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Sun 27 December 2020 | 6:30

Arjen Robben Biography

When we want to talk about Netherlands’ football, one of the names that quickly comes to mind is Arjen Robben, the legendary Dutch footballer who is thought to retire in the near future from playing football. Stay tuned to take a look at Arjen Robben biography.

The Netherlands has introduced some great players to the world of football, there is literally no football fan that doesn’t know footballers like Johan Cruyff, Frank Rijkaard, Virgil Van Dijk, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and many other great Dutch footballers. One of these talented and great Dutch footballers that first raised to fame in Europe when he signed for Chelsea in 2004 is Arjen Robben, a great winger that amazed football fans all around the world with his great technique and dribbling skills.

At Groningen, with whom he was

Eredivisie

player of the year for the 2000-01 season, Robben first made headlines. He joined up with PSV two years later, where he managed to become the young player of the year in the country and won the Eredivisie league title. He was in the radar of many leading clubs the next season and he ended up joining Chelsea in 2004 after prolonged transfer negotiations between the two clubs.

While his debut was eventually postponed due to injury, by returning healthy he assisted Chelsea to capture the Premier League championship in 2005 and 2006, he was also selected as the Premier League Player of the Month in November 2005. After his third season in England, which was disrupted by a long-term injury that forced him out of several matches, Robben joined Spanish giants Real Madrid for a transfer fee of €35 million.

In August 2009, Robben was purchased by German side Bayern Munich for a fee of around €25 million. During his first season in Munich, they managed to win Bundesliga. And it was his 8th league title in his career to that date. In the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final match, Arjen Robben scored the game-winner for Bayern and was selected in Team of the Season. He was named in the FIFPro World XI and UEFA Team of the Year in 2014, and was ranked fourth in the Ballon d'Or.

During his spell with

Bayern Munich

, he managed to win 20 trophies, namely eight Bundesliga titles and five DFB Pokals.  Robben was also famous for his successful relationship with renowned winger Franck Ribéry throughout his long stay at Bayern. They were constantly referred to by the nickname Robbery by the Bayern fans. Stay tuned to read more about Arjen Robben biography.

All You Need to Know About Arjen Robben Biography

In the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final match, where the Netherlands lost to Spain, Robben was one of the good players of the Dutch team. He played for the Netherlands national team at the UEFA European Championships in 2004, 2008 and 2012, and at the FIFA World Cups in 2006, 2010 and 2014. He earned the Bronze Ball in the FIFA World Cup 2014 and was selected to the All-Star Team. Stay tuned as we want to take a look at Arjen Robben bio.

Arjen Robben Information

In this section of

Arjen Robben biography

, we are going to share some general information about him. So stay tuned to get to know the legendary Dutch footballer, Arjen Robben better.

Arjen Robben Bio

  • Full Name: Arjen Robben

  • Nickname: Glass man

  • Profession: Professional Footballer

Arjen Robben Physical Stats

  • Weight: 80 kg

  • Height: 1.8 m

  • Eye Color: Green

  • Hair Style: Bald

Arjen Robben Football Information

  • Position: Winger

  • Jersey Number: 10

  • Professional Debut: 2000

Arjen Robben Date of Birth and Personal Info

  • Date of Birth: 23 January 1984

  • Birth Place: Bedum, Netherlands

  • Zodiac Sign: Aquarius

  • Nationality: Dutch

Arjen Robben Early Life

Bedum is a satellite town of Groningen, located in the northeast of Netherland. This city is best known for Arjen Robben being born and raised in it. From a young age and in

Arjen Robben childhood

, he was involved in football, being a follower of the Coerver Method. From a very early age, he demonstrated interest in soccer, so his parents enrolled him in the best soccer school of the neighborhood. Robben took part in several competitions of junior soccer and was the youngest student to learn the Coerver Coaching Technique.

Robben's ball control and professional footwork skills made him a valuable prospect, and he was soon signed by the

FC Groningen

regional team. There, by scoring some very impressive goals, he established his unique style of cutting inside from the right to his left foot. Stay tuned to read more about Arjen Robben biography and

Arjen Robben life story

.

