Jurgen Klopp made me a complete player: Robert Lewandowski

Klopp and Lewandowski forged a successful partnership at Borussia Dortmund

Bayern Munich hitman Robert Lewandowski has heaped praise on current Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in an interview with FourFourTwo magazine. The striker played under Klopp during his time at Borussia Dortmund which lasted for a period of four years.

Dortmund signed Lewandowski from Polish club Lech Poznan in the summer of 2010 for a bargain prize of 4.5 million Euros. The Polish captain had a successful stint at Dortmund under Klopp scoring 103 goals in 187 appearances. He helped Dortmund to two Bundesliga titles in his four years at the club helping them topple the mighty Bayern Munich.

However, it was not smooth sailing for the Pole in his first season at Dortmund. He struggled initially and was unable to establish himself in his preferred striker position at the Signal Iduna Park. This led manager Klopp to play him in the number 10 role.

The striker admitted that he was initially frustrated at that particular decision of the manager.

"Borussia first expressed an interest after my first year in Poznan," Lewandowski told the November 2015 issue of the magazine.

"When I left after the second season, I wanted to take the next step - but suddenly I was playing in a No. 10 role. I was quite mad because I wanted to play up front.

"It was only in the following year that I realized how much I had learned while playing in that position. I told myself: 'You have become a better player.' Then I realized why the coach had asked me to play as a No.10; he made me a more complete player."

He moved to rivals Bayern in the summer of 2014 on a free transfer and has seen his career take a huge upswing. He is currently regarded as the most lethal striker in world football. The 27-year-old has scored an astounding 31 goals in 15 appearances in all competitions for both Bayern and Poland which includes 14 goals in just 9 games in the Bundesliga.

The Polish captain has almost single-handedly carried the national team to the Euro 2016 which is scheduled to take place next summer in France. He has scored a mouth watering 14 goals in 10 games for Poland in the qualifiers in which they finished second in Group D behind world champions Germany.