The Robben family in Groningen – his wife Bernadien Eillert made a significant contribution to the comeback. Image: www.imago-images.de
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Robben wants to know again – Groningen convinced him with the Michael Jordan video
Fish instead of white sausage. Groningen instead of Munich. Arjen Robben’s restart as a professional footballer was sealed at a sushi dinner. Will it work? The world star is not quite sure about that.
Love of football and love of home: Ex-Bayern star Arjen Robben returns to his first professional club mainly for emotional reasons. “I do it for the love of the club,” said the 36-year-old winger on Sunday at a FC Groningen press conference to announce his comeback. He wouldn’t have done that for any other club, he added.
Robben started training in Munich weeks ago. Smaller “ailments” have now been overcome. “I feel fit.” After the start of the Eredivisie season on September 12, Robben hopes to be back “where I can still be of value, and that’s still on the pitch”. At Groningen the striker is number 10, which he also wore for years at Bayern.
In Groningen, Robben had played 46 games in the first team from 2000 to 2002. He started his football career in 1996 with the so-called “Pride of the North” in the youth academy. The Eredivisie season, which was canceled due to Corona, ended in 9th place. “I have a very good feeling for the future,” said Robben to his and the club’s chances.
Robben had played at Bayern Munich for ten years until last summer and then declared that his professional career was over. He started his storybook career from Groningen – with positions at PSV Eindhoven, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern, with which he won the Champions League in 2013.
Many fans reacted enthusiastically to his attempt to make a comeback on social media. “We’re getting a world-class player on the team,” said John de Jonge, chairman of the Groningen fan club. “We should enjoy his great actions to the fullest.” Above all, it is important that the club get full stadiums again. “We have to remain realistic and not put too much pressure on him.”
FC Groningen, like a number of other Dutch clubs, has experienced financial difficulties as a result of the Corona crisis. The news of Robben’s return led to a run on season tickets, De Jonge reported.
Robben himself warned against too high expectations: «Maybe it will be over in a month, maybe even in two years. I take it positively. We make the best of it and then see where it leads. » First of all, his contract runs for one year. «But that can also be a comeback for just one or two competitions. I will never play 34 games, I have never managed to do that in a year. Maybe it won’t work physically anymore, but if I don’t try it, we will never know. In my eyes I have nothing to lose. »
In Groningen, there was initially no dream that the superstar would appear again in the green and white jersey of the Northern Netherlands, reported Technical Director Mark-Jan Fledderus. The Netflix documentary “The Last Dance” about basketball superstar Michael Jordan’s last season at the Chicago Bulls (1997/98) was used to convince the 96-time Dutch international. At a sushi meal that the club officials had organized through Robben’s wife, the winged car was played with images from the documentary – mixed with scenes from Robben’s career.
Actually, because of the Corona crisis, Robben just wanted to ask if he could help in any way. At dinner in Munich at the end of May, Fledderus Robben and club manager Wouter Gudde said that the best way to help would be to play football again at Groningen. «He, who has already won everything, now comes to play at our level. We are very grateful to him for that. »
During the winter break, Robben even briefly dealt with a comeback at Bayern. “It was really a short phase for me in December and January, when I felt so fit and was considering coming back,” he said at the time. On the other hand, he enjoyed spending time with the family and distracted himself from skiing. (pre / lau / dpa)
