Euro 2016: Poland boss Adam Nawalka demands ref protects tournament’s most fouled ace Robert Lewandowski
MARKED man Robert Lewandowski is the most fouled player in this Euro.
And Poland boss Adam Nawalka turned up the heat for tonight’s last-eight clash against Portugal by calling on ref Felix Brych to protect his striker.
Though he did not name Portugal bad-boy Pepe, 33, it was clear that Nawalka was heaping pressure on the Real Madrid hardman who is likely to try every trick in the book to stop Lewy.
Bayern Munich ace Lewandowski, 27, has yet to score in four Euros matches.
But Opta stats show the Poland skipper has been fouled 16 TIMES, more than any other player since the finals started.
Nawalka said: “Robert is the best No 9 in the world. He’s marked very tightly in this tournament with double and triple marking.
“Rivals attack him on the limit of a foul every time.
“But he’s very well prepared physically and mentally and coping very well.
“I think refs should be paying particular attention to some brutal fouls when an opponent is trying to eliminate, at any cost, a player from the game.
“Refs must try to pay attention to make sure those fouls are picked up.
“They need to react quickly with yellow and red cards and stamp out those fouls.”
Lewandowski scored four past Pepe and Real Madrid for Borussia Dortmund in the 2013 Champions League semi-final.
But the Portugal defender got his own back the following season as Real thrashed Lewy’s Bayern Munich at the same stage of the competition.
The bruising treatment of Poland’s talisman in this Euros was evident in the Switzerland knock-out game when he was fouled six times.
He was also impeded six times by Ukraine, while Germany and Northern Ireland gave him a less painful time with two fouls apiece.
Critics suggest the Pole has proved the biggest disappointment of this Euros.
Lewy came into the tournament after scoring 42 goals in 51 games for Munich in all competitions last season.
This included 30 goals in 32 Bundesliga games.
And he also netted 13 strikes in ten games for Poland in the qualifiers.
But he has only managed two attempts on target in four matches. Three were off target and as many were blocked.
But Nawalka added: “Robert is a very important player for our team. I’m very happy with his performance so far.
“He’s fulfilling an important role as captain by motivating the team.”
The Bundesliga’s top scorer will now come up against Cristiano Ronaldo whose brace against Hungary has quietened his critics.
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Nawalka said: “Football is about teamwork.
“There is no team that one player decides the match’s outcome.
“Portugal present themselves well as a team.
“They also want success. But for us it’s important not to look just at Ronaldo but all the others, too.”
Poland have reached the quarters of a Euro for the first time in their history.
And Lewandowski’s side-kick in attack Arkadiusz Milik said: “We know we are capable of defeating Portugal.”