Arjen Robben Profile

For 1999-2000 season, Groningen put Robben in their first squad. In Eredivisie, he scored 3 goals that season. Before Groningen's November 2000 away match versus Twente, head coach Jan van Dijk placed the young winger in the first team, but he did not have the chance to play until the match against RKC Waalwijk, where he came as a replacement for the injured Leonardo dos Santos in the 79th minute. He continued to perform at a great level and thus finding his way himself into the starting lineup during the winter. He scored two goals in 18 matches for Groningen over the 2000–01 season.

During his first season with the club, Robben was selected player of the year, and he proved the quality of the Groningen Youth Academy with teammate Jordi Hoogstrate. In the 2001–02 season, Robben decided to stay with Groningen and improved greatly, playing in 28 games and scoring six goals. Before the 2002–03 season,

Arjen Robben

joined PSV for a fee of €3,9 million.

At PSV, he was proved himself to the world as being the next Dutch wonder kid. During two seasons playing for PSV, he managed to play 56 matches in the Eredivisie, scoring 17 goals for them. While at PSV, Robben had gone to London and had a meeting with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Ferguson's bid was far too small for PSV, Harry van Raaij, who was the club's chairman at the time was willing to negotiate a deal around €7 million to sell Robben. Almost instantly, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich proposed a deal of €18 million and PSV accepted it. The remainder of that season with PSV was unfortunate: he injured his hamstring two times, missing some games. That season, Robben scored five goals in 23 Eredivisie matches.

In November 2004, he began playing competitive games for Chelsea and further established himself as a quick and attacking player. He observed an abnormal growth on one of his testicles throughout his tenure with the club, and reported that to the club physicians. He was checked for testicular cancer, but the physicians stated he was completely fit and there was little to worry about.

He was appointed

Premier League

Player of the month in November of 2004. In winning the 2005 and 2006 Premier League Championships and also the League Cup, FA Cup and the FA Community Shield, Robben had an incredibly essential role. He scored fifteen goals in a total of 67 matches for London Blues.   On December 23, 2006, he scored the winner in a match versus Wigan Athletic club for and selected as Man of the Match.

On August 2007, Robben joined Real Madrid on a 5-year contract, with a transfer fee of £ 24 million announced. During the Champions League match versus Werder Bremen, which

Real Madrid

managed to win 2-1, he played his first match for the club as a replacement for Raúl. Also as a substitute for Royston Drenthe in a 1-1 away tie versus Real Valladolid, his La Liga debut arrived on 23 September. Robben scored his first goal for the club on 10 February 2008, which was in a 7-0 home win over Valladolid.

For several Real Madrid games, Robben proved to be a crucial player, making his famed runs down the left-wing and soon becoming a first choice for the role of left midfield, playing 28 matches during his first season and scoring five goals. With several games to play, Real Madrid secured the

La Liga

crown and were already the league champions when they played Barcelona played on 7 May 2008. When the Madrid players came onto the field at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the

Barcelona

team created a guard of honor. In that match Robben played a big part in Real Madrid's eventual 4-1 win, scoring the second goal of the match for them.

Throughout the 2008–09 season, Robben maintained his vital part in the Real Madrid midfield line, featuring in 35 matches and scoring 8 goals. While Ruben was one of the most valuable players of the Spanish giants in the pre-season games before the 2009-10 season, however the arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká, he was one of the team members whose position in the first team was challenged. Bayern Munich offered €25 million to sign Robben and the club approved it.   According to Robben, his exit from Real Madrid was "forced" and he didn't want to leave the club.

He proved to be an asset to the club with 201 matches in Bundesliga since his arrival in Munich and scored about 99 goals for them playing in 10 seasons between 2009 and 2019. During his 10 years of playing for German giants, he guided the team to capture the

Bundesliga

title eight times. In 2010, Arjen Robben was named 'Footballer of the Year' in Germany. His side has captured the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Champions League once. Stay tuned to read more about

Arjen Robben biography

and his style of play.

