CHICAGO — While some of his former Barcelona teammates lined up for a World Cup semifinal outside Dallas, Robert Lewandowski sat on a stage at the Chicago Fire training facility on Tuesday afternoon preparing for the next, and perhaps last, chapter of his storied career.Lewandowski, 37, smiled and moved easily from English to Polish to Spanish in a packed press conference room at the stunning Endeavor Health Performance Center, one of MLS’s premier new training grounds. The Polish striker has been a dream signing for the Chicago Fire for years now. The prolific goalscorer is a bona fide star globally, but especially in a region that has an enormous Polish population. As of 2023, census estimates put the Chicago-area Polish ancestry population north of 720,000, the highest concentration of any metropolitan region in the country.In his first comments to media since arriving in Chicago on Monday, Lewandowski said he will judge his success not just with goals and trophies, but also in his ability to help the Fire expand its relevance in the market. He hopes to connect with a Polish community he wants to come out “not just to watch me, but to see the whole team as we win and progress”.“When you join a club, you analyze the players, the situation, the league, its level, and, above all, the country and culture,” Lewandowski said in his native language.“You have to adapt to the local environment sometimes. It was the same when I moved to Barcelona and it will likely be the same here. Over time, it definitely gets easier to adapt and to set expectations that match the reality of the situation… Ultimately, I hope the expectations here will be realistic, neither exaggerated nor understated, based on what is actually achievable.“Coming to Chicago and MLS, I realize it’s a different league and a different style of football — or a different way of looking at the game — where it’s not just about the goals, but also about everything happening both on and off the pitch. So, naturally, I’m open to that. I’ll also be observing how things look and function there, which promises to be an interesting experience. It will likely mark another milestone in my personal and footballing development — after all, every league is different, and we’re well aware of the landscape in the U.S., including how fans and the general public view sports there.”The latest in a line of older stars to arrive in MLS following the commercial and on-field success of Lionel Messi, Lewandowski is one of the sport’s most productive and prolific winners. He is one of just three players to score 100 goals or more at three clubs (Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich and Barcelona) and has scored 89 goals in 167 caps for Poland. He is the Bundesliga’s all-time leading foreign scorer and won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, 10 Bundesliga titles, three La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and three Supercopas.