Turns out you’ll like him even less if he’s angry. After a disappointing end to an otherwise stupendous 2019/20 – a campaign in which 55 goals were scored and a Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League treble was secured – Robert Lewandowski went full Hulk-mode in 2020-21.
The Polish frontman was cruelly denied his Ballon d’Or 12 months ago – France Football’s annual gala was scrapped due to the global pandemic, with Lewy an absolute shoo-in – but responded by somehow taking his game to extraordinary new heights.
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Bayern sauntering to their ninth-straight Meisterschale was nothing special, but the man firing them there certainly was – and starting the calendar year, had a seemingly unassailable club record in his crosshairs.
49 years earlier, in 1971/72, Gerd Muller had plundered a whopping 40 goals for the German champions, breaking his own benchmark of 38 from two seasons previous. Those exploits remained the holy grail for any goal-getter in Bavaria; even Muller himself never troubled it again. From 1975 to 2016, no Bayern striker managed even 30 goals in a league campaign... until Lewandowski.
He smashed 30 in both 2015/16 and 2016-17, nudged his personal best up to 34 in 2019/20, but was threatening to make a serious push for Der Bomber’s grand haul by the winter break of last season.
Heading into 2021, Lewandowski had hit a monstrous 21 goals in his first 12 games of the campaign, including all four in a 4-3 win over Hertha Berlin. The only thing that could stop him? No mere mortal, but injury. In early April, with the Pole up to a hefty 35, disaster struck when he damaged ankle ligaments that threatened to curtail his season. While the marksman prayed for a miracle, words of encouragement arrived via the man he was hoping to catch.
“Gerd would be the first to congratulate Robert,” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">He’s done it!! 41 GOALS! 🤩<br><br>Robert Lewandowski breaks Gerd Müller’s all-time Bundesliga goal tally for a single season! ⚽<br><br>Record-breaker. History maker. Legend. 🤜🤛 <a href="https://t.co/61YqpTbJoP">pic.twitter.com/61YqpTbJoP</a></p>— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/btsportfootball/status/1396125135971758081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>. “He was always surprised someone hadn’t caught him long ago. Gerd is convinced that Robert will do it.”
Inspired, Lewandowski recovered ahead of schedule with four Bundesliga games to go, and bagged in Bayern’s surprise 2-1 defeat at Mainz. He still needed five goals from the last three fixtures – so naturally, scored a hat-trick as Die Roten hit Borussia Monchengladbach for six at the Allianz Arena, then opened the scoring in a 2-2 draw at Freiburg. Upon going level with Muller, Lewandowski celebrated by revealing a T-shirt that read: “4 Ever Gerd”.
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And so, the stage was set on the final day: if Bayern’s No.9 could net against Augsburg, the outright record was his. But as the game entered its 90th minute, and Die Roten 4-2 up thanks to an own goal and efforts from Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich and Kingsley Coman, Lewandowski hadn’t had a solitary sniff all afternoon.
Until it finally presented itself: Leroy Sané’s daisy-cutter parried by Rafael Gikiewicz into the Pole’s path. When the inevitable followed, every teammate on the field – including goalkeeper Manuel Neuer – ran to celebrate with Lewandowski down by the corner flag.
As if Muller had been waiting to see a worthy successor take his crown, he passed away at the age of 75 just a few months later.
Upon his death, though, one major honour remains in Gerd’s name. As of late November, Lewandowski had amassed 291 Bundesliga goals for Borussia Dortmund and Bayern – 74 behind Der Bomber’s own ludicrous total. Yet with Lewy, there’s a sense that it can be done.
He continues to make the nonsensical look increasingly normal; he kicked off the current campaign firing 14 goals in his first 12 league matches, then added nine more in just five Champions League appearances. At 33, he’s literally – somehow – getting better.
Whether Lewandowski will stay at Bayern long enough to do it is another matter – but just tell him he can’t and see what happens. We dare you.
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