London: An internet search for "Arjen Robben cuts inside" produces more than two million items, one of them a recent tweet declaring: "That was the 10,000th time Robben has cut inside and shot with his left foot - so predictable".
Yet, when the Bayern Munich winger bears down the right in Saturday's Champions League final, Borussia Dortmund's defenders, if they follow in the misdirected footsteps of so many before them, will still, inexplicably, allow the Dutchman to switch the ball on to his favoured left foot and turn a usually benign situation into a potentially critical one.
Robben's right foot was once described as being "made of chocolate" by compatriot Johan Cruyff and is still so ineffective that any Sunday league full back, let alone the cream of the world's defenders, would know to focus their entire strategy on forcing him to use it.
The number of times he hits the byline and successfully crosses with his right foot is roughly comparable to the 29-year-old's total active hair follicles - not many - while statistics produced by Prozone show that almost 80 percent of his shots are with his left....
more
11:11 AM, May 23, 2013
Berlin: Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben dismissed speculation that he would leave the German champions at the end of the season for Manchester City, saying he had no reason to move. "I am not dealing with this speculation," the Dutchman said. "There is so much speculation but I only want to deal with football. I still have two years on my deal so why should I leave? It is all...
05:43 PM, May 14, 2013
Barcelona: Bayern Munich's stunning 7-0 aggregate victory over Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Champions League will count for nothing if they do not go on to win the competition at Wembley later this month, Arjen Robben said on Wednesday. "We said immediately after the game 'now we need to win it'," Robben, who curled home Bayern's first in the 3-0 win at the Nou Camp on Wednesday, said in...
08:30 AM, May 02, 2013
Barcelona: Bayern Munich advanced to the Champions League final for the third time in four years, routing Barcelona on 7-0 aggregate and setting up the first all-German final against Borussia Dortmund. Coasting from a 4-0 win in the first leg at home last week, Bayern beat Barcelona 3-0 Wednesday night in the second leg on goals by Arjen Robben in the 49th minute and Thomas Mueller in the 76th around...
02:03 AM, May 02, 2013
You aren't a journalist if you don't speculate. So what if the speculation is about the world coming to an end after watching the world's best football club capitulate in a manner that might even shame the German defeat at Stalingrad? As sports fans and observers, we are often prone to hyperbole, but that may be excused if the matter up for debate is whether modern football's most decorated and...
04:53 PM, Apr 24, 2013
Munich: Bayern Munich's 4-0 rout of Barcelona in a Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday was partly down to two goals that should have been chalked off, said assistant coach Jordi Roura. Mario Gomez looked marginally offside when he turned in Thomas Mueller's header from close range for the second goal in the 49th minute. The two-goal Mueller also appeared to obstruct Jordi Alba when the full back attempted...
09:35 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Munich: Barcelona centre half Gerard Pique acknowledged his team were thoroughly second best as Bayern Munich romped to a 4-0 win in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. "They gave us a thrashing," he said. "We will try to turn it around in the return leg (on May 1) and put in a good performance for the fans. "They were better and faster than...
09:16 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Munich: Thomas Muller scored two goals as Bayern Munich dominated Barcelona on Tuesday to take a commanding 4-0 lead after the first leg of their highly anticipated Champions League semi-final. Muller scored in the first half and added another after Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben had also scored in the second half. It was Barcelona's biggest loss in the Champions League since 1997, and a humbling defeat for the team...
02:19 AM, Apr 24, 2013
Pep Guardiola is not the only connection between Bayern Munich and Barcelona, who meet in their Champions League semi-final, first leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. Both teams are dominating their leagues to an almost embarrassing extent, have won the Champions League four times apiece, share an acrimonious rivalry with Real Madrid, and owe part of their success to the flamboyant Dutchman Louis van Gaal. Both have also been...
06:27 PM, Apr 22, 2013
Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart and Arjen Robben have been left out of the Netherlands squad for next week's friendly against Italy. ...
07:30 PM, Feb 01, 2013
Berlin: Winger Arjen Robben is recovering from a minor muscle problem and will miss Tuesday's Champions League match in Belarus against BATE Borisov, the Bundesliga club said. Dutch international Robben did not play in Bayern's 2-0 league win over Werder Bremen on Saturday but his absence was not felt as the Bavarians cruised to their sixth win in six league games. Bayern, who opened their Group F campaign with a...
05:09 PM, Oct 01, 2012
Munich: Bayern Munich will begin their Champions League campaign against Valencia on Wednesday full of confidence after their best start to a season in 12 years " when they went on to win the European title against the Spanish team. Bayern's dramatic loss on penalties to Chelsea in the Champions League final May prompted the German powerhouse to embark on a spending spree. It then won their first five competitive...
10:12 AM, Sep 19, 2012
While Ronaldo led Portugal's victory over the Dutch, Germany outclassed Denmark to progress to the Euro quarter-finals. ...
10:28 AM, Jun 18, 2012
Munich: Some Bayern Munich players, including Arjen Robben, refused to take penalties in their shoot-out defeat by Chelsea in the Champions League final on Saturday, forcing coach Jupp Heynckes to nominate 'keeper Manuel Neuer, Heynckes told reporters. "Some of my players did not feel sure enough or confident enough to take penalties," Heynckes said. "They were tired after 120 minutes of play. You cannot force anyone to take a penalty."...
09:37 AM, May 20, 2012
Munich: A look at how the Chelsea and Bayern Munich teams compare tactically and where the game might be won or lost ahead of the Champions League final at the Allianz Arena. Goalkeepers Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer, competing in his first Champions League final after reaching the last four with Schalke 04 last season, has been outstanding in Europe and saved two penalties in Bayern's shootout with Real Madrid in...
09:34 AM, May 19, 2012
Robben told Marca how his side will keep on fighting for the title. ...
09:08 PM, Feb 18, 2009
Capello believes that Messi is Maradona's rightful successor. ...
12:07 AM, Feb 07, 2009
Real Madrid's Acting President, Vicente Boluda spoke to radio station Cadena SER. ...
05:07 PM, Jan 20, 2009
Robben's 5-year deal is for $48.80 million, Heinze's a $16 million deal. ...
05:39 PM, Aug 24, 2007
