'My best half season at Bayern so far'

Robert Lewandowski goes into the Christmas break with an impressive return of 23 goals in 26 competitive games. By comparison, the Poland international netted 25 goals in the full season in his first campaign with FC Bayern. “It’s definitely been my best half season at Bayern to date,” said the striker in an in-depth interview with FCB.tv at the Munich Bowling Centre. Lewandowski also reveals the origins of his outstanding athleticism and what he likes to do away from football.

Robert Lewandowski on...

...the first half season: “It’s definitely been my best half season at Bayern to date. I’ve scored lots of goals in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. In the past few years I’ve usually done better after the winter break than before. I don’t mind if that happens again this time (laughs). I’ll definitely do everything I can because the most important games are coming up. We’ve all got to show what we can do.”

...his outstanding athleticism: “I think it’s very important for a footballer. My dad was my sports teacher when I was a boy. He wanted me to do other types of sport: gymnastics, volleyball, handball, basketball and judo. I was happy to do it but I only really wanted to play football. He said: 'No, do something else!' At the time, I didn’t realise he was right. It was a good idea and I’m benefiting from it now.”

...his five-goal fest against Wolfsburg: “It was an incredible night for me and everyone at FC Bayern. A night for the record books. Even as a boy I never dreamed of scoring five goals in a game. And then I did it in just nine minutes. I didn’t think about it during the game as I just concentrated on doing my job right. The fifth goal was my best this year.”

...the mask he had to wear in April after a facial injury: “It felt really funny and was uncomfortable. I couldn’t breathe properly because it pressed down on my nose. And I couldn’t see very well either. That’s bad for a striker, especially when you’re in the box and you have to make a snap decision. I had to learn how to play with it on.”

...his hobbies: “Whenever I get a short break my wife says: 'Now you’ve got lots of strength again you can do something.' (laughs). We do a lot in our spare time. I love water sports: jet skiing, wakeboarding. But cars too, I love the speed. Sometimes I read a good book, for example in hotels before games. You can’t just watch telly all the time. I’ve just read Mike Tyson’s biography, a great book. And I can’t just sit around for ages either. My adrenalin levels go up after a couple of days off so I have to do something.” (he laughs)

...the prospect of facing Germany at EURO 2016: “I hope Poland and Germany go through. That would be a great success for us. We’ve got good players and the atmosphere in the squad is brilliant. And we’ve already shown we can beat the big teams like Germany. But it won’t be easy as they know us really well from the EURO qualifiers.”

The full interview in two parts is up next on FCB.tv