Jurgen Klinsmann mentioned that hunger was something both Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski had in abundance.
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Jurgen Klinsmann is a German football coach who has coached Germany, the United States, and his old club Bayern Munich. He has 110 goals in 221 Bundesliga appearances. As a result, he’d be a perfect candidate to evaluate Lewandowski, Haaland, and the league’s American prospects. In an exclusive interview with bundesliga.com, the 1990 world champion and member of the Bundesliga Legends Network discussed Robert Lewandowski, the newly crowned global player of the year, and Erling Haaland, the contender to the throne.
“There are definitely more than three qualities when you talk about Robert Lewandowski. Obviously he is an unbelievable, fantastic goalscorer and deserves every compliment in the world… the titles he has won in the last two years with Bayern Munich on this run of seven titles in two seasons – it’s just insane. Then scoring 41 goals. I think one major characteristic we have seen from Robert Lewandowski over so many years now is just his hunger. He’s just extremely hungry for goals. That means that when he scores his first one, he wants a second or a third one. I don’t know how many hat-tricks he has scored over the last couple of years. That is what fascinates me as a former striker,” Klinsmann said.
“Just his hunger – his incredible desire to score again and again and again. If you are his opponent you never know at what stage he will be satisfied. It seem like he is never satisfied. He is still going for the next one and that is what really shows the difference between a top striker – a great player – and his own level to which he has catapulted himself over the last few years. It’s just fantastic to see,” he added.
Read More – Robert Lewandowski: How the kid from Poland became world’s best striker
Klinsmann mentioned that hunger was something both Haaland and Lewandowski had in abundance, but was also quick to point out some differences between the two.
“Well I think you see a lot of similarities when we talk about that hunger, that desire to score. Haaland has that hunger as well. He always wants more – he always wants another one. Both link up really well with their teammates, so they are good in combination play and they are smooth… They are both also able to give assists to other players to score, which I think is important as well. They are kind of complete. When I talk about Erling Haaland I always talk about young Lewandowski in a certain way. When you look at Robert Lewandowski you see the experience. He is still in top shape, still good for another couple of years, but when I see Erling Haaland I see the young version of Lewandowski in a certain way. We will see how this plays out over the next few years. I think Lewandowski still has the edge, because of his experience and also because of the titles he wins year in, year out. He’s a step ahead there, but Haaland will definitely be the future and it will be very interesting to follow his path over the next few years,” he said.
