Bayern Munich’s star striker finally gets his desired move to the Spanish giants FC Barcelona after the German Champions failed to award the 32-year-old striker with a new deal in the January transfer window.
Even though Barcelona finished second in the Laliga, they had a pretty underwhelming season along with a disappointing show in the Europa League. Losing Lionel Messi for a free and all their offline theatrics hasn’t helped either.
Hence, adding Robert Lewandowski to the side full of other young talents will definitely make them stronger but he will also help the young forward line with his level of experience. With a fee of 45 million euros, he is soon to complete the paper works and move to Catalonia.
We’ve all known that Robert Lewandowski is one of the elite strikers in the game from his early days in Borussia Dortmund to all those years in Bayern Munich. He has shown it over and over again, but what will he bring to this Barcelona side that is somewhat in their transitional phase? Let us find out.
40+ goals a season
One of the biggest things that Robert Lewandowski will bring to this Barcelona side is goals. He is a Ballon d’or level striker and he will surely bag 40+ goals a season. He will be surrounded by the likes of Dembele, Raphinha on the wings with Pedri, De Jong and Busquets behind him.
This Barcelona side has had no problem creating chances but they have definitely lacked a lethal number nine on the field, and there is no better than Lewandowski. Over the years he has shown what a threat he is inside the box and this will prove vital for the upcoming campaign.
You will not see him dropping in between the lines and linking up with the midfielders and creating a lot for the wingers or other players, that is not his game. Instead he will be that lethal Advanced forward who will be ready to receive the balls and put them in the back of the net.
Along with some talented wingers and wide forwards, the side is also filled with marvellous midfielders who love to take shots from outside the box and he will be ready to pounce on them when given the chance. His movements and runs will allow him to get on the end of rebounds and score a huge number of tap ins.
Aerial Prowess
After the departure of Luis Suarez, FC Barcelona have lacked an aerial threat in the attacking front. They did sign Pierre Emerick Aubameyang who is decent in the air but not a constant threat. Even though Barcelona is not a team that focuses a lot on aerial threat but it is still an important part of the game that one cannot just ignore.
The likes of Dest, Alba playing as fullbacks or inverted full backs who will be putting in a lot of crosses in the box. Along with these fullbacks they also have exceptional wingers who will be whipping in crosses in the box. This is where Lewandowski will thrive massively, getting at the end of these crosses and scoring goals for the team, which Barcelona have lacked.
A lot of experience
Robert Lewandowski has been in the top level for more than 10 years, he has played with the best managers alongside the best players in the world, in the biggest stages. He has lost and he has won a lot and this is something else that he will bring to this young Barcelona team.
FC Barcelona still have some of their veteran players in Pique, Busquets and Alba but with Lewandowski they will have someone with a lot of experience leading the line. The likes of Fati, Ferran Torress and Dembele will thrive immensely with his presence.
They can learn a lot from him, his mazing runs and movement in the box. The technical skills and abilities on display will be a big learning curve for the young players. Along with that, the polish striker also takes care of his body extremely well, which is something the young guns can learn from him.
With this we understand that Robert Lewandowski is a top number 9 and he will bring a lot of goals for this Barcelona team. This team has lacked a lethal number who could get on the back of the final balls and score goals and he fill this void.
FC Barcelona have not played with an out and out striker so there will be some changes in Barcelona’s dynamics and we shall see what changes shall Barcelona go through after the arrival of Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich.
Changes in FC Barcelona’s dynamics after Lewandowski’s arrival
In Xavi’s first season we saw Barcelona play with a 4-3-3 formation with a striker whoever it be, Aubameyang or Brathwaite or even Lionel Messi dropping deep and creating a diamond with the midfield. He would receive the ball and continue with the tiki taka.
We also saw one midfielder, usually Busquets sitting back as a defensive midfielder while the two number 8’s pushed forwards as attacking midfielders. Alongside these midfielders we also the two fullbacks playing as inverted fullbacks and creating overloads in the midfield and in the attacking third.
The wingers in Torres and Dembele usually stayed wide, tried to catch the opposing fullbacks in a 1v1 situation and try to dribble through them. This allowed them to create passing options all over the field and form diamonds and create chances and score goals.
With the arrival of Robert Lewandowski, we might see them change their formation to a 4-2-3-1 with a 10 right behind Lewandowski. They might play in their usual 4-3-3 when they’re not in possession but on the ball, we might see a player, most probably Pedri stay behind the striker and regulate the ball.
Among the other two midfielders, one will stay back as a defensive midfielder, while the other one will play as a box-to-box midfielder, probably their new signing in Kessie. This midfielder will contribute massively both in the attacking third and in the defensive side of the game.
On the right, we shall see Raphinha who can play both as a winger by hugging the touchline but can also cut in and create chances as we have seen in the Premier League. This will give more options for the manager to use the fullback as an inverted full back or a wide full back.
This addition increases the chances of more crosses in the ball rather than just playing the ball in the box with their neat tiki taka passes.
On the left-hand side, we might see the full back staying in the midfield while the box-to-box midfielder moves up to support the attack. The left winger stays wide and pulls the opposing full back wider and create more space for the midfielders and to exploit.
Robert Lewandowski is one of the most lethal strikers in the box and to make proper use of his skills, Xavi will make use of his team in many ways to create chances for him. We might even see some more direct balls so as to facilitate his mazing runs behind the last defender. There will also be an increase in the number of crosses into the box to make use of his aerial prowess in the box.
If the team can function well around him and create chances, then he will score a lot of goals. He can take this club to glory along with the manager and the players.