Main menu:

Tags

Links:

Bayern needs to improve

Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben believes that Bayern Munich must improve if they want to win the Champions League.


He said that the teams should not allow themselves to think that they are too strong after beating Arsenal.

For Robben, it was a no-show from the Gunners and that the players should not expect other teams to perform as badly as Arsenal.

He said he was surprised by the manner the team collapse in the first-leg and that he was expecting a tougher test.

Robben said that he does not understand how a team that features players such as Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil could perform so poorly.

He has warned his teammates that they will not be getting an easy game like this in the next round and that they will have to do a lot better if they want to win the trophy. Read more »

ROBBEN – HISTORY MEANS NOTHING

Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben revealed to ESPN FC that history does not hold sway against Arsenal in the Champions League.


Bayern have been the better side in the previous encounters against the Gunners, having knocked them out in 2013 and 2014 seasons respectively, and thumped them 5-1 in the 2015 group stage meeting.

After the Monday draws indicate that the pair were drawn together again in the round of 16, Dutch winger, Robben says the German champions will not underrate Arsene Wenger’s men when they meet in February.

“It’s Arsenal, again. We were expecting a new opponent, someone whom we haven’t played against before,” he informed ESPN FC’s Raphael Honigstein. “But got we are paired with Arsenal again.”

“We have happy memories of past meetings but happy memories don’t take you to the next round. They are a very strong team, even stronger than they were last year. They’re doing very well in the Premier League at the moment.”

In all, Arsenal has won just three of their last ten matches against the Bavarians in the Champions League, the last one being the 2-0 triumph in the first leg of the group stage meetings last season while Bayern have won five. However, Robben insists they must not be complacent as the pressure is still very much on.

He emphasized that Bayern has frequently been the victor in their meetings over the last few years but that should give room to slacking against the London firepower. “We always got through to the next round, but maybe this one will be the toughest one so far,” he said.

The pressure will be on both teams since it is imperative for the German team to be at 100 percent performance after the winter break when they face the Gunners while Arsenal must do everything possible to make it to the quarterfinal stage for the first time in many years.

“Our target is always the final. But this draw doesn’t make it easy for either team,” Robben said.

Despite injuries, Robben is interested in signing a contract extension

According to the father of ArjenRobben, the injury riddled player is open and actually hoping to have his contract with the German club extended even though he has been sustaining a string of injuries that has kept him out of action for a significantly long period of time.


Hans is ArjenRobben’s dad and he works as his agent, he has stated that it normally is not a problem for Robben on having his contract extended as the 32 year old player has managed to play a huge role for Bayern Munich in their success of successively winning the Bundesliga title as well as many other pieces of silverware from the past 10 years.

Out of the past 7 seasons, ArjenRobben has missed out of 60% of Bundesliga matches but he has still been able to contribute enormously for the German club even though he has consistently been suffering with injuries by helping to win the previously mentioned pieces of silverware.

Hans stated that Robben is indeed willing to continue performing for Bayern Munich and despite a contract extension being a realistic outcome, this does not ensure that ArjenRobben will indeed get a renewal as the final decision is eventually going to be decided by the club in itself. Read more »

LEWANDOSKI OFF TO AMAZING START IN NEW CAMPAIGN

Robert Lewandoski has started the new campaign on a good note, scoring three in the 6-0 thrashing of Werder Bremen in the Bavarians’ curtain raiser.


In the last term, he hit 30 goals that were crucial to the winning of the fourth Bundesliga title. He is one of the biggest strikers in world football today, and his record of 80 goals for Bayern since his swap from Borussia Dortmund in 2014 proves this.

Bayern manager Carlo Ancelotti has a strong team, with great replacements for the numerous competitions yet complains about Lewandowski’s competition remain. The club’s loyalist Thomas Berthold told news outlet Deutsche Welle: “Carletto [nickname for Carlo Ancelotti] has one big problem – just one big striker. They don’t have top strikers on the bench to win the Champions League.”

The blunt statement is debatable considering that clubs have won the prestigious continental title without numerous top strikers, but the issue at hand worth discussing is the way forward for the club after three pauses in the Champions League semi final stage with former coach Pep Guardiola.
Read more »

ARJEN ROBBEN SET FOR EARLY RETURN

Bayern Munich forward Arjen Robben was pictured training on Saturday morning as he continues his intensive session with the hope he would be able to return early to the team.

The Dutch international has been working hard at his comeback as he is expected in say another three weeks. However, it wouldn’t be out of place if the German outfit opt to hold off his resumption till after the international break. Another option is to get late substitution offers until he regains full match fitness.

The former Chelsea and Real Madrid player picked up the groin back injury when Bayern played a friendly against Lippstadt. The injury was non-contact, yet a devastating one for the injury-laden player when his career is winding down, and when a host of changes are being made to the team. Robben and Douglas Costa are out of the game against Dortmund in the German Supercup. Franck Ribbery has not attained full match fitness, so he is in doubt. This leaves the option of Thomas Muller and Kingsley Coman to finish the job.

Coman would have a big chance to prove to the new coach Carlos Ancelotti that he is capable of converting first team chances. The young Frenchman would have to step up and control the pace of the game, use it to secure his position in the squad, else when any of the established players return, he would give up the spot.
Read more »

ARGEN ROBBEN RESUMES THIS SEASON MUCH EARLIER

Talented winger Argen Robben has resumed this season much earlier than his team mates, according to reports in Germany.


