Shevchenko presented Lewandowski with the armband of the national team of Ukraine in a symbolic gesture

Poland was one of the countries that, as of February 2022, took the lead in supporting Ukraine, which is at war with Russia after invading their territory, with Robert Lewandowski being a prime example.

The Poland captain had no qualms about wearing a Ukrainian armband in a Bayern game last season, with the reward coming just months later.

More specifically, by Andriy Shevchenko, where the former bomber and coach of Ukraine met “Leva” at the National Stadium in Poland and made a symbolic gesture to him, presenting him with the armband of the Ukrainian national team in front of the cameras.

“It’s a symbolic gesture. We thank Robert and the Poles for everything they have done for us. I want Robert to symbolically take it to the World Cup.” ‘Seva’ explained, with the current Barcelona forward explaining:

“I felt that it would be a clear gesture on my part to play with the Ukrainian armband, as I did right after the invasion of their country began, to show the world that this war is really taking place. We athletes need to talk about it too. I would like to thank all Poles who helped Ukraine in different ways.

We know very well what it means to fight for freedom, and we Poles know very well what war means. I played with the armband and wanted to publicize what is happening in Ukraine. And now the thanks have come back to us, which I’m very proud of.”

And Lewandowski concluded referring to his move months ago to compete with the Ukrainian armband: “I didn’t know how big the reaction to my gesture would be, but I wanted it to be big. The more people know what’s going on, the better.

That’s why it was worth talking about making these gestures. And the role of the athletes? We have the power to overcome.

We cannot think that we should only deal with this or that, or that something only concerns us or Ukrainians. Nations fighting for freedom must be supported.”

It is worth noting that a photo from their meeting was uploaded by Robert Lewandowski to his personal Twitter account, with the Pole commenting: “Thank you Seva. It was a pleasure to meet you. It will be an honor for me to wear this captain’s armband in the colors of Ukraine at the World Cup.”