, Belgium).

  • Lewandowski Defeats Ronaldo on FIFA Top Scorer’s Table

    Lewandowski Defeats Ronaldo on FIFA Top Scorer’s Table

    Robert Lewandowski scored 16 goals to lead the top scorer’s table for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Matches. Two strikers who also have 16 goals to their credit aside Lewandowski are; Mohammad Al-Sahlawi and  Ahmed Khalil.

    The three players are leading Ballon D’or favourite and Portugal Striker Christiano Ronaldo on the table with a goal difference.

    The Real Madrid ace has 15 goals to his credit from the 10 qualifying matches Portugal played to book their ticket for the Russia 2018 tournament.

    Ronaldo leads Tim Cahill, Romelu Lukaku and Sardar Azmoun with four goals difference as the trio occupy the fourth, fifth and sixth spot of top goal scorer table with 11 goals each to their credit.

    Sardar Azmoun also has 11 goals in his purfew to occupy spot number seven on the World Cup Qualifiers Top Scorers Table.

    Running a count-down to ten on the top scorers table, Omar Kharbin and Edinson Cavani have scored 10 goals each and they occupy spot number eight and nine respectively.

    The last but not the least on the World Cup Qualifiers Top Scorers Table, Carlos Ruiz,   scored nine goals so far as the qualifiers move closer to climax.

    Worthy to note that Lionel Messi who scired scored three goals in Argentina last qualifying match has a total of  seven goals during the qualifiers, Alex Sanchez is also on the same gial Margin also with Felipe Calcireo.

    See below the table of the top 10 scorers and other FIFA’s statistics from the qualifying matches so far.

    WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS TOP 10 SCORERS

    PLAYER                                          GOALS SCORED

    1. Robert Lewandowski –                               16
    2. Mohammad Al-Sahlawi –                          16
    3. Ahmed Khalil –                                            16
    4. Cristiano Ronaldo –                                    15
    5. Tim Cahill –                                                   11
    6. Romelu Lukaku –                                        11
    7. Sardar Azmoun –                                         11
    8. Omar Kharbin –                                          10
    9. Edinson Cavani –                                        10
    10. Carlos Ruiz –                                              9

    TEAMS THROUGH TO RUSSIA 2018 WORLD CUP

    ??Russia
    ??Brazil
    ??Iran
    ??Japan
    ??Mexico
    ??Belgium
    ??Korea Republic
    ??Saudi Arabia
    ??Germany
    ??England
    ??Spain
    ??Nigeria
    ??Costa Rica
    ??Poland
    ??Egypt
    ??Iceland
    ??Serbia
    ??France
    ??Portugal
    ??Uruguay
    ??Colombia
    ??Argentina
    ??Panama

    TOTAL = 23

    *EUROPEAN PLAY OFF*

    TEAMS:

    Sweden??
    Switzerland??
    Denmark??
    Italy??
    Croatia??
    Greece??
    Republic of Ireland
    Northern Ireland

    NB: ONLY 4 OUT OF THE 8 ABOVE TO QUALIFY.

    EUROPEAN PLAY OFFS DRAW DATE: 17th October 2017*

    EUROPEAN PLAY OFFS FIXTURE DATE: 9th and 14th November 2017*

    TEAMS MISSING OUT OF RUSSIA WORLD CUP

    Chile
    Netherlands
    Ghana
    Algeria
    USA
    Wales
    Gabon
    Mali
    Cameroon

  • Lewandowski best in the world, says Hamann

    Former Bayern Munich midfielder Dietmar Hamann has voiced his admiration for Robert Lewandowski, saying he is arguably the best No.9 in the world.

    The 26-year-old has been struggling to live up to the high expectations at the Allianz Arena since joining the club from Borussia Dortmund ahead of the 2014-15 campaign, having scored 10 goals in 27 appearances in all competitions so far this term.

    Nevertheless, Hamann is adamant that the striker remains one of the best around and believes much of Dortmund’s struggles this season are down to the Pole’s exit.

    “For me, Lewandowski is the best No.9 in the world,” Hamann told Sky.

    “He made the difference at Dortmund joining Bayern.

    “He was BVB’s most important player. He was more important than Reus is now and than Mario Gotze ever was at Dortmund. There are no words to describe how important he was at Dortmund.”

    Lewandowski scored 20 goals in 33 Bundesliga appearances in his final season for BVB.

  • Lewandowski hoping to reach next level at Bayern

    Robert Lewandowski is hoping his switch to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich can help take his game to the next level.

    Lewandowski was officially confirmed as a Bayern player in July after signing a pre-contract agreement with the Bavarian club in January.

    The move ended the Poland international’s prolific four-year spell with Borussia Dortmund, who Bayern will face in the DFL Supercup in 10 days’ time.

    The 25-year-old netted 103 goals in his time at Signal Iduna Park, but feels he can make further strides with Pep Guardiola’s men.

    “I know I can get even better. It doesn’t matter where you’ve played and what you’ve won, you always have to give it everything you’ve got,” Lewandowski said.

    “[I am] not yet at the limit. I hope I can get better every day.”

    Bayern’s stars from Germany’s successful World Cup campaign will return to the squad for their last friendly clash with an MLS All-Star team at Providence Park in Portland on Wednesday, just a week before the Supercup clash with Dortmund.

    The Supercup is to be held at Signal Iduna Park, and, while Lewandowski is relishing the occasion, he expects his first competitive match as a Bayern player to be a challenging one.

    “It’s obviously going to be special for me,” he added. “I had four fantastic years there [Dortmund], but it’ll feel very different as a member of the visiting team.

    “[It will be] a difficult evening, simply because we’ll only have trained together for a week. But we’re a good team and we’ll obviously play to win.”

  • Lewandowski impresses Ribery, Alaba

    Lewandowski impresses Ribery, Alaba

    Striker Robert Lewandowski has already impressed Bayern Munich team-mates Franck Ribery and David Alaba.

    The former Borussia Dortmund striker has scored in all three pre-season friendlies in which he has featured, including a brace helping Bayern reclaim the Telekom Cup with a 3-0 win over Wolfsburg on Sunday.

    Ribery said he had been impressed by how Lewandowski had settled with the Bundesliga champions.

    “It’s always good for strikers when they strike,” the France international said.

    “He’s new at Bayern and you know at Bayern Munich it’s not easy in the first weeks.

    “But until now he’s really great and I hope he will be great in the future too.”

    Alaba said the Polish striker had already showcased to team-mates what he was capable of.

    “We have a lot of fun with Robert,” Alaba said.

    “He shows every day in training what he can do and in these two games here I think everybody saw it.”

    Lewandowski’s brace and a Sebastian Rode goal set up Bayern’s win in the final of the pre-season tournament.

    Ribery praised his team and particularly their ability to make the most of their chances.

    “It is very important, the coach [Pep Guardiola] wanted us to attack very early and we did that well, made a lot of pressure on the opponents,” Ribery said.

    “We didn’t have many chances in the first half but we converted very well, that’s always good.”

  • Lewandowski runs riot on Real

    Lewandowski runs riot on Real

    Robert Lewandowski scored all four goals for Borussia Dortmund as they smashed Real Madrid 4-1 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie in Germany.

    The Polish striker’s awesome display put Dortmund on the verge of an all-German final at Wembley following Bayern Munich’s 4-0 crushing of Barcelona on Tuesday.

    Lewandowski opened the scoring in the eighth minute when he diverted Mario Gotze’s cross in at the far post before Cristiano Ronaldo pulled Real level just before half-time.

    But the forward stole the show in the second period with three more goals at the expense of Jose Mourinho’s shell-shocked side.