#10 - Arjen Robben

Ribery vs Robben is not even a valid comparison. Can you name me 1 Single Big Game where Ribery has out shone Robben? Difference between Robben & Ribery is like Bale & Ronaldo.

Only in the 12-13 season when he was injured after half the season, he was benched despite putting MOM level performances. Jupp stuck to his original team of Ribery-Kroos-Muller-Mandzu. It is easy to Ribery to get highlighted in this team as DM/CM Kroos is playing CAM. A ST like Muller is playing RW & Mandzu is a bulldozer.

None of these guys were technically good for the positions they were playing(which required skill) but they were very effective and competent. It was very easy for Ribery to get noticed in this squad as most of the attacks came through him. But even against Pokal against Dortmund or CHL Quarters, Semis, Final, Robben was MOM or score solo goals to help us win.

Even Ribery's best season was one in which he helped us win mid-table BL Games & he became No.3 in B D'or because Bayern won(largely due to Robben). Ribery should be happy he got to No.3  in B D'or due to Robben's exploits.

I will accept that Ribery is in a similar level to Robben when someone can show 2-3 Big games(CHL Quarters, Semis, Final, Cup ties vs Dortmund) where Ribery made a huge contribution to our win with MOM performances and out-shone Robben.

Not to mention the fact that Robben has carried this team in the last 2 years since Pep came. We have only 1 Robben while Barca have Messi, Neymar and Suarez.


As for the NT, most people love his dedication. He played with a hole in his leg for the NT and was out for 6-7 months after the WC. He played risking his career. Most NT fans don't begrudge him that his misses cost the NT its first WC title.

Look at the Team of Bayern for 09-10 - Hans Butt, Micho, DVB, Pranjic/Braafheid, Muller is his 1st rookie season, Van Bommel at the *bleep* end of his career. I think freaking Altintop started for us @ LW in the CHL Final. Altintop as Ribery replacement, what a joke. Did this team deserve to go into the CHL final.

People should just check 3 goals of his this season -
MU  - Check the goal & situation - Bayern won in Away Goals
Fiorentina - Same as above

Schalke - Cup  - This was a magical goal like Maradona. Check the goal from the start. It was a pass from a GK half way into his box. The match was 110 minutes past with Neuer as opposing GK so Schalke would have had some sort of advantage going into the PK.

Bayern fans : Ribery has always been better than Robben .
it's damn near unanimous .

people who aren't bayern fans : Robben is better .

go figure .

Nope. footyfan is a Bayern fan afaik, so it's not unanimous.

btw, I'm not denying that Robben has been the one irreplaceable for us last 2 season. The guy has been fantastic.
But then Ribery was the one irreplaceable player for us in 12/13.

Both coincided with the other struggling with injury, so go figure.
Stupid comparison.

Keep in mind, FOR EXAMPLE, that while Robben scored the CL winning goal, Ribéry gave the assist lol.

The last thing I need to occupy myself is which of Ribéry or Robben is better or worse, when they're both on my team.

09-10-Robben was better by far
10-11-Robben was injured for almost a whole season so no basis for comparison
11-12-Ribery probably edges him out plus Robben choked in big games.
12-13-Ribery was more consistent throughout the whole season.Robben was benched initially and only got back into the team at the expense of Kroos' injury.Robben outshone him in the knockout stages of the CL tho.
13-14-Robben was better.
14-15-Robben by far but Ribery had injury issues too.

So overall,since Robben's arrival at the club,the Dutchman has been more pivotal and more influential than the Frenchman to Bayern's success imo.

Ribery was better for one year, but I'd take a healthy Robben in all the rest.

13/14 Ribery had injury issues too.

Just as Robben had in 12/13, yes he was benched until Kroos' injury, but only after coming back from a long injury himself.

The main difference imo is that Robben takes much quicker to reach top form.
Ribery takes longer which is bad if he's injured every other week like in the last 2 years.

Between a Ribery and a Robben in absolute top form I wouldn't know who to choose, but then I wouldn't have to

Also Robben's more entertaining imo.I cant think of a single Ribery 'wow moment' but plenty of them when it comes to Robben.

The Fiorentina and Manure goals instantly comes to mind

That's true.

However one shouldn't underestimate the number of top notch moves Ribery did in his time to tear apart defenses.

It's also down to, as far as wingers go, Robben more being a striker and Ribéry more of a midfielder, so that's another reason why the comparison is a bit silly.

wasn't Ribery injured in 09/10 too ?

I think in 09/10 Ribery had van Gaal, injury, Real Madrid, and hooker issues
or was that another year?

Hapless_Hans wrote:I think in 09/10 Ribery had van Gaal, injury, Real Madrid, and hooker issues
or was that another year?

yeah , that's the year he was whining about wanting to move to madrid every single week .
also that dumb red card against Lyon .

Even Robben was injured for a brief period  in that season IIRC.

I remember we got thrashed by Bayern without Robbery when needing only a point to qualify for the R16

that was the game that saved van Gaal's job lol.

We were on the brink of getting eliminated as we had been torn apart twice by *bleep* Girondins Bordeaux, with Charmakh

Hapless_Hans wrote:that was the game that saved van Gaal's job lol.

We were on the brink of getting eliminated as we had been torn apart twice by *bleep* Girondins Bordeaux, with Charmakh

i actually expected us to beat Bayern in the semis because we disposed of Bordeaux fairly easily in the QF .
Chamakh scored against us in both legs btw .

2009-2010 Chamakh was legit Wenger ruined him .

Charmakh was legit against us, but he was a playacting diving pos in a team of playacting diving poses.
Don't think we had come across such an annoying team before, although Mou's Inter later made them negligible

The way we completely dominated Lyon in the semis was the high point of LvG's reign no doubt, we fans couldn't believe this feeling

With Hamit Altintop as left winger no less

that POS olic tore us a new one that night

farfan wrote:that POS olic tore us a new one that night

Lyon choked in the first leg.Should've done waaaay better after the sending off.That was the deciding factor in the tie.

I like robben. its just a shame he will allways be remembered as a cheat.

farfan wrote:that POS olic tore us a new one that night

I remember Lisandro Lopez beasting that season. Not sure what happened to him after that.

M99 wrote:

farfan wrote:that POS olic tore us a new one that night

I remember Lisandro Lopez beasting that season. Not sure what happened to him after that.

he continued beasting for 3 more seasons .
he then left to  get that well deserved arab money .

i think he's playing in brazil now .

sportsczy wrote:Getting humbled at Bayern made him better.

I have been a big fan of Robben but this is so true. Heynckes benched him but he slowly learnt to accept his position. He was lucky with the Kroos injury but he took his chance with both hands being Bayern's most decisive player in the UCL after that in 2012-13, even more than Ribery. In Pep's two years he has easily been the MVP of the team. Some of his great fans including me thought he was finished. Some said he cannot possibly come back from the haunting near misses. He proved us all wrong and reached his best ever level after all the low points and the negativity, showing not just immense talent but also immense mental strength.

After playing 35 minutes in FCB's first preseason test game against Lippstadt, Arjen Robben had to go off with a muscle injury in the groin.

Six weeks out.

Have a feeling he might retire after this season sadly

Poor Arjen Robben! This has to be so frustrating after all the work he put in to get healthy again!

Robben has been relegated to super-sub (when fit), sadly.

The only good thing about this, is that it gives the youngsters a chance to play a develop.

Eager to see how Carlo will manage this huge squad.

Least surprising news of the summer, unfortunately