Biography

Hailed as being the “greatest talent of his generation” by the most famous player of the Netherlands, Johan Cruyff, Arjen Robben was always expected to have a bright future.

After getting his early training with some smaller clubs, Robben will join FC Groningen and will start in the first division at the age of sixteen. Already a star, he was voted best player of the year for his club. He will continue to improve during the 2001-2002 season playing 28 matches and scoring 6 goals.

He will be then transferred to PSV Eindhoven for almost € 4 million where he will score 12 goals in 33 matches. Together with his team mate Mateja Kezman, he will help PSV win the championship. However his second year at the Phillips Stadion is marred by a number of injuries, but that does not prevent Manchester United and Chelsea to become interested in the player. It is Chelsea, aided by the financial strength of Abramovich, who will succeed in bringing the player to England.

However injuries will prevent Robben from making his debut for the London side from the start of the season and he will have to wait for November 2004. He will be instrumental in helping Chelsea wins its second title and the first of the Abramovich era. In the next season also he will play an important role in seeing Chelsea retained their Premier League title. Scoring 6 goals in 28 matches, Robben will create havoc in the opposition defense and creating opportunities for his team mate to score.

In the subsequent seasons Robben will continue to perform remarkably for Chelsea but will also experience injuries. One of those will be in 2007 where he will be sidelined for almost 1 month. At the same time he will begin to attract interest from Real Madrid. In August 2007 he will sign for the Spanish side where he will make his debut in the Champions League against Werder Bremen. However when Florentino Perez took over at the club his place in the team was seriously threatened. Indeed the new president wanted to bring in some high profile players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka.

In August 2009 Robben will sign for Bayern Munich where he will make his debut against Wolfsburg. He will even score 2 goals in this game to help his new team get their first win of the season. He will go on scoring important goals for the German side whether in the championship and the Champions League. One of those important goals will be against Manchester United and will thus help his team qualify on the away-goal rule.