Robert Lewandowski has revealed how a conversation with Jurgen Klopp during their time together at Borussia Dortmund helped transform his career.
Liverpool boss Klopp was the head coach at Dortmund between 2008 and 2015, bringing Lewandowski to the Bundesliga from Poland in 2010. Lewandowski scored 103 goals in 187 appearances for the Black-Yellows, all under the stewardship of Klopp.
The pair won three titles together in their time at the Signal Iduna Park, clinching two Bundesliga titles and a DFB Cup before Lewandowski's departure to Bayern Munich. The love shared between the two is mutual.
IAN DOYLE: Jurgen Klopp will know in nine days who Liverpool should sell this summer
READ MORE: Why Liverpool are not playing Fulham this weekend amid Premier League fixtures
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s El Clasico, in which Lewandowski will be playing for Barcelona, the forward opened up on how he not only views Klopp like a 'father', but also detailed how the Liverpool boss helped change his career for the better.
“His personality. He is the guy who can be like a father, the guy that can help you all the time, but also he's the guy who can try to push you,” he said.
“This is the guy who you can go to him, speak with him. We are all human, we all have problems. He's not only the coach, he is the guy who... you can learn from him, also [about] life. I learned a lot under him.”
Asked to give an example by ESPN, Lewandowski replied: “I think that one situation changed my career. 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.”
Before he added: “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.
“I don't remember everything, but what I remember is he told me that if I give on the pitch during the game, like 70% of my quality from training, he will be happy.
“From that I understood that what I was doing was enough for him. I had to make the next step to bring this quality into games. This small change changed my life and maybe changed the road [I was on] in my life.”
READ NEXT:
- Steven Gerrard set for Anfield return as Liverpool icon added to Legends squad
- Alisson has been openly telling Liverpool what their problem is all season
- Best for both sides' - Didi Hamann claims Jurgen Klopp could leave Liverpool
- Lucas Leiva sends emotional message to Liverpool as former midfielder announces retirement
- David James names three reasons why Liverpool are a shadow of themselves
