Robert Lewandowski writes Bundesliga history At FIFA best awards

For the first time in history, the Bundesliga player is the best player in the world. On Thursday, Robert Lewandowski received the FIFA Men Best Player 2020 award at a prestigious gala held both at FIFA headquarters in Switzerland and at a venue in Munich where FIFA president Gianni Infantino presented the award to strife Bayern Munich. But Lewandowski was not the only player to win an individual award. Once again, the Bayern Munich goalkeeper is officially the best goalkeeper in the world, receiving the FIFA Best Man Keeper award.

To the surprise of many, however, Neuer was present in the FIFA FIFPRO 11 Worlds. Voted by the fans, the goalkeeper came second behind Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson. But that election also had some history. Canadian defender Alphonso Davies was the first Canadian and Concacaf player to be voted in the XI men’s world. Along with the left back were team players Joshua Kimmich, Robert Lewandowski, and former team player Thiago, now Liverpool.

Speaking of Liverpool. Their manager Jürgen Klopp damaged Bayern Munich’s second treble within a few months. The 53-year-old German was stunned when he found out he had beaten Bayern head coach to win the FIFA 2020 Best Men’s Coach award. “I don’t, but I won the award, so that’s good enough,” Klopp said at the event. “It surprised a lot of people when my name was mentioned. I would have expected to hear Hansi Flick’s name as well. But I wasn’t involved in the vote. It’s a great honor and hard to believe.”

Much of the focus will be on player rewards anyway, and there, Lewandowski has finally fulfilled his dream of becoming the best footballer in the world. It is a title that the Polish striker himself never thought he could win with a Bayern dress. The Bundesliga is often viewed internationally, often seen as a one-team league with Bayern under control. What went unnoticed, however, was that Bayern had been challenged for the past three seasons and in the last two years, the club had an easier time between -national than at home.

For that reason, Lewandowski and his successor pushed Pini Zahavi to move to Real Madrid. But Bayern were stable. Convincing Lewandowski that the Polish striker can both win the Champions League and become the best player in the world while playing in Germany. Not surprisingly, producer Lewandowski was pleased Thursday. “FIFA and the world of football have finally recognized that Robert is the best player in the world this year,” Zahavi told the German Sky Sports Station. If he had been born in another country, I am sure he would have received this award a long time ago. “

The fact is also that the margins are now smaller in the Bundesliga than they are in many other leagues in the world. Lewandowski is often the only maker of distinctions. The striker scored his 250th and 251st Bundesliga goals at the weekend in his 332nd Bundesliga match. In the perpetual record of Bundesliga goals, Lewandowski is now in third place behind famous Bayern striker Gerd Müller (365 goals in 427 games) and Klaus Fischer, who scored 268 goals in 535 games for Bochum, Cologne, Schalke, and 1860 Munich. When it comes to goals every minute scored, Lewandowski is just behind Müller. The 32-year-old Polish striker gets a score every 106 minutes. In comparison, Müller got all 105 minutes (all statistics via Transfermarkt).

Could Lewandowski eventually capture Gerd Müller as well? The 32-year-old certainly believes he still has plenty of time at the very top of the game. “I hope to continue playing for a long time,” Lewandowski said. “I feel good and I don’t think about the end of my career. I want to be at the top of the world for many years to come. Expectations are high every year. But it’s not the -alway easy. “

Manuel Veth is the editor-in-chief of the Futbolgrad Network and U.S. Area Manager at Transfermarkt. It was also published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other places. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth