Robert Lewandowski, the SOS of a striker in distress

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“Lewy is left alone”. The front page of Fakt this Wednesday, the day after Poland’s defeat against Slovakia (2-1, 1st day of group E), is unequivocal, with a photo of Robert Lewandowski alone in the selection hotel, staring into space , and this commentary from legend Grzegorz Lato, third in the World Cup in 1982. And what the former glory pointed out, everyone saw.

The star of Bayern Munich, 41 goals on the clock in the Bundesliga this season, historic record, did not have much to eat when his national team entered Euro 2020. Weaned from balls , the man with 66 achievements in 120 selections left his favorite area of the field, the opposing penalty area, to try to make the game of his people more fluid. Without much success.

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A first failure

If it is the coach Paulo Sousa and his 3-4-3 who are mainly targeted by critics at home (on his front page the day after the defeat, Przeglad Sportowy crossed out the U and the A from his last name to leave only SOS), the inability of the goleador to shine in major tournaments returns as a nagging criticism, in Poland, as abroad. The Gazzetta dello Sport even spoke of him as his “Biggest disappointment since the start of the competition”.

Jerzy Podbrozny, former Polish international, questioned, in the columns of Super Express, his leadership qualities, he who wears the armband. “I honestly admit that I don’t see this leader in him. I don’t know him personally and I don’t know how he behaves off the pitch, I’m just talking about what I see on the pitch ”, he blurted out before continuing.

A captaincy in question

“Watching Lewandowski during matches, I don’t see him as the character that would allow him to put on the captain’s armband. (…) There is no doubt, he is a world-class player, but in difficult situations, he should mobilize the team to fight and generate even more ambition. And that, in my opinion, misses him ”. An acid statement.

Orphan of Krzysztof Piatek and Arkadiusz Milik, both injured and therefore withdrawn from Euro 2020, the native of Warsaw must almost alone assume the weight of the Polish offensive animation. And he probably has the two most complicated matches in the pool – Spain and Sweden – to hope to shine and qualify his team, deprived of one of its other leaders, Grzegorz Krychowiak excluded against the Slovaks, for the 8th final. Impossible mission ?