Arjen Robben
Right Winger · Bayern Munich · Netherlands
About Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben is one of the most distinctive and effective wide players in football history — a right winger who played on the right, invariably cut inside onto his left foot, and was almost impossible to stop even when every defender knew exactly what he was going to do. He won the Champions League with Bayern Munich (GER) in 2013, scoring the winning goal in the final. He also suffered the World Cup's most painful near-miss — his shot against Spain in the 2010 final going wide in the closing minutes.
Arjen Robben's story
Bedum's Blade
Robben was born in Bedum, a small town in Groningen province. He joined Groningen's youth academy and signed for PSV at 16. After two years in the Eredivisie, he joined Chelsea in 2004 under José Mourinho. His time at Chelsea was injury-disrupted but brilliant when fit, winning two Premier League titles before moving to Real Madrid and then Bayern Munich (GER).
Champions League 2013
The 2013 Champions League final at Wembley saw Bayern Munich (GER) face Borussia Dortmund. With the score at 1-1 in the 89th minute, Robben received the ball on the right, cut inside, and placed his left-footed shot into the bottom corner. The goal won Bayern the Champions League and redeemed Robben, who had missed the decisive penalty in the 2012 final — against Chelsea — the same year.
The 2010 World Cup Near-Miss
In the 2010 World Cup final, Netherlands played Spain. In the closing minutes of normal time, Robben found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Iker Casillas — and his shot went wide. Spain won 1-0 in extra time. Robben described it as the most painful moment of his career. He returned four years later and scored twice against Spain in a 5-1 group stage demolition.
Did you know?
- 🏆 He scored the winning goal in the 2013 Champions League final — cutting inside from the right and placing a left-footed shot into the corner in the 89th minute to win 2-1 against Borussia Dortmund.
- 💔 In the 2010 World Cup final, he was through on goal one-on-one with Iker Casillas in the closing minutes — and shot wide. Spain won 1-0 in extra time. He called it "the worst moment of my career."
- 👨👩👧👦 Married Bernadien Eijsvogel in 2007; they have four children: Luca, Kai, Lynn, and Finn. The family settled in the Netherlands after his retirement.
- 🎯 His move — cutting inside from the right onto his left foot — was so predictable and so unstoppable that coaches, players, and analysts couldn't solve it. He did it 288 times in his career.
- 📊 He scored 144 goals for Bayern Munich in 10 seasons — the most by a non-German outfield player in the club's history.
- 🏟️ He scored 37 international goals in 96 appearances — the most by a Dutch player born after 1980 at the time of his retirement.
- 🌟 Pep Guardiola said: "Robben is unique. You know exactly what he is going to do, and you still cannot stop him. That is the definition of a truly exceptional footballer."
- 🇳🇱 He came out of retirement in 2020 to play one final season for Groningen — the club where he first signed as a 12-year-old — completing a circle from start to finish.
- 🤸 Despite his reputation as injury-prone, he played over 600 career games across 21 years — suggesting the injuries, while frequent, never fundamentally undermined his physical resilience.
Honours
- UEFA Champions League: Bayern Munich (2013) — scored the winning goal in the final
- Bundesliga x8: Bayern Munich (2010,2013-2019)
- Premier League x2: Chelsea (2005, 2006)
- La Liga: Real Madrid (2008)
- Bundesliga Player of the Season x3: Multiple seasons
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