Lewandowski on goals, Poland and his family dog

On captaining Poland at UEFA EURO 2016 ...

It's a great responsibility. When I first put on the armband, I didn't know that this small accessory could make such a big difference. You need to know how to cope with it. Not many people know how much commitment and effort is required, not just physical but also mental. It's not always a pleasure to play football. It's hard work too. The pressure at these finals won't be different to when Poland co-hosted UEFA EURO 2012. We are at a different level now, though. We all play regularly for our clubs. Four years ago we were still looking for defenders two weeks before the tournament started. Now we can beat anyone, but we are not favourites in every match. You need to remember that.

On Group C opponents Germany, Northern Ireland and Ukraine ...

Germany are favourites in our group. We were drawn out from the third pot – not first or even second. We are not first or second in line to qualify either. We have a chance but that's a different thing. Ukraine are a very good team; they might be the favourites for that game. We played against similar opponents to Northern Ireland in qualifying, so we know how to approach them and what to do to win it. Our targets? Scoring goals, winning, going as far as possible!

On whether he is at his peak as a striker ...

You can score three or even five in a game, but then you have another match and another. You are only as good as your last game – that's my approach. I'm not sure if this is the prime of my career. I think my best years are still ahead of me. I think I can play at this level for many more years.

On watching football on TV as a child ...

I watched the national team and I also remember the Champions League. I used to fall asleep a bit in the second half of those matches as it was quite late, but I always wanted to watch until the end. Thierry Henry was a player I liked to watch and take inspiration from. It was a real honour more recently when he asked if he could have my shirt after a game. I asked if it was for someone else and he said: 'No, it's for me.' That was really cool. I was watching him on TV a few years ago, now he is asking for my shirt.

On how his family dog helped him as a player ...

I dribbled and played against him as a child. My dog was a boxer and was always trying to get the ball off me. It was fun. Even when he nicked it from me, he would give it back and keep playing. When I had to do training runs, I would do it with my dog. After an injury early in my career, I noticed that I got tired quickly doing these runs, but I managed to get back in shape after a while. Once the dog struggled to keep up with me, I knew I was back in form.