Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski, who is a summer target for Real Madrid, spoke briefly to AS ahead of the sides' Champions League semi-final.
It's two o'clock in the afternoon and the temperature is almost 30 degrees, which is very unusual for spring in Munich. Following a morning training session that began at 10, only Robert Lewandowski and coach Jupp Heynckes are still to leave Bayern Munich's Sabener Strasse base.
There are two young supporters at the entrance, waiting hopefully for an autograph. Out comes Lewandowski's Bentley and, having watched the Bayern players drive past them one by one, the as yet luckless fans finally get their reward. He does stop. The striker's humble nature isn't usual in stars of his standing. And we take the chance to have a word...
He remembers Diario AS, because he spoke to them in similar circumstances while still at Borussia Dortmund. It was the year after his four-goal display had seen off José Mourinho's Real Madrid in the Champions League, and the two clubs were due to meet in the tournament once more... On that occasion, Lewandowski had time to chat to AS and pose with a photo of him celebrating his memorable goal haul.
This time he's in a hurry: Bayern don't want their players to talk. We ask him how he's feeling physically; after all, an injury to the Pole turned last year's quarter-final between Bayern and Real into a nightmare for him. "I'm in good nick, and the team couldn't be in better shape," he declares.
The Bundesliga side's hopes rest in no small measure on Lewandowski. Six goals in six games against Real Madrid bear witness to that (five with Dortmund, one since moving to Munich). His name will also be on everyone's lips because Real president Florentino Pérez wants to secure his services this summer...