9 - Robert Lewandowski

[Titan98]

Neymar was not slow, nearly 35 km/h
Messi just 32 km/h
Mbappe 38 km/h

But the most of the fastest players are at 36-37 km/h

 

[TemporaryFan]

I agree but acceleration is really more important than top speed in football - likes of Messi, Maradona, Neymar have that. They are almost faster with the ball than without and can really change gears fast.

You're 100% right.
Just that Lewandowski scored quite many goals withstanding longer 40 meters or more sprints.
You made an excellent point.

 

[Maradona37]

You're 100% right.
Just that Lewandowski scored quite many goals withstanding longer 40 meters or more sprints.
You made an excellent point.

Thanks.

But yeah Lewy is fairly fast in his prime and can gallop. Maybe it's because he has long strides he can run further.

 

[TemporaryFan]

Thanks.

But yeah Lewy is fairly fast in his prime and can gallop. Maybe it's because he has long strides he can run further.

Being once 198 cm and 85 kg myself; my best was 12.3 for 100 m. So that wasn't bad for my XLT size but in basketball or handball there was no practical utility for that, and in football I wasn't any lineup selection at all. I wish I was born 15 years later, in mid 1980s the slim and tall and somewhat strong wasn't a footballer material they were looking for...

 

[Maradona37]

Being once 198 cm and 85 kg myself; my best was 12.3 for 100 m. So that wasn't bad for my XLT size but in basketball or handball there was no practical utility for that, and in football I wasn't any lineup selection at all. I wish I was born 15 years later, in mid 1980s the slim and tall and somewhat strong wasn't a footballer material they were looking for...

Hhaahaha yeah mate. I easily weigh more than that and I am SIGNIFICANTLY shorter than you. Though I am a mix of fat, stocky and wide frame.

 

[Maradona37]

I rate Lewandowski slightly below Cristiano but above D. Maradona

You seem a really nice guy but I really am floored when I see mental opinions like this. In multiple facets.

 

[Maradona37]

Lewandowski, though burdened by the creeping inevitability of age and the cynical whispers of obsolescence from critics who fail to grasp the transcendent nature of class, remains a pivotal fulcrum upon which Barcelona’s ambitions for a treble can realistically balance, for his style of play, rooted not merely in athleticism but in a cerebral mastery of positioning, anticipation, and a near-alchemical ability to convert half-chances into decisive moments, allows him to compensate for any waning explosiveness with an ever-sharpened footballing intellect that transcends the limitations of the flesh, and in a squad undergoing tactical metamorphosis, rife with volatile youth and experimental formations, his presence offers not only goals but psychological equilibrium, an aura of inevitability in the final third that cannot be statistically quantified, a gravitational force drawing defenders like moths to a flame only to be undone by a feint, a touch, a glance—he is the temporal anchor in a storm of fluidity, his mere silhouette dictating opposition structure and freeing up space for the emergent generation of blaugrana starlets whose brilliance requires precisely the kind of experienced scaffolding he provides, and beyond the pitch his mentorship, subtle but potent, fosters a culture of ruthlessness and professional discipline, a legacy of Bayern Munich perfectionism imported into the Camp Nou, re-forged in Catalan fire, and aimed squarely at European conquest, because while others see his advanced years as a liability, those with vision understand that his very survival and adaptation at the pinnacle of world football is testament to his resilience, his evolution, and his unshakable will to define eras rather than be defined by them, and if Barcelona are to inscribe 2025 in golden ink upon their storied history, it will not be through raw pace or chaotic youth alone, but through the surgical precision of Lewandowski, the elder warlock of the number nine, conjuring one last masterpiece to silence doubters, inspire teammates, and etch his name beside the pantheon of eternal legends, not as a relic of past glory, but as the architect of an improbable, unforgettable, history-bending treble.

This looks like a quote, but paragraphs. Not like you not to use them - do better.

Also that's miles more pretentious than even half the stuff I write.

 

[RedxMAK]

This looks like a quote, but paragraphs. Not like you not to use them - do better.

Also that's miles more pretentious than even half the stuff I write.

Probably copied from ChatGPT

 

[Maradona37]

Probably copied from ChatGPT

It looks like something Barney Ronay would write.

 

[Messigician]

but paragraphs

Didn’t feel like paragraphs

Lewa will lead us to the treble I have seen it

 

[RedxMAK]

Didn’t feel like paragraphs

Lewa will lead us to the treble I have seen it

Treble is more Flick’s effort than Lewandowski. And more Raphinha and Pedri than Lewandowski…

 

[Total-Football]

Neymar was not slow, nearly 35 km/h
Messi just 32 km/h
Mbappe 38 km/h

But the most of the fastest players are at 36-37 km/h

Top speed seldom matter in top flight football. The players who thrive most are the ones with top top acceleration.

 

[TemporaryFan]

You seem a really nice guy but I really am floored when I see mental opinions like this. In multiple facets.

Many of the posters never saw Maradona or Cryuff, Marco van Basten, or even Carl Heinz Rummennige play. In particular how their play influenced the overall team performance.
Too bad that at the time no stats were collected, so we can only rely on our memories which probably do not ensure the objectivity.

 

[Maradona37]

Many of the posters never saw Maradona or Cryuff, Marco van Basten, or even Carl Heinz Rummennige play. In particular how their play influenced the overall team performance.
Too bad that at the time no stats were collected, so we can only rely on our memories which may or may not reflect the objectivity.

That's true.

However, guys like Maradona and Cruyff transcend stats. I know that sounds pretentious but it is true.

Football is a qualitative sport as well as quantitative, maybe even more so. It can't be measured in pure statistics like the 100 metres can because it is a team game, and unlike basketball is not small-sided so is less reliant on stats.

I am not saying Lewy is not one of the best strikers of the last 30 years, maybe even all time. But Maradona is another level entirely. For me (and many others) he's the equal best player of all time. There's no shame in not being near that level.

 

[Maradona37]

Also, you cannot really compare stats across eras anyway.

The Serie A of the 80s that Maradona participated in was a highly defensive league, with some of the best defenders of all time. The average number of goals scored back then was much lower than it is now, as the Bosman ruling hadn't yet come into effect and there wasn't such an imbalance between the elite teams and the rest, as there is now.

What Maradona did then is like someone going to Bologna or even a smaller team now, and winning Serie A. I will not be a liar and claim he did it all himself, as Napoli had some other good players, but he was by far the main on-field protagonist in turning them from a decent team into Serie A and UEFA Cup winners (and back then only league champions entered the European Cup, so the UEFA Cup was generally stronger than the Europa League is now).

The guy was an absolute genius. If he was playing now I have no doubt he'd piss all over everybody as he'd be trained to be a more disciplined man and player, and he would be more focused on stats in this era as Messi is (while retaining his magic as Messi has).

@MagIX