Interview: "To score 30 goals is a thrilling thought"

"To score 30 goals is a thrilling thought," Robert Lewandowski, striker of FC Bayern Munich, said in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday.

Lewandowski, 27, is captain of Polish national team and plays for Bayern since 2014. He is one of the best strikers in world football and a leading scorer in German Bundesliga. The full text of the interview is as follows:

Xinhua: Mr. Lewandowski - we might find you in the middle of some mixed feelings. You failed to reach the Champions League final after losing in the semis to Atletico Madrid. Afterwards you won the German Championship the fourth time in a row. Now two titles are left to win?

Lewandowski: No doubt being eliminated in the Champions League was a disappointment, but that's football. When it comes to a final, things get tight and you can't afford to have a bad day. It was great to win the German title again and then . . . . .

Xinhua: . . . . it's up to you to win the trophy for the season's leading scorer . . . . How important is it for you personally?

Lewandowski: I'd happy of course. It's a special award for a striker and it's a special award for the entire team as the trophy as also a team trophy. But for the last game this Saturday against Hannover, I have a special goal.

Xinhua: And that is?

Lewandowski: In the first place we are thinking about the Cup final on May 21 against Borussia Dortmund. Then the season would turn into a very good won if we manage to win the cup. And don't forget, the race this season for the German title was much tighter than in previous years. We had to stay tuned until the end of the season as Borussia Dortmund was always close behind. For the cup final, it means we have to go flat out to beat them, they have great potential.

Xinhua: Let's get back to the trophy for the leading goal-scorer and your personal goal. You are four goals ahead of Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. 29 goals for you, 25 for him. Never before has a striker who is four goals ahead been overtaken on the last day of the season.

Lewandowski: (laughing) Oh, I hope it stays that way. But I'm not satisfied with my four goal lead, I'd like to score one more to get up to the magical 30. That'd be a really good performance over a season.

Xinhua: If you manage two goals you would be the most successful foreign striker in the history of the Bundesliga. No foreign player has scored more than 30 goals in the German league.

Lewandowski: (laughing) You see how important it is not to go on vacation before the last match-day.

Xinhua: Were you surprised Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was only just behind right up to the end?

Lewandowski: Not at all, he's been in fine form all season. In the winter break, I was three goals behind him. I thought, well now I have to hurry up to get back into the lead. He had scored 18 goals in 17 games, wow, that's quite something. Every time I saw he had scored I felt extra motivation to score as well. But it was not the most important thing to do, it was more important to win the German title. Therefore you have to stay calm. In the end, it was the right strategy to stay calm.

Xinhua: So your to do list for the last league match is clear?

Lewandowski: The main task is to give our fans a great celebration. It will be a very emotional day. It will be Pep Guardiola's last home match, many former stars will be around and the club is planning a big, big party. If on top we can win the leading scorer trophy, it'll be a perfect day.

Xinhua: Talking about the season and goals, we have to ask you if you can still remember that special day back in September 2015?

Lewandowski: (laughing) You're talking about the five goals I scored in the game against VfL Wolfsburg I guess?

Xinhua: No, we're talking about the Lewandowski festival, how else could you call five goals within nine minutes?

Lewandowski: (laughing) It was an unbelievable story for Bayern and me. You can't explain what happened, even now, months later, you can't. For strikers, all that counts is the next goal. You want to score another one. It was the same with me. You score and then you try again. After all, we were 1-0 down half time and we needed to score to win the game. To in the end score five goals was not the plan, but it worked.

Xinhua: Did you think of the scorer trophy the time?

Lewandowski: I was happy about five goals and three points after we had won the game. The German title after all is the most important thing for a team and a club. To win the scorer trophy is for sure less important. As a striker you might think about the trophy when the last games of the season are being played, but it is nothing that is in your mind all the time.

Xinhua: You played for Dortmund until 2014. Is it still a special game for you when you face them with Bayern?

Lewandowski: I played for years for Dortmund and therefore it is special. We won several titles together, but now I'm concentrating on Bayern. I am happy when Dortmund is doing well as it is motivation for us to do better. But of course it is a great thing for football in Germany when at least two teams are in the running for the title.

