Robert Lewandowski has been in a state of limbo for weeks: First, he has been fighting forever about his move to FC Barcelona, ??then the club has to gradually convert club property into money to get the newcomer eligible to play. The thriller ends disappointingly for the time being.
It was a thriller that ended up being about hundreds of millions and a few hours: In order to get Robert Lewandowski ready to play for the Primera División, the big FC Barcelona had to sell another 25 percent in a club-owned company one day before the season started hundred million euros. If the deal hadn’t gone through in time, the world star and top new signing would not have been allowed to play against Rayo Vallecano in the first game. And that’s after the 33-year-old was unveiled as one of the biggest transfers in the club’s glamorous history after a week-long swap posse in July.
In the end everything went well, on Friday evening the Polish top scorer, who should shoot the clammy and long-stumbling big club back to its former glory, was eligible to play. The thriller culminated in a grand finale, it seemed like the perfect dramaturgy. But then came Saturday evening and the dissolution ended in a big disappointment instead of euphoria: Against the relegation candidates from Madrid came the Barça ensemble, which had been upgraded with many millions – in addition to Lewandowski, winger Raphinha and defender Andreas Christensen were newcomers to the starting XI, Franck Kessie was substituted on – not beyond a 0:0.
“Robert and we are all a bit disappointed with the result,” said coach Xavi after the less than enthusiastic start to the season, in which Barca were clearly superior, but in injury time after a dismissal for veteran Sergio Busquets was lucky that the German national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen even prevented a defeat with a brilliant act. “We wanted to show people that we’re on the right track, but it’s the beginning,” said Xavi. “We ask for patience and for people to believe in the team. It could be that expectations were a bit too high. It’s a bit insufficient.” He doesn’t want to look for excuses, “just explanations. Expectations should be high.”
Lewandowski had previously scored his first goal in his second game for FC Barcelona. In the 6-0 (4-0) final of the Joan Gamper Cup against Los Pumas from Mexico, the Pole scored well after just three minutes and had thus increased the anticipation of the league debut of the euphoric home crowd again after disappointing years .
According to “Mundo Deportivo” the 0-0 was a “cold shower”. The opponent’s performance showed that the league would be “no picnic” for Barcelona. “The euphoria of the change of summer is over.” After all, Lewandowski also received praise from the specialist newspaper “AS”: “He didn’t score, but he made it more than clear that he was a spectacular signing,” wrote the newspaper about the performance of the Polish world footballer. “The goal will come. It’s only a matter of time.”
For Lewandowski, for whom his move to Barcelona claims to have been a dream come true, the goalless draw ended an impressive series: During his time at Bayern Munich, he only failed to score in the first Bundesliga game of the season in the first year of 2014. The Pole had numerous good and top-class actions. In the gripping final phase alone, he had several chances to score the winning goal. In the 82nd minute, Lewandowski’s shot from 14 yards narrowly missed the left post, and a little later an attempt to take a direct shot after a shot saved by ex-Dortmund player Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang went wide.
“I’m happy because he works for the team,” commented Xavi Lewandowski on Saturday night’s league debut. “But of course we need a little more effectiveness. That was the team’s main problem today.” But it is also “only a matter of time before Lewandowski makes the difference”.
