Erling Haaland is burdened with more expectations at Borussia Dortmund than Robert Lewandowski was during his time at the club, says Sebastian Kehl.
Haaland emerged as one of the most exciting young talents in European football following an outstanding campaign in 2019/20 with RB Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund.
The latter fended off competition from the likes of Manchester United and Juventus to sign him on a €20m deal last January, and quickly got their money’s worth.
The 20-year-old striker took just three minutes to score on his debut against Augsburg as a second-half substitute in the same month. He later bagged a further two goals to complete a remarkable hat-trick in a 5-3 win.
Haaland has since taken his tally for BVB to 18 goals and three assists in 21 appearances in all competitions.
Expectations are growing by each passing game as a result, with many Dortmund fans hopeful of similar success as to what they experienced during the Lewandowski days.
But the Pole’s former teammate, Kehl, believes he never had to deal with the same level of hype that Haaland has experienced so far.
“Lewy came to us as a great talent at the time. Haaland, on the other hand, already arrived in Dortmund at a very high level – and with a very different reputation than Lewandowski did at the time,” the former Dortmund midfielder told Kicker.
“We had been waiting for a player like him [Haaland]. The hopes placed in him were accordingly immediately high.”
Unlike Haaland, Lewandowski wasn’t drafted straight into the Dortmund line-up upon his €4.75m arrival from Lech Poznan in 2010.
The now-Bayern Munich star played second-fiddle to Lucas Barrios, restricting him to a bench role in his first 14 league games. Tensions soon boiled over as he became frustrated with then-BVB coach Jurgen Klopp for not keeping his promise of regular football.
Time healed all wounds, however, as Lewandowski transformed into a complete striker under the German.
He proceeded to score 103 goals in 187 games across all competitions, winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles. A DFB-Pokal Cup, and DFL-Supercup all followed as well.
“For Lewandowski, the 2010-11 season was not easy. He and Barrios didn’t always get along well. Lewy had to fight for his place and prevail,” said Kehl.
“Lewy is so consistent, so complete, almost never injured – for me, he is one of the best in the world. A great player.”
Lewandowski had arguably the finest season to date of his career in 2019/20 by helping Bayern win a treble in Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and Champions League success.
The 31-year-old, who scored a career-best 55 goals last season, will meet Haaland and Dortmund for the DFL-Supercup on Wednesday.
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