Style of Play

Over the course of much of his career, Arjen Robben has been deemed one of the strongest wingers in the world, with ESPN reporting that he is "capable of taking on and create chances at no time, Robben's potential to get it to the byline and bring in precise crossings instils panic into any defender". Arjen Robben is an aggressive minded attacker who frequently plays at the right flank, slices inside with his left foot, and utilizes his strength and dribbling abilities to take on defenders before he reaches the space to make a shot on goal.

He is primarily a left-footed footballer. He would always shift to the left-wing during a play, with his colleague Franck Ribéry moving over to the right, for example in Bayern Munich. His partnership with the right-fullback is another aspect in his style of play. This relationship with Philipp Lahm has benefited the productivity and chemistry of the team in Bayern. When Robben transferred to Bayern, he did well as a midfielder and was always covering for his partner on the wings.

Furthermore, Arjen Robben has been convicted of diving and has in several cases explicitly confessed to the accusations. In December 2011, Arjen Robben apologized for his dive in the match versus VfL Bochum in the DFB-Pokal that got him a yellow card. Robben confessed to diving during the first half of the Netherlands encounter with Mexico in the last 16 rounds of the 2014 World Cup, but insisted that he did not dive for the penalty he secured in the injury time that helped the Netherlands to win the match 2–1.

Reception

Arjen Robben is widely regarded as one of the best footballers in the history of Dutch football, and also as the best Netherlands national team winger ever. Some also claim that Arjen Robben was one of the best wingers in the world throughout his peak days, mostly in Bayern Munich. He is definitely a Bayern and Netherlands legend. Also, Arjen Robben is often considered to be in the top 5, if not top 3 best Dutch players of all time.

Goal Celebration

If you are a fan of Arjen Robben, you definitely know that his signature celebration after scoring goals is the sliding goal celebration. Although he is a winger and we haven’t seen him scoring many goals, but all of us remember him doing that sliding goal celebration for Bayern Munich and

Netherlands national team

. After scoring the home goal for Bayern Munich versus Braunschweig, Arjen Robben felt that he had to make a sliding goal celebration. Sadly, that knee sliding goal celebration wasn't executed properly, and he almost injured himself.

Arjen Robben Outside Football

During his last year playing for Bayern Munich, he had an interview with the German football magazine Kicker about what he wants to do after retirement and life after football. In that interview, he already admitted that he is already thinking about what things he wants to do after he hangs up his boots.

In that interview, he told Kicker about one sure thing and it was the fact that he wants to get back to Groningen, his hometown after retirement. He said that he has some good contacts, friends and family there and he is sure that there are going to be lots of things to do for him.

The now 36 years-old Dutch footballer is on course to just doing what he told Kicker back in 2018 and is currently playing for Groningen. We will have to wait and see when he wants to announce his retirement from football. Stay tuned to read more about Arjen Robben biography and his personal life.

Arjen Robben Personal Life

Arjen Robben was dating his girlfriend for a few years before they decided to tie the knot and got married in their hometown of Groningen on 9 June of 2007. Robben actually met his wife Bernadien Eillert in high school when they were kids in Groningen high school of Kamerlingh Onnes. One of the interesting facts about his personal life is that Hans Robben, Arjen’s father is acting as his son’s agent.

Arjen Robben religion

is Christianity.

Her mother is a local celebrity named Marjo Robben, known for her public speaking skills and her frequent presence in the Eurosonic Groningen Dutch Festival. So far, she is so much appreciated to support and respect the choice of Arjen to pursue football and not education while he was a kid. She always says that any kid deserves what they wish to be, even as a public speaker who agrees with schooling for kids.

Family, Children and Relationships

Currently, Arjen Robben and his wife have three children named Luka, Kai and Lynn. He is a really caring father and a responsible husband. One of his favorite family quotations is that, "The most crucial thing is to see all members of the family to be happy and healthy." I have devoted my life to football but my family remains the most significant thing to me. He is especially close with his first son, Luka, amongst all his kids.