The embattled Bayern Munich star has been a subject of speculation with a move away from the club, especially as contract talks have been pushed aside for now. He made his first appearance on the team’s training pitch a week before his team mates. He appeared along with Holger Badstuber.

The duo made their move to the club’s Sabener Strasse for the first time on Monday though the team is supposed to resume training officially on July 11. Both players decided to cut their summer break a week early. Both players didn’t return early for the fun as they were pictured performing various running drills in the training pitch. The club’s official handle tweeted pictures of the duo training hard ahead of the 2016/2017 campaign.

Robben has been on the sidelines since the first week of March, 2016 due to persistent groin problem. Badstuber, on the other hand, suffered a fractured ankle in February. Both players have fully recovered but would need to prove it to the team and new coach Carlo Ancelotti. Robben’s contract is set to expire in the summer of next year and has refused to comment on his future. The 32-year old player would need to do well, else he would be likely sold to admirers before his contract lapses and he becomes a free agent.

The other players would likely not join soon as they are mostly on national team duty for Germany at the Euro 2016. Others who have been knocked out of the tournament like striker Robert Lewandowski, who is also the captain of Poland, might not cut his holiday short but he is expected at the club next week Monday. If the German national team lift the trophy on Sunday, they might also not be back in time when the camp opens on Monday.

ARJEN ROBBEN SET TO RETURN IN DFB POKAL FINAL

Prolific winger, Arjen robben says the player is targeting a return for the DFB Pokal final against Borussia Dortmund on May 21 according to his osteopath.

The 32-year old Netherlands international is currently training individually after suffering an adductor injury last month and has not played since Bayern’s goalless draw with Dortmund in the Bundesliga on March 5.


The winger would have loved to be fit in time for their crucial semi final tie against Atletico Madrid especially since Bayern are a goal down from the first leg, but there appears to have little prospect of being fit in time. The forward hopes to step up his recovery in the near future.

Hub Westhovens, who has been Robben’s personal osteopath for several years, told Sport Bild:

“Arjen currently can do a lot of running and sprinting exercise.

“I think that the return leg against Atletico is too early — we don’t want to rush anything. If everything goes according to plan, Arjen can resume team training by the end of this week or early next week.”

The player, who began training with the ball again on Friday, is more likely to make his return when Bayern take on Dortmund in the DFB Pokal final at Berlin’s Olympiastadion. Theu currently have just three games left in the Bundeliga. Read more »

Arjen Robben expects Pep Guardiola to be Successive at Etihad Stadium

Arjen Robben expects Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola to be a massive success at the Etihad stadium when he moves to Manchester City in the summer.

The Spaniard has signed a pre-contract agreement with City to takeover in the summer. He had already announced that this would be his last season in German football. After having won the last two league titles, Guardiola will want to try a new challenge. The Spaniard will be disappointed with the way Bayern have been unable to make an impact in the Champions League under his regime. After all, he made his name at Barcelona by winning two Champions League titles.

Robben was expected to be one of the first departures under Guardiola since the Spaniard does not tolerate selfish play. The Dutch winger is infamously known for dribbling with the ball too much, but he has been one of the key players at Bayern under the management of the Spaniard. Even though Robben has suffered from quite a few injuries in the 2015-16 campaign, he continues to have a major say in the first-team. The 32-year-old has made only 22 appearances in all competitions and has scored only seven goals. These are figures way down from his previous campaigns at the club. Read more »

ArjenRobben is hoping that 2016 will be better than 2015

ArjenRobben did not have a very enjoyable 2015 year as the veteran player was injured and unable to play for a significantly long period of time and he also witnessed his national team not being able to get past the group stages of the 2016 Euro’s.

The group stages of the 2016 Euro’s was a disastrous time for Netherlands as they suffered surprising defeats against national teams such as: Czech Republic, Iceland and Turkey. In these rounds of the competition, Netherlands lost 5 and only managed to win 4 of their 10 matches while drawing 1 match.

Not being able to advance through the group stages is hugely disappointing for a national team that already managed to reach the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup before eventually losing out against Argentina in the penalty-kicks.

Robben is hoping that 2016 will be a better year for him and for his club as well as his national team.

Even though ArjenRobben is optimistic about what he can accomplish in this New Year, there is something which is a big blow for himself and for Bayern Munich and it’s the departure of Pep Guardiola as the head coach of the German coach.

A few weeks ago, it was confirmed that Pep Guardiola was going to be making his way out of Bayern Munich and that he will be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti. Ancelotti is one of the most highly rated managers in football and even though the Italian manager is going to replace Pep Guardiola, Robben is still disappointed in seeing him leaving. Read more »

Bayern Munich made the perfect start to the defence of the Bundesliga leaders

Bayern Munich made the perfect start to the defence of the Bundesliga leaders after managing a 5-0 victory over Hamburg in the opening game of the campaign.

Much was made out of the opposition’s threat, but it soon went out of the window in the second half when Bayern Munich increased their advantage from 1-0 to 5-0. It is still amazing to think that Bayern went on to the half-time break with a 1-0 advantage thanks to the goals from Benatia. In the second half, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas, Müller and Douglas Costa all joined in the fun.

After the match, midfielder Arjen Robben claimed that he is extremely happy to have a player like Costa in the ranks. The Shakhtar Donetsk start only recently joined Bayern did not take long for him to open his account with the German club, who are the overwhelming favourites for yet another consecutive league title. It has for a long time been a one horse race in German football and this has been confirmed by the three successive league titles won by Bayern. This season, however, their major task will be to get the elusive Champions League title for the first time under Guardiola. They were last European champions in 2013. Read more »