"Slowed me down to speed me up" - Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski lauds 'genius' Jurgen Klopp, recalls his training methods at Dortmund

Barcelona attacker Robert Lewandowski has lauded Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp for his understanding of the game as well as his coaching prowess.

Lewandowski joined Borussia Dortmund from the Polish side Lech Poznań in 2010 when Jurgen Klopp was the head coach at Die Schwarzgelben. Before leaving Dortmund for Bayern Munich, the Pole spent four years at Signal Iduna Park under the German manager.

Reflecting on his time under the Liverpool boss, Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski has heaped praise on Jurgen Klopp. The Polish attacker stated that Klopp taught him a lot of things and also helped him become a better player with a stronger mentality.

Lewandowski also credited the German manager for his improved performance. The Polish striker scored 102 goals and provided 42 assists in 186 under Klopp.

The 35-year-old said (via Players' Tribune Football):

"He taught me so much. When I arrived at Dortmund, I wanted to do everything quickly: strong pass, one touch only. Jürgen showed me to calm down — to take two touches if necessary."

"It was totally against my nature, but soon I was scoring more goals. When I had that down, he challenged me to speed it up again. One touch. BANG. Goal. He slowed me down to speed me up. It sounds simple, but it was genius, really."

After joining Bayern in 2014, Lewandowski made 375 appearances for the Bavarians and recorded 344 goals and 73 assists. After eight years at the Allianz Arena, the Pole joined Barcelona in July 2022. However, he's currently sidelined from action due to an ankle injury.

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Barcelona are looking forward to replace Robert Lewandowski with Premier League star

According to SPORT, Xavi Hernandez's Barcelona has found a potential replacement for Robert Lewandowski, which is Manchester City's Julian Alvarez.

As per the report, the Blaugrana have been monitoring the situation of the Argentine attacker at the Etihad for a long time. Despite giving several consistent performances, Alcaraz has been used by Pep Guardiola as the second-choice attacker behind Erling Haaland.

The 2022 World Cup winner has a release clause of €50 million, which can be triggered by the La Liga in the coming transfer windows. He joined Manchester City in January 2022 from Argentine side River Plate for a transfer fee of £14 million ($17m).

This season, Alvarez has made 13 appearances for the Etihad outfit across different competitions and has recorded six goals and five assists.