If it wasn’t clear who soccer fans in the Bronx were excited to see during New York City FC’s 3-1 win over the Chicago Fire on Saturday, it became obvious moments after the second half started when former Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski entered the match.
Lewandowski, the latest big name to come to Major League Soccer following the arrival of Lionel Messi in 2023, stepped onto the pitch at Yankee Stadium to thunderous applause.
The cheers for the Polish star were even louder than for the home side, including U.S. men’s national team goalkeeper Matt Freese, who received a subdued but warm reception from the crowd.
Saturday marked Lewandowski’s second appearance for his new MLS club since making the move during the World Cup break, after his contract with Barcelona expired following the La Liga season in May.
And his arrival in MLS, joining the likes of Thomas Müller and Antoine Griezmann as European stars to come to North America, excited members of NYCFC as much as the fans.
“As an attacker, he’s one that you grew up watching [during] his time at Bayern Munich and Barcelona,” New York City FC forward Malachi Jones said about facing Lewandowski. “He’s a very prolific goal scorer and everyone that knows the game can see that. It’s always really cool to share the field with somebody of that caliber. But at the same time, you make sure that you idolize him before the game, after the game, but not so much during the game.
“During the game it’s all the mentality of go out there, get the three points and then we can chat afterwards. He’s definitely one of those players you look up to growing up, so to be able to play on the same pitch is cool, but it’s one that’s celebrated after the moment rather than in the moment.”
Lewandowski played 45 minutes Saturday night and took two shots during the match.
His world-class talent isn’t lost on anyone.
He’s been successful wherever he’s played.
He is one of only three players to score at least 100 goals with three clubs, doing so during his time at Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
He has won UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, 10 Bundesliga titles, three La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and three Supercopas.
And on the international stage, Lewandowski has scored 89 goals in 167 appearances for Poland.
Lewandowski’s signing in Chicago through the 2027-28 season, along with the additions of other well-known names around the league, are signs of how far MLS has come, commissioner Don Garber said during a media event at their headquarters in Midtown Manhattan.
“MLS is a better league than we were a year ago, better than we were five years ago and 20 years ago, and we’re going to be a better league five years from now and 20 years from now,” Garber said. “There’s no secret sauce. It’s just more of the same: smart strategic investment, player development, using more data and analytics to sign players that are going to be effective on the field. And like Antoine, [players who] want to be here. Antoine wants to be here. Leo Messi wants to be here.
“We didn’t have to convince them to come. They wanted to come to us. They made the choice to be here, and I think that’s only going to get better in the years to come.”
In the meantime, Lewandowski’s arrival adds another immediate challenge for NYCFC as it tries to move up the table coming out of the World Cup break.
The Fire are one of the clubs NYCFC is chasing, and Saturday’s win helped pull it within a point of the fourth-place Fire.
“We knew we were going to face a very good team in the league and if you see how they played until the break, that is very impressive,” NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen said. “If you can bring Lewandowski back in, you have another quality player, but you can also tell the dynamics of the game that Chicago likes to play is also a little disrupted now. They have to find a way in order to make sure that they get Lewandowski in situations where he can be the most dangerous that he can be.”
