Robert Lewandowski had what he wanted. In December 2020 he drove home with the silver Fifa Cup for the world footballer, which he won for the first time in his life and as the first Bundesliga footballer ever. Fifa President Gianni Infantino personally came to Munich to present the trophy at the FC Bayern office on Säbener Strasse, where Lewandowski watched the freestyle in a suit and bow tie live in front of the camera. When he later called his mother at the wheel on the way home, filming it for an Amazon documentary about FC Bayern, he did not exactly praise the dramaturgy of the evening in the highest tones. “It took a little bit and dragged on a bit,” he said.
The freestyle for the world footballer election 2021 on Monday did not differ significantly from its predecessor. There was chatter for just over an hour on the stage in Zurich as legend-lauded former footballers in suits came out, Lothar Matthäus was there too. The award winners were connected via video for interviews, in which the words “special” and “amazing” were used very often. Thomas Tuchel from Chelsea FC is now World Coach of the Year, Alexia Putellas from FC Barcelona World Player of the Year, both won the Champions League with their teams in the summer. And in the end, Lewandowski, 33, was named the world’s best footballer again, ahead of Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah. This time he received the trophy from Bayern’s CEO Oliver Kahn, while sports director Hasan Salihamidzic and coach Julian Nagelsmann stood happily by.
FC Bayern had already listed what spoke for Lewandowski on its website during the day: With 58 goals, he was Europe’s top scorer in the calendar year, statistically speaking he scored every 69 minutes. He surpassed the legendary Gerd Muller’s record with 41 goals this season, won the Best Player award at the Club World Cup and won every 2021 Champions League game he played in. And even if the last two points of this list seemed a bit random, the list was to be understood as a kind of reminder.
Bayern were quite upset when in November, rather surprisingly, not Lewandowski but Messi had skimmed the Ballon d’Or, the other of two individual trophies of the football year. While only journalists can vote for the Ballon d’Or, the captains of all national teams, the coaches of all national teams, one journalist from each country and fans can vote for Fifa. Lewandowski received four more points than Messi.
“Thank you very much, I feel very honored,” said Lewandowski. The moderator, the former English international Jermaine Jenas, also asked him about Gerd Müller, who died last year. A video in his honor was part of the evening program. “Unfortunately, Gerd is no longer with us. But I wouldn’t have made it all without him. It’s always about the next step to achieve the next goals,” said Lewandowski. “Breaking that record”, i.e. scoring 41 goals this season, “was a dream for me.”
Some of the previous nominees had seemed genuinely surprised. Emma Hayes, coach of Women’s Champions League finalists Chelsea, who was named the world’s best coach, said her doorbell just rang; she didn’t even know what to say. Even Thomas Tuchel said with a laugh, after he was chosen instead of Italy’s national coach Roberto Mancini or Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola, that to be honest, he was a bit uncomfortable right now. Incidentally, he is Jürgen Klopp’s successor as World Coach of the Year, which FSV Mainz 05 has also been awarded twice, at least indirectly, from where they both started out in the big football world.
Lewandowski, this time in a tie instead of a bow tie, looked more businesslike than he often looks when scoring his goals with the trophy, which he has owned for a year. He has shot 23 again in 19 games this season. There are 300 Bundesliga goals in total. Gerd Müller’s 365 goal record is no longer certain either. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer called his colleague a “goal machine” after the last three goals on Saturday in Cologne.
Neuer, the goal-prevention machine, was only third in the goalkeeping rankings this time, with Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy winning. And Lewandowski? Would probably also be reluctant to come third in the 2022 world footballer elections. “Once he’s reached a summit, he’s already thinking about the next one,” said Oliver Kahn. The striker’s contract with FC Bayern runs until 2023. And from what is known, the club would like to continue working together.