COMMENT: With the Dutchman enjoying his best-ever season - having scored 19 goals in all competitions - some have accused the Bavarians of being too dependent on their star player.
Another match, another landmark. Saturday’s 3-1 victory over Hannover was the 100th Bundesliga game in which Arjen Robben has finished on the winning side. After six years in Bavaria, the Dutchman has been through it all.
Two years ago, he would have feared for his future at the Allianz Arena. Booed by his own fans for missing a penalty in the eventual Champions League final defeat to Chelsea, he was a bit-part player in Jupp Heynckes’ treble winning campaