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| Birth Name(s) : Arjen Robben |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Full Arjen Robben Biography
1 Senior club appearances and goalscounted for the domestic league only andcorrect as of 18:10, 18 October 2007 (UTC).2 National team caps and goals correctas of 18 October 2007.* Appearances (Goals)
Arjen Robben (born January 23, 1984 in Bedum) is a Dutch footballer who currently plays as a winger for Real Madrid. He is also a part of the Netherlands national football team and has appeared in the UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
Robben was named F.C. Groningen's team player of the year during the Eredivisie 2000-01 season and the Netherlands' Young Player of the Year during his time at PSV Eindhoven. He was also the FA Premier League Player of the Month during the month of November 2005 at Chelsea F.C.
After this good start, PSV could not keep up with rival Ajax Amsterdam and were forced into a fight for second place in the Eredivisie. Robben travelled to London and met with Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson. Ferguson's offer came in much too low for PSV's and/or Robben's liking; Eindhoven chairman Harry van Raaij told Manchester United the most that their €7 million offer would buy them was a shirt with Robben's autograph. Almost immediately, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich offered € 18 million (£ 12.1 million), and PSV accepted. The rest of his season with PSV was disappointing. He injured his hamstring twice and missed several games. By the end of the season, Robben scored five times in 23 Eredivisie matches.
Back to fitness for 2005-06, Robben was an integral part of the Chelsea left wing. In 28 matches, Robben contributed 6 goals as Chelsea won a second consecutive FA Premier League championship, the first back-to-back titles for the west London club.
After the Fifa World Cup 2006, Robben returned to a new look Chelsea squad. With the arrivals of Andriy Shevchenko, Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole, Chelsea manager José Mourinho had largely shelved the 4-3-3 formation with two wingers that he had used over the past two seasons and instead began using a 4-1-3-2 formation, with midfielders Frank Lampard and Michael Essien on the flanks instead of specialist wingers like Robben. This saw the winger struggle to get a position in Chelsea starting lineup at the beginning of the season.
In November 2006, Mourinho started to give Robben more playing opportunities, either as a withdrawn forward, playing off a lone target man, or as a winger, when reverting to the tried and tested 4-3-3. After the absence of Joe Cole due to knee injury, Robben was then recognised as an important player for Chelsea with his ability to bring the ball down the flanks at speed essential in a team not especially endowed with great dribblers. He was named man of the Match on December 23, 2006 against Wigan, a match where he got two assists and the winning goal in. He was then sidelined for a few weeks due to a slight thigh strain.Robben on the road with Chelsea for the Champions League
At the end of March 2007, Robben underwent a knee operation after sustaining a knee injury upon returning from international duty that was expected to rule him out for at least four weeks. Robben made his return in a 2006-07 UEFA Champions League semi final encounter against Liverpool. Robben played a brief role in the FA Cup final against Manchester United on May 19, which Chelsea won. After the final, Robben cleared up speculation on his future at the club in an interview: "I've always said I want to stay. I will be here next season, that's for sure". Then, on August 4, Spanish media reported that Real Madrid was close to signing Robben and/or his Chelsea teammate Michael Ballack. Madrid coach Bernd Schuster told Spanish radio, "Hopefully, we'll be able to announce the signing of one or two big players soon." Schuster is said to have demanded Ballack, while Madrid's president, Ramon Calderon, is known to favor Robben. Robben has said to reporters of Spanish newspaper AS: "I do not know when a deal will be reached. I would like to send a message to the Madrid fans, but I can't until my future is sorted."
Robben completed his move to Real Madrid on a five-year deal on 22 August 2007, with the transfer fee reported as €36,55 million, £24 million,. He became the fourth most expensive signing in Real Madrid's history, after Zinedine Zidane, Luís Figo, and Ronaldo. He made his debut on September 18th, in the first Champions League game of the season against Werder Bremen. |
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