At FC Groningen, the “Pride of the North”, Robben started his extremely successful career in 1996 in the youth academy. He would not have made the comeback for another club, Robben added during his presentation.
Robben had played at Bayern Munich for ten years until last summer and then declared that his career as a profile had ended. He started his career from Groningen – with positions at PSV Eindhoven, Chelsea, Real Madrid and FC Bayern, with whom he won the 2013 Champions League.
Number 10 is back
He has been training again for some time, says Robben. Smaller “ailments” have been overcome. “I feel fit.” After the Eredivisie season began on September 12, Robben hopes to be back “where I can still be of value, and that’s still on the pitch”. At FC Groningen, the striker is number 10, which he also wore at FC Bayern for years, reported the Dutch broadcaster NOS. The Eredivisie season, which had been canceled due to the corona virus, ended in ninth place.
Many fans reacted enthusiastically to Robben’s comeback in social networks. “We’re getting a world-class player on the team,” said John de Jonge, chairman of the Groningen Fan Club. “We should enjoy its great promotions to the fullest.” Above all, it was important that the club got 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 coronavirus 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. ”
“In my eyes I have nothing to lose”
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. … It may not work physically anymore, but if I don’t try it, we will never know. In my eyes, I have nothing to lose. ”In Groningen, it was initially not possible to dream that Robben would wear the green and white jersey again, said Technical Director Mark-Jan Fledderus.
Initially, Robben asked only with reference to the coronavirus problems whether he could help. At a sushi dinner in Munich in May, he then explained to Robben together with club boss Wouter Gudde that it would be the best way to help if he would play football again with the Groningers. “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 I was thinking about coming back,” he said at the time. On the other hand, he enjoyed spending time with the family and distracted himself from skiing.
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