Robert Lewandowski opens up on a midnight chat with Jurgen Klopp at Dortmund that ‘changed my career’

Robert Lewandowski has revealed a conversation that he had with Jurgen Klopp early on in his Borussia Dortmund career which ‘changed my career’.

The Polish legend spent four years playing under the Liverpool boss at Dortmund, before sealing a move to Bayern Munich, but opened up on a midnight chat with Klopp which helped him find his form.

Klopp is regarded as one of the best man-managers in the game, with Lewandowski’s story attesting to the German’s ability to understand his players in order to get the best out of them.

After struggling to find the back of the net, Lewandowski told ESPN that he sought out his manager for a one-on-one chat which resulted in a change in ‘mentality’ that saw him excel in front of goal.

The Barcelona striker also admitted that Klopp became almost a father figure for him at the club, having lost his own parent when he was 16.

‘I think that one situation changed my career,’ said Lewandowski in an interview with ESPN. ‘It was the first season, maybe the beginning of my second season, at Dortmund. I wasn’t in good form, I didn’t score so many goals. I didn’t know what Jurgen wanted from me.

‘After a game that we lost, I went to him directly. It was maybe midnight at the hotel. I said: “I want to speak with you because I don’t understand and I don’t know what you want from me, what you expect from me.”

‘And this conversation was like, I thought that maybe we’re going to speak five minutes, 10 minutes, but we were speaking about an hour and a half.

‘The most important thing was that I was speaking with him, maybe like a father. And I missed my father because I lost my father when I was 16 years old. Maybe since that time, I couldn’t find someone who can talk with me like that.

‘Three days later, and remember you cannot change anything in training because you don’t have time, we were playing in the Bundesliga and I scored a hat trick and got one assist and we won 4-0. That was Augsburg, I think.

‘In that moment I understood that mentality and what you have in your head is so important because I didn’t change anything. But I felt some freedom, just like I’m clear in my mind. After this everything changed.’

The pair won two consecutive Bundesliga titles at Dortmund in 2010-11 and 2011-12 as well as a German Cup and Super Cup, in one of the club’s most successful periods.

Lewandowski has played more games under Klopp than any other manager (186), and scored 102 times and assisted 42 more in a devastating partnership.

The Polish icon now turns out for Barcelona, who face Real Madrid in Sunday’s El Clasico clash.

Lewandowski is the club’s top scorer this season after sealing a move from perennial winners Bayern Munich with 25 goals and six assists in all competitions under Xavi.