In the pantheon of legendary strikers, Poland’s Robert Lewandowski stands as one of the all-time greats. A striker of unerring accuracy, the former Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich striker has spent his entire career breaking scoring records and winning titles.
A ten-time Bundesliga winner, Lewandowski can score with either foot, is one of the best headers of the ball in world soccer, and is ice-cool in front of goal.
A big, strong, and explosive striker, Lewandowski can play as a lone striker or as a forward pair, and regardless of how many players seem to mark him, he always finds a way to score goals.
It wasn’t always destined to be, though, as in his early life, Lewandowski was more interested in other sports, despite joining a local soccer team at the age of eight.
His family’s influence, especially his father’s, who had always hoped his son would forge a soccer career, eventually made Lewandowski decide to pursue soccer professionally.
It’s lucky for us that he did, as the Polish international would go on to become one of the greatest strikers in the world.
Today, we’re going to look at Robert Lewandowski’s family history; it’s an incredible mix of determination on Lewandowski’s part and the support and encouragement of his family that’s seen the striker become one of the most feared marksmen in history.
Lewandowski’s Parents
- Father: Krzysztof Lewandowski – former National Judo champion
- Mother: Milena Lewandowski – former soccer player
Robert Lewandowski was born in Warsaw on August 21, 1988, to parents Krzysztof and Iwona Lewandowski.
Both his father and mother were successful athletes, with his father, Krzysztof being a national Judo champion and his mother being a former soccer player herself.
Both parents encouraged their children to enjoy sports, and the young Robert enjoyed several outdoor activities from an early age.
Lewandowski’s father was so keen on his firstborn becoming a professional soccer player that upon the birth of their son, he chose the name Robert, as he felt it would be a much easier name to pronounce should his son move abroad to play.
With such incredible foresight, it’s little wonder that Lewandowski was a keen soccer player, and with the support and advice from his athlete parents, the future star learned from an early age the importance of taking care of his mental and physical well-being.
It’s advice that the player has clearly kept close to his heart, as where many players decline with age, Lewandowski has seemingly improved, scoring more goals every year.
The evergreen striker has matured like a fine wine, and much of that stems from his parents. Understanding the need to train well, rest properly, and maintain perspective, Lewandowski’s career looks far from over.
Sadly, despite being a massive part of his son’s early career, Krzysztof Lewandowski never had the chance to see his son make it to the top of the soccer world, as he passed away in 2005.
The same year, his son would move to Delta Warsaw and quickly progress, turning into a highly sought-after player. In 2010, Lewandowski would be snapped up by Borussia Dortmund, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Siblings
- Sister: Milena Lewandowski (born 1985)
Robert Lewandowski has one sibling, a sister called Milena Lewandowski, herself a very talented athlete. As well as encouraging their only son to become a sportsperson, Krzysztof and Iwona Lewandowski helped their daughter Milena, who is three years older than her brother, to forge a career in volleyball.
The two Lewandowski children have always had a close relationship, having spent their childhood together and being part of a family who spent as much time together outside as possible.
It’s a testament to their parent’s guidance and encouragement that both Robert and Milena Lewandowski would spend much of their early lives honing the skills that would eventually allow them to become superb athletes in their respective fields.
Like her brother, who stands at 1.85m tall, Milena is also a tall, athletic build, ideally suited to life as a professional volleyball player.
Robert and Milena still enjoy a close relationship to this day, with Milena often being seen in the stands at soccer games where her brother was no doubt scoring goals for fun.
Wife
- Wife: Anna Lewandowski
One of Robert Lewandowski’s most trusted advisors is his wife, Anna Lewandowski, a former Bronze medallist at the 2009 Karate World Cup.
Not only is the Poland international’s wife a former athlete herself, but she is also trained to be a sports nutritionist and ensures her husband eats the right foods to stay at the top of his game.
A graduate of the Academy of Physical Education in Warsaw, Anna is ideally placed to control how her soccer player husband looks after himself while not at his club.
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund both have superb medical and nutritional departments. They will have looked after Lewandowski while at the club; the same is true at his current club Barcelona.
However, what happens when a player goes home is up to them. While you’d be unlikely to see Robert Lewandowski tucking into a MacDonalds, having his wife Anna there to ensure his body is in absolutely top condition is one of the reasons why the Poland international is only getting better with age.
After every game, the husband and wife dissect Lewandowski’s performance from the game, looking for ways to improve his performance.
Looking for any edge he can, the Lewandowski’s have even begun eating their dessert before their main course. Eating carbohydrates before their main meal usually consists of more vegetables than meat.
Having a supportive wife obviously makes life much easier for an athlete, but the cooperation between Robert and Anna Lewandowski takes things to a whole different level of support.
From looking for any way to find an extra 1% to make sure Robert gets enough sleep, Anna Lewandowski is arguably the most critical influence in his sporting career.
Children
- Daughter: Klara Lewandowski (born 2017)
- Daughter: Laura Lewandowski (born 2020)
The Lewandowski family has been blessed with two daughters, Klara and Laura. While little is known of the two girls, as their parents rightly want them to remain out of the limelight at an early age, there have been many trophy celebrations at Bayern Munich where the Lewandowski’s have walked the pitch as a family.
While there is every chance Robert Lewandowski can and will play elite soccer for several more years, the family unit looks complete. Perhaps after retirement, the Lewandowski family may grow even larger.
Still, after over two decades of a disciplined lifestyle as an elite striker, you’d forgive the Lewandowski parents for wanting to relax with their daughters and enjoy a Macdonalds!