SATISFYING though it was, Scotland's 1-0 friendly win in Warsaw this March was the football equivalent of tuning into an episode of Taggart minus Mark McManus or going to a Queen and Paul Rodgers gig.
It just wasn't the same without the headline act.
Fortunately for all lovers of football, and perhaps unfortunately for the Tartan Army, Robert Lewandowski is ready to resume his role as the spearhead of Poland when Scotland return to the national stadium on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old was a Borussia Dortmund player when he missed out in March due to a knee injury, but will take to the field as an authentic member of football's elite, the ink still wet on his multi-million contract at FC Hollywood (aka Bayern Munich). Scrutiny goes with the territory at the Allianz Arena, though, and seasoned Bundesliga watchers are still making up their mind on whether this most eagerly awaited of internal German transfers is a success.
Lewandowski notched the third, fourth, sixth and seventh goals of Poland's 7-0 dismantling of hapless new boys Gibraltar in Faro in September, taking his international tally to 23 in 62 appearances. But in his 11 club matches to date, he has only scored four, two of which came last week against relegation contenders Hannover '96.
Scotland assistant manager Mark McGhee, something of a German expert after his time spent at Hamburg during the mid-80s, is one man who reckons Lewandowski still has work to do to convince anyone that he is a clear upgrade on Mario Mandzukic, the Croatian - now at Atletico Madrid - who won the Champions League with Bayern but twice drew a blank against Scotland in World Cup qualifying ties.
"I don't think he makes Poland a totally different team but he does make a huge difference to them," said McGhee. "It's like listening to Chris Coleman talking about Wales with or without Gareth Bale and the effect his presence has on everyone around him. He is obviously a star player for them and there is also the impact it can have on the opposition knowing they have a player of that stature.
"But I don't think we were kidded by the fact we got the result over there; we were well aware he wasn't playing. I can't sit here and say if he'd played we would still have beaten them ... but the result in Poland was a great result, regardless of whether he played or not.
"He is the same as Mandzukic in my opinion. I think they are of a similar level, in the next batch below the absolute best. Our defence have seen off Mandzukic already so I wouldn't imagine they'll have any fears about facing Lewandowski. I know Bayern replaced Mandzukic with Lewandowski last summer but there is always a bit of refreshing, a bit of contractual stuff and agents which plays a part in players moving on or being replaced. I don't think they have become weaker but I'm not sure they have got stronger.
"I think he has still to prove himself. I'm not sure we have seen enough of him in those really big games to know yet. Bayern Munich don't make many mistakes though and they've invested a lot in him."
Lewandowski's skill set is certainly more refined than that of the archetypal, old-fashioned target man. For a start he stands only 6ft 1in tall, with pace and movement among his greatest assets. His power is generated by a muscular frame which has earned him the nickname of "the Body", along with Australian model Elle Macpherson. The son of a judoka and volleyball player, and with a wife, Anna Stachurska, who is a karate professional, few players boast greater physical condition. He can mix it too - no Dortmund player committed more fouls than he last season.
While Scotland won't obsess on his talents too much, Gordon Strachan's backroom staff are well aware that he thrives on precisely the kind of crosses which have caused difficulty for Scotland's defence. At least winger Jakub Blaszczykowski, Poland's next most recognised player, will be unavailable to provide the ammunition in their 4-4-1-1 shape due to the after effects of a knee injury. "It will be more of a head to head," said McGhee. "Man against man, can we be better than them?"
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article