Robert Lewandowski has paid tribute to Jurgen Klopp for the impact he had on the striker's path to being crowned the best player in the world last month.
Bayern Munich star Lewandowski won The Best FIFA Men's Player award for 2020 after starring as Die Roten claimed a Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal treble.
Between July 20, 2019 and October 7, 2020 – the period considered for the award – Lewandowski scored 60 club goals in 52 appearances across all competitions at a rate of one every 76 minutes.
He beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the prize, with the Pole effectively recognised the best footballer in the world in the absence of a Ballon d'Or winner in 2020.
Lewandowski has enjoyed immense success since joining Bayern in 2014, though he already looked destined for greatness during his time at Borussia Dortmund, where Klopp had begun to mould him into the lethal forward he is now.
Writing in a reflective piece for the Players' Tribune in the wake of his FIFA award win, Lewandowski said of the current Liverpool boss: "Jurgen was not only a father figure to me. As a coach, he was like the 'bad teacher'. And I mean that in the best sense of the word.
"Not the one who made life easy for you and never expected anything from you, but the one who was strict with you. The one who put pressure on you and did everything to get the best out of you. That's the teacher who made you better. Jurgen was like that.
"He was not content to let you be a B-grade student. Jurgen wanted A+ students. He didn't want it for him. He wanted it for you.
"I could talk to Jurgen about anything. I could trust him. He is a family man, and he has so much empathy for what goes on in your private life."
Lewandowski took a season to truly adapt to German football after joining from Lech Poznan in his native Poland, as he only netted eight Bundesliga goals in 33 games during the 2010-11 campaign.
That remains the only season he has failed to reach double figures for league goals during his time in Germany, and Lewandowski considers Klopp's influence to be a major part of his improvement.
"He taught me so much," the striker continued. "When I arrived at Dortmund, I wanted to do everything quickly: strong pass, one touch only. Jurgen 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."
Lewandowski's shot conversion rate rose from 13.1 per cent to 22.5 after his first season with Klopp and has never dipped below 20 per cent since.
In fact, the 32-year-old appears to be getting better with age, given his best ever return in terms of shot conversion was posted last term (29.8), and he is well on track to obliterate that personal best in 2020-21.
With 20 goals in 14 Bundesliga games, the Polish marksman is converting 44.4 per cent of his opportunities.
Gauff races into Roland Garros second round with quickfire Avdeeva victory
Coco Gauff made a statement of intent as she steamrollered grand slam debutant Julia Avdeeva in the French Open first round.
The world number three needed just 52 minutes to complete a comprehensive 6-1 6-1 rout on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Runner-up to Iga Swiatek two years ago, Gauff has also reached a further two quarter-finals in her four previous appearances at Roland Garros
The reigning US Open champion, who reached the Italian Open semi-finals last time out on clay, wasted little time in launching her quest for another deep run in the French capital.
Avdeeva had come through three qualifying matches to secure her maiden appearance in the main draw of a major.
However, the world number 208 simply had no answer for a relentless Gauff, who did not face a single break point and lost just eight points in her seven service games.
Sealing her biggest victory in a completed match at Roland Garros, the 20-year-old set up a second-round clash with 2021 semi-finalist Tamara Zidansek.
Data Debrief: 50 up for Gauff
An Australian Open semi-finalist in January, Gauff's quickfire victory was also her 50th match win in the main draw of a grand slam, becoming the ninth American woman to reach that milestone before turning 21.
The 20-year-old lost just one point off her own serve, and is now 16-3 in first-round major matches (5-0 at Roland Garros).
Swiatek sets up Osaka showdown at Roland Garros after soaring past Jeanjean
Iga Swiatek set up a mouth-watering second-round showdown with Naomi Osaka at the French Open, after storming past Leolia Jeanjean 6-1 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
The world number one - champion here in 2020, 2022 and 2023 - made a strong start in her quest for a third straight Roland Garros title, taking just 61 minutes to wrap up her 15th successive win in Paris.
Swiatek had also won each of her last 12 matches on clay ahead of this contest, having gone back-to-back in Madrid and Rome.
And the Pole picked up from where she left off, breaking in her opponent's opening service game as she came flying out of the blocks before taking the first set in just 29 minutes.
Jeanjean broke in the opening game of the second set, but it proved a false dawn for the French qualifier, who was broken a further three times herself as Swiatek soared through.
Next up for her will be fellow four-time major winner Osaka in what promises to be a blockbuster second-round clash at Roland Garros.
Data Debrief: Swiatek matches Henin, Evert, Seles and Graf
Winning 15 consecutive matches at the French Open, Swiatek is the fifth player to do so and first since Justine Henin's streak of 24 straight victories between 2005 and 2010.
Chris Evert, Monica Seles and Steffi Graf are the other three players to win 15 on the spin at Roland Garros.
Meanwhile, only Evert and Seles (both 30) have won more of their first 31 matches at the season's second major than the Pole (29).
'It's a week to enjoy', Ancelotti insists ahead of Champions League final
Carlo Ancelotti encouraged Real Madrid to enjoy the build-up to this weekend's Champions League final, when Los Blancos will battle Borussia Dortmund for the title.
Madrid are seeking a record-extending 15th triumph in Europe's premier club competition, having seen off the likes of Manchester City and Bayern Munich to reach the showpiece at Wembley.
Ancelotti knows the drill inside out. This is his ninth final overall and sixth as a coach, winning four of the previous five (two with Milan, two with Madrid).
Although, the Italian knows he and his players cannot underestimate Dortmund, who have defeated Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain to reach their third final.
"It is a week to enjoy," he told reporters on Monday. "The challenge, the opponent. We're going to enjoy it until Friday.
"Reaching a final is always a success. As for being favourites, we don't think about that. We have to play against a team that has done very well. They have shown commitment and attitude.
"The build-up to the big game is always the same, happiness and then worry. The fear will come, but before it does, I'm going to enjoy it.
"The cold sweat comes on Saturday afternoon. It's quite normal, it comes every match and I have experience. I have a lot of confidence in my team. They are in Champions League mode."
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