When Arjen Robben joined Bayern Munich in August 2009, the Bavarians were very much second-division as far as the European elite was concerned, and the Bundesliga was a fun league that turned out deliciously-random champions (Stuttgart in 2007, Wolfsburg 2009) but mattered exclusively to domestic audiences.
Five years, three Champions League finals and one European Cup for Bayern later, it's very hard to say whether the Dutch winger has truly changed the club. Hard, because Bayern have not relied on any one player but instead on a collective of outstanding, steady performers like Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm and Manuel Neuer to find their way back to the small circle of superclubs. Hard, also, because history teaches us that history is best not pre-empted by sweeping statements when those concerned haven't hung up their boots yet. But we can say one thing: Bayern have certainly changed Arjen Robben.
The winger is reluctant to confirm that the world's currently witnessing the best Arjen Robben ever, but he'll go as far as admitting that he's never felt as much “in control” of his own body, and that he feels “very strong and fit.” Most of all, he's found consistency, in terms of playing time on the pitch and goals. Almost two years without any serious injury amount to golden patch in his often-interrupted career. He played 45 club games in 2013/14, more than ever in any one season, and his 17 league goals in the current campaign have already set a new personal best.
For the Dutch national team, too, 2013 and 2014 have been his most prolific years, culminating in an unexpected third-place finish under Louis van Gaal in Brazil. Not bad going for a 31-year-old who was assumed to be the first name on Pep Guardiola's hit-list when the Catalan came in 20 months ago.
“It's about experience,” he tells ESPN at Bayern's training ground, “you get know your body much better. I'm not really doing anything differently, but I'm working with the right [medical] people here, the right specialists.”
One of the main reasons the club were privately confident he'd turn down the chance to join Van Gaal again, at Manchester United, was the quality of the medical department. Scores of Premier League-based players have sought out team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt over the years. If anyone can keep Robben's delicate muscles from tearing, it's the 72 year old. (His son, Kilian, 34, has also started working for the club).
Robben, incidentally, has been following Van Gaal's travails from a distance. “You keep an interest in the clubs you play for, and good people you work with,” he says, but it doesn't quite stretch to watching games with such an ex-factor. “I look at the Dutch newspapers. I think Van Gaal needs time to build, and the players need time to get used to him. He has done well in the past. I'm confident he'll be successful [at Man Utd].”
Van Gaal was a key factor in Munich's renaissance by installing a playing system and possession football that Bayern still benefit from immensely today. The manager proved too divisive to reap the fruits of his labour, but the team have become so good that success, at least at national level, is practically a given these days. Anything less than a Champions League final appearance in Berlin would be seen as a disappointment, too. “Both Bayern and the Bundesliga have made a step … many steps forward since 2009,” Robben says. “You can see that in Europe, in the success of the German teams, and of Bayern. I'm really proud of that, proud how the club has developed in the last five years, on and off the pitch. To be part of this team, this club, gives you a very good feeling”.
To be a regular in one of the world's best teams increases your chance for trophies and goals, naturally, but Robben's golden autumn, career-wise, isn't just down to football's sun shining down on him. He's been willing to learn, to adapt a game that had more than a whiff of one-dimensionality about it. “It feels strange to talk about developing as a player at 31 but I think [he] made another step forward, tactically under Guardiola,” he says, “it's thanks to him.”
The manager's tactical flexibility and constant lineup rejigs have freed Robben from his traditional role next to the right touchline and brought him frequently into more central roles. It was Guardiola's idea to field him as striker in the DFB Cup final. Van Gaal saw what he liked. Robben's partnership with Robin van Persie fired a modest Netherlands within range of the biggest trophy of all.
“I'm enjoying the freedom, it's fun playing as a striker or behind a striker,” he says. “Tactically, Guardiola's one of the best coaches in the world, especially when you have the ball. There are a lot of coaches who are defensively strong, who know their tactics, but he likes attacking football and [tells you all about] positioning on the pitch. It's really nice to be on the training pitch with him.”
It feels like a million years ago that the local press were running speculative pieces about his egotism on the pitch rubbing up teammates the wrong way. Robben rode the storm, recovered from the traumatic defeat against Chelsea in the Champions League final in 2012 — he missed a penalty in extra time — and emerged as the match-winner in Wembley, for Bayern's treble triumph twelve months later.
His form has not dipped since. And he's gone from “ego-shooter” (Sport-Bild) to total team-player in the process. Dedicated penalty-taker Thomas Müller “gifting” him a spot kick in the 6-0 win over Paderborn, with a view to Robben winning the leading goal-scorer trophy would probably not have happened in years past. Maybe he'll be 2015's Bayern Munich player with a shot at the Ballon d'Or?
“Individual awards are nice but success for the team comes first,” he says firmly. That's not a surprise. The surprise is that you tend to believe him.
Raphael Honigstein is ESPN FC's German football expert and a regular guest on ESPN FC TV
