Mancini Believes Italy Has The Best Defense Blocking Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski is one of the best strikers in the world and any team will struggle to deal with quality players, said Italian manager Roberto Mancini.
The Azzurri will face Lewandowski in the Group A1 clash of the UEFA Nations League (UNL).
The striker scored 55 goals during last season’s campaign to lift Bayern Munich to three major titles; Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and the Champions League (UCL) so many observers think he will top the Ballon d’Or this year if the award is not canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He continued his extraordinary performance in the early stages of the campaign by scoring five goals in three league games for the German champion.
Mancini outlined Lewandowski’s touch in a press conference in conjunction with the match but insisted his team was able to silence their challenger in Gdansk.
“Lewandowski is one of the best midfielders in the world and he has been on the list for several years. Unfortunately we have never seen him play in Serie A,” said the former Inter boss.
“He is the basis for Poland even though they also have other great players. It is fair to say that any team will struggle to deal with a star-owned team like Lewandowski.
“But Italy always has some of the best defenders in the world and it still happens today. Of course, we are also capable of improving performance.”
Ciro Immobile was also one of the hottest fighters in Europe last season when he emerged as the top Serie A scorer with 36 goals in 37 games.
The Lazio striker, however, found it difficult to translate his domestic performance to the international level when he only collected three goals under the Mancini era, two of them as they thrashed Armenia 9-1.
Mancini realizes it is more difficult to get the rhythm internationally while defending the achievements of his men.
“Probably also because the two teams feature very different game patterns,” he added.
“Ciro often looks good when he represents us. If we have 38 games in a row, he will score 25 goals, but it is more difficult when you only get together once in a while.”