The arrival of Spanish head coach Pep Guardiola in the summer of 2013 had many questioning the flying Dutchman's future with FC Bayern but, true to form, he responded with a string of sensational performances in a relatively injury-free 2013/14, netting 11 goals and providing seven assists to help Bayern win a record 23rd Bundesliga title. In 2013 he excelled in Europe again as Bayern reached a third Champions League final in four seasons and was able to exorcise his demons, scoring an emotional winner against Dortmund and finally tasting success in a competition that had caused him so much pain. In the years that have followed that heartbreaking night on, however, Robben has overcome injuries and perceived mental weakness to establish himself as arguably the club’s most important player of recent times. The following campaign was one of personal trial and tribulation, though, as he missed two crucial penalties - one to effectively hand Borussia Dortmund the league title and another, perhaps even more traumatising, that led indirectly to Chelsea’s penalty shoot-out victory in the UEFA Champions League final at the Reds’ own Allianz Arena. In the 2009/10 campaign - his first in Bavaria - he helped Bayern to the league and DFB Cup double and was voted Player of the Season. It has been with German record titleholders FC Bayern München, however, that he has made the leap from mere talent to champion. Following his EURO 2004 heroics he joined Premier League side Chelsea FC, before moving on to Spanish giants Real Madrid CF in 2007. He made his senior debut for Groningen and soon became a first-team regular, but his pace, dynamism, speed of thought and eye for goal soon alerted the country’s bigger fish, and at the age of 18, he signed for PSV Eindhoven.Īt both club and international level, the young winger continued to improve. It was the moment the attentions of the wider world were drawn to the precocious youngster’s talents, but in his homeland, Robben had long been busy making a name for himself.Īt the age of 12 he was plucked from hometown club VV Bedum by Dutch top-flight side FC Groningen, where he progressed steadily through the club’s youth ranks. Undeterred by the weight of history and expectation on his 20-year-old shoulders, the fleet-footed winger from Bedum stepped up to convert the spot-kick, and a star of European football was truly born.
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