Xinhua: Looking at your record with Dortmund, you were very successful. In 2013, you reached the Champions League final against Bayern. That is something you haven't done with Bayern so far.

Lewandowski: (smiling) Right. I 've won two German titles with Bayern. But honestly, when you reach a final and lose the game, it does not count much. You've lost and you try to forget the game. A final is about winning or losing. Losing means you have nothing. It is the same in the semifinal. Therefore I hope we will win the German cup. It'd be an extremely satisfying. Xinhua: In Germany there is a widespread discussion going on about the era of Pep Guardiola in Munich. Some say he failed as he could not win the Champions League, others say he will the unfinished one. What's your opinion?

Lewandowski: When a coach of that class joins Bayern Munich, 90 per cent of the people expect him to win the Champions League. Everything else he wins is not enough. He has won the German championship three in a row and will hopefully win the German cup twice. And that is a very good performance.

Xinhua: Expectations have been too high from the beginning?

Lewandowski: Pep Guardiola is one of world's best coaches. Therefore people expect him to win the Champions League almost every year, but that's impossible. If he had decided to stay another two years, I am pretty sure he could have won the Champions League. After all, we reached the semifinal three times with him. Expectations of the public are one thing, what a coach can achieve is another.

Xinhua: So has he been successful?

Lewandowski: I think so, just look at the number of games we won in the Bundesliga. It was and is great that he was here, despite the fact that many still think he could have done more. Fact is: He gave his all to make us better and I say, he did. He was so concentrated and determined on the job here. In the end it might be a topic for a discussion if it was right to announce his departure to Manchester City in winter. But from that point on we did everything to get as far as possible in the Champions League.

Xinhua: So he left his mark?

Lewandowski: I can't think of one player that hasn't improved in his time working with Pep Guardiola.

Xinhua: What did you learn from him?

Lewandowski: We talked a lot together, especially in the beginning. Maybe you can say, I was more aware of my movement without the ball. I became more aware of the fact that I have to find space for other players as many teams use rather defensive tactics against a team like Bayern Munich. I realized it's a system whereby players are continually working together. Every player improved in so many little ways. After his intense training you suddenly knew, hey I've improved in doing this or that.

Xinhua: Mats Hummels from Borussia Dortmund will join Bayern for next season. Before that you will be opponents in the German Cup final.

Lewandowski: I think it is a great thing when Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng work together at the back. Both of them can be a vital part of our attacking game. And we don't have to talk about their quality in the back. I played together with Mats Hummels for four years in Dortmund. I can understand that many Dortmund fans are disappointed that he is leaving the club. But he has done a lot for the club and now has decided to join a club that can win more titles.

Xinhua: So two more weeks with Pep Guardiola and then it's Carlo Ancelotti. What do you expect from him?

Lewandowski: He's a great coach that has won many, many titles with various great teams. So what do I expect? I expect he will teach us some new. Something new for your head. Every new coach knows he will have to win titles with Bayern. The German title first of all, the cup if possible and maybe the Champions League. But as we know it's not easy. I personally don't know him, but I have heard he is top level.

Xinhua: A new coach normally means a new style of football.

Lewandowski: Well it's quite normal and it's no problem. Carlo Ancelotti will have his style, but we will still benefit from the work over the last years.

Xinhua: Mats Hummels will be here soon, the club has extended the contracts with many of its current stars - what kind of sign is this?

Lewandowski: It's the same as in every season at Bayern. It is the same because they are always looking for the best quality and performance. This club wants to win titles. And "old" titles don't count. At the beginning of a season you start right from the bottom with nothing in your hands.

Xinhua: Having spent around 70 million euro in one day, Bayern is on a similar level to Real Madrid or FC Barcelona and others.

Lewandowski: I can't say anything about the amount of money available for transfers, but I know definitely Bayern is top level and a club that is working very solidly.

Xinhua: This summer Bayern will travel abroad again to visit the USA. What do players think about trips like that?

Lewandowski: A tour like that is something we look forward to. You don't visit the USA or China every year. I am keen to see new places and people. It's like having to win titles, when you play for Bayern you have to travel, it is a club that has fans all around the world. Enditem