Arjen Robben: ‘You can discuss anything with Pep. At 3am he’s happy to talk’
Invigorated by the coaching of Pep Guardiola and physically strengthened by extra hours in the gym, the Bayern Munich forward has produced three seasons of sustained excellence – and, at 31, he is still getting better
'We have a very good relationship,' says Arjen Robben of the Bayern Munich manager, Pep Guardiola. 'You can discuss anything. At 3am Pep would be happy to talk to you about football.'
Arjen Robben suddenly drops his defensive, cross-armed pose. He has just begun to consider the imposing list of managers for whom he has played – Guus Hiddink, José Mourinho, Louis van Gaal, Jupp Heynckes and Pep Guardiola – when the change comes. “Every manager has a certain influence,” Robben says, “and it depends whether you’re 18, 25 or 30. You need different things. But, in general, one thing matters most.”
At this point, thinking hard, Robben uncrosses his arms, nods intently and leans forward as he really begins to talk. “You need to be very critical of yourself. There are a few very good managers who can make players better individually. Most managers think about the team process – and so you have to improve things on your own. You have to be very strong mentally. But it’s also very important to be critical of yourself. This is something I miss a little with the younger generation.
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“These days you have guys who are 19 or 20 and they’ve played their first game and they feel they’ve made it. It’s not true. There’s always so much to improve, no matter your age. That’s why I’m really enjoying working with Pep. I learn from him every day and that’s a special feeling. People always say young players can learn a lot and even at 26, 27 you can still make big steps. Then, it’s expected you stay at that level or go down.”
Robben, who turned 31 last month, rubs his bald head ruefully in a small room on a sunlit yet freezing February afternoon in Munich. A friendly but guarded atmosphere with one of the world’s greatest and most controversial footballers has become far more interesting. It is now also easier to understand why Robben has reached new heights as a player in recent years.
“When I started working with Pep 18 months ago I noticed how he goes much deeper into football,” Robben says. “His intelligence is obvious. Tactically he’s one of the best in the world and under him I have made more steps in my development. I’ve come quite a long way these 18 months.”
Guardiola has been criticised, and some argue that Bayern have regressed from Heynckes’s treble-winning team of 2013. Robben, however, makes the salient point that Heynckes’s triumph was forged in the misery of 2012. Playing in the Champions League final at home, at the Allianz Arena, Bayern lost on penalties to Chelsea. It was the most painful night of Robben’s career as the soured expectation of a Bayern victory was made even more bitter by him missing a penalty against his former club in extra time.
A few days later, just before Euro 2012, Robben played in a friendly for Holland against Bayern and he was booed relentlessly by his club supporters. “The best thing about football,” Robben says now, “and sport in general, is that if you suffer a big disappointment then there is no better feeling than coming back the following year and doing well.”
Bayern secured the next Bundesliga title with the widest-ever winning margin – Borussia Dortmund finished 25 points adrift. They also won the cup and the Champions League. In the semi-final they thrashed Barcelona 7-0 on aggregate while, in the final at Wembley against Dortmund, Robben set up the equaliser and scored the winner.
“At the start of that season I was so motivated,” Robben remembers. “It was not only me but everybody in the squad. It sounds like a cliche but you felt this determination to make up for everything. Nobody enjoyed the holiday before that – we were just waiting for the first day of training so we could come back stronger. We pushed ourselves so hard in every session. Our reaction was very special.”
Robben hit a peak of form and fitness that has remained at a staggering pitch for three consecutive seasons. At last summer’s World Cup, as he inspired Holland to a 5-1 demolition of the defending champions, Spain, scoring two goals, Robben grew in stature the longer the tournament progressed. Far more than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, he lit up the World Cup, while courting familiar acrimony.
Once a surly and brittle presence, Robben rose up in Brazil. Elevated to the vice-captaincy by Van Gaal, a sweat-drenched Robben urged on his side, encouraging and cajoling his team-mates. “It was my role. We had a lot of young players and that’s a responsibility you have to take. I really enjoyed it. Against Spain we were sure of a very tough game and when you go 1-0 down it’s more difficult. I think the 1-1 goal [Robin van Persie’s unforgettable header] was beautiful and crucial. But the second half was amazing. It was almost hard to believe we could play so well against world champions, because the expectations for us were not that high. Personally I had a lot of good reactions.”
There was also vitriol after the last-16 victory over Mexico when Robben was castigated by the opposition manager, Miguel Herrera, for “three dives” in a match that the Dutch won with a late penalty. Robben had gone down again, more legitimately, but his previous theatrics could not be ignored. He conceded that he had dived earlier and apologised but insisted the penalty resulted from a clear foul.
“I’m glad I said it,” Robben confirms, remembering his admission of a dive. “There was lots of controversy and everyone was speaking about it. I was honest and I got punished. There was some negative publicity but I’m still 100% sure I did the right thing in talking openly. There was one mistake I made in the game against Mexico …”
Robben laughs awkwardly. “I thought someone was about to kick me and, in the end, he pulled his leg backwards just as I started going down. But it had absolutely no influence on the game. It was not a claim for a penalty. It’s behind me now … well, maybe not in Mexico [he smiles wryly]. I actually think lots of other players were doing worse things.”
He gets kicked in every match, as do all skilful and dangerous players, and Robben argues that he sometimes goes down to avoid injury. After a quarter-final victory over Costa Rica, Robben said he was tired of “the bullshit”. Now, he says, “I think the referee for Costa Rica had a perfect game because sometimes I felt like a wild deer in the woods. They were kicking me at every opportunity and he protected me.”