His previous youth coach, Barend Beltman, reported the conditions of when Arjen and Bernadien, his wife met each other.

The circumstances of Arjen and Bernadien's first meeting have been reported by his former youth coach, Barend Beltman: “At a young age, Arjen was always motivated and focused. He was never late at all, and on schedule during all training sessions. But he came to one training session 15 minutes late and after we had started practice one Friday afternoon. I questioned him what had happened. He said, "We were at square market having fun. He and his mates were there with several girls, so I asked, "Was she worth it?" He answered me, 'Yes, coach, she was. I advised him to pick up his gear and take part in the exercise. On his wedding day, I learnt that his wife and mother's children were the lady he met that same day."

Philanthropy

In favor of the 'Kits for the World' charity group, Robben has made many appearances in fundraising games aimed at supporting children and adults by offering them with simple football equipment to help them improve their abilities. He has frequently engaged in charity football games, organized by Ronaldo and Zidane, and has been regularly involved in charity activities.

Legal Issues

Arjen Robben is one of the few star footballers who never had any legal issues. He has always tried to have a good football career, only focused to improve his game all the time and becoming a better football player. However, there was one issue in which Arjen Robben wanted to take legal action against Turkish side Fenerbahce.

In a Yandex ad, which includes Robin van Persie, two lads are debating over transfers near a pool. The name of Robben is tossed up in the talk, and they bet that as punishment, the fan who has the transfer rumour incorrect would wear a bikini.

One supporter is seen wearing a two-piece at the end of the commercial, implying that Robben was recruited by Fenerbahce in the transfer window. Robben apparently took his legal actions, as per the Turkish website Hurriyet, as didn’t want to allow his name to be listed in the commercial without his permission. Stay tuned to read more about

Arjen Robben biography

and his career stats.

Arjen Robben Career Statistics

Arjen Robben is one of the greatest Dutch footballers and he had a great career during all these years, however, he is considered to be an injury-prone football player and injuries had affected his career many times. Now that he’s back at his old club Groningen, it is reported that he’s injured again and there is a chance that he retires from playing football. In this section of Arjen Robben biography, we will take a look at some of his career statistics.

Club

Having started his career at Groningen, Robben scored 8 goals for Groningen in 46 league matches, before going to join

PSV Eindhoven

after two seasons playing for his home club. At PSV, he was able to make the headlines and attract the attention of bigger clubs by scoring 17 goals in 56 Eredivisie matches for the Dutch giants.

His tenure at Chelsea started at 2004, only to end three seasons later when he moved to Real Madrid. In

Chelsea

, Robben played 106 matches for the London team in all competitions, scoring 19 goals.

His time at Real Madrid had many ups and downs for him, while started a great career at La Liga, 11 goals in 50 league matches, the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo and the Brazilian Kaka forced him out of the first team, making the club to eventually sell him to Bayern Munich.

At Bayern Munich, where he played for 10 years, scoring 99 goals in 201 Bundesliga matches, he was able to establish himself as one of the club legends and all-time best wingers to ever play at Bayern Munich. He has joined his home club Groningen since summer of 2020, but only made 2 league appearances due to injury problems.

International

Arjen Robben nationality

is Dutch and he has played for the Netherlands national team in all ranks and is one of the greatest national team players ever with 96 matches played and 37 goals scored. He has played for his country in the UEFA European Championships and three World Cups. In 2017, he decided to retire from international football.

Arjen Robben Honors

During his 20 years career so far, Arjen Robben has won many teams and individual trophies and honors. Other than Groningen, he has won at least one trophy in all of the clubs he has ever played for. Of league titles he has won so far we ca mention Eredivisie with PSV, EPL with Chelsea, La Liga with Real Madrid and Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.

He has also won the UEFA champions league, UEFA Super Cup and DFB Pokal with Bayern Munich. With Holland national team, he was runner-ups in 2010 World Cup at South Africa and also they were third-placed in 2014 World Cup.

His notable individual honors include Footballer of the Year (Germany), PFA Team of the Year, FIFA World Cup All-Star Team and The kicker Man of the Year.


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