Robben’s sustained excellence is a more intriguing phenomenon. At Chelsea, from 2004 to 2007, his performances were interrupted by frequent injury. A decade later he looks stronger, fitter, faster and a much harder and far superior player. Robben today is a twinkle-toed beast rather than a stricken waif.
“There is an easy explanation,” he says. “I started working with an osteopath in my last year at Real Madrid [in 2009] and I continued when I came here. We have a great medical team and with the special training we do, the extra work I put in, it’s getting control over your body. You know when you are in the danger zone as you get a better understanding of your body. Now, touch wood, it’s going really well.
“I feel really good. I have lots of energy but that doesn’t happen like magic. I put in many extra hours in the gym and with the physios. You feel strong on the pitch. You have this feeling of power, that you can show the best of your football. This season has been the same and it’s surprising. A lot of players here went to the World Cup final – and I made it to the third-place game. Everyone expected us to have difficulties but it’s not turned out that way.”
Two weeks ago Bayern lost for the first time in the Bundesliga this season when, returning from the winter break, they were beaten 4-1 at Wolfsburg. At the start of February I watched them at the Allianz Arena when, reduced to 10 men, they were held 1-1 by Schalke, after a headed goal by Robben. The Dutch winger was full of zest and verve and, a few days later, he scored a sumptuous volley as Bayern beat Stuttgart 2-0.
“The team deserves a big compliment,” Robben says as Bayern prepare for Tuesday’s first leg of the Champions League last 16, away to Shakhtar Donetsk, with the war in Ukraine forcing the match to be held in Lviv. “We drew three of our [Bundesliga] games before the winter break and won the rest. It’s now a case of getting into the rhythm again.”
On Saturday Bayern regained their imperious rhythm as Robben scored another two goals in a 8-0 victory over Hamburg, to remain eight points clear of second-placed Wolfsburg.
“Against Wolfsburg we made mistakes and they killed us on the counterattack. With 11 players against Schalke we would have won and I was annoyed with the goal we conceded. When you’re one man down it shouldn’t happen that their strongest guy in the air [Benedikt Höwedes] is allowed to go free and score the perfect header.
“But it’s not easy. Everyone was saying before Christmas: ‘Oh, the Bundesliga is boring because Bayern is dominating.’ But against Wolfsburg and Schalke you can see you don’t get any presents in this league. It’s even more so with the Champions League. I don’t like people talking about the quarter-finals or semis or saying: ‘When will you meet Madrid or Barça?’ It’s Shakhtar and nothing more. Pep will give us so much detail on Shakhtar. He already told us that in his Barcelona days he played them four or five times. So he has said: ‘I’m well prepared.’ Before each big game his preparation is incredible.”
The admiration is mutual, for Guardiola has declared: “I’m in love with Arjen Robben … he has an unbelievable mentality.” The Dutch winger almost blushes. “We have a very good relationship. I like the way he thinks about football and his tactical flexibility means we’ve played a few systems. It’s not like we are a 4-4-2 team. We use all kinds of formations with Pep and this means I can play inside or outside, just behind the strikers or even as a striker. That’s fantastic because the way he wants to play, with a very dominant style, suits me perfectly. And you can discuss anything with him. If it’s 3am Pep would be happy to talk to you about football.
“After Wolfsburg you could see on his face how much it hurt him. He hates losing. But every great manager hates losing. If Mourinho loses 4-1 … hmmmphhh … he doesn’t sleep well. They are winners. They’re so strong and that’s why they are so successful.”
Robben’s relationship with Mourinho at Chelsea was different. “For me it was very good to work with him at that age because I was young and, yeah, with Mourinho, you have to be mentally very strong. You have to jump on the train with him or … you’re off. So it was great for my development.
“It was hard at first because I came with an injury. It was very difficult for me and also for him. Of course, he doesn’t like players who get injured. So it wasn’t easy but I always had the feeling I had his confidence. I played some great games for Chelsea but it was unfortunate I had injury problems and I couldn’t do it over a long period – like now.”
Van Gaal, meanwhile, would love to entice him to Old Trafford. Robben points out that he is contracted to Bayern until 2017 but he underlines his debt to Van Gaal. “The best and most important step of my career was when I moved here – and Louis van Gaal brought me from Madrid to Bayern. It was the best move of my career and it’s thanks to him. In the first year we reached the Champions League final [in 2010], which was a big surprise, and won the double in Germany. Van Gaal made me an important member of the team and fortunately I delivered.”
As Robben relaxes his conversation is very different to the snarling, diving stereotype that sometimes obscures a wonderful footballer. He shakes his head fondly as he remembers Christmas football in England. “I can’t say I miss it, but it also had its charms. The real charm was the family coming over for Christmas – and watching me play at home on Boxing Day. But playing four games in 10 days is crazy. A break in the middle of the season is good for everybody.”
Robben talks animatedly about his home club, Groningen, in the Netherlands, and his part in a campaign to promote a love of books. He is married to his teenage sweetheart, Bernadien, and they have three children. It all sounds very sweet and Robben smiles. “I’m a family man. I want to spend time with them. They followed me around Europe and always supported me. So when I stop playing it’s family at No1. I’m interested in all I’ve learned but at the moment I don’t have this big ambition to become a manager. But sometimes you feel that after all the experiences, and the privilege of working with these great coaches, you must share this knowledge.”
His fierce desire and ferocious commitment still burns. Robben clearly anticipates more Champions League glory with Bayern Munich and another World Cup in 2018. “Why not? It’s good because I can be relaxed. You can be too intense and think: ‘I want this or that …’ But I’ve done a lot already and as long as I’m enjoying it and I’m really fit I will continue – and, hopefully, keep improving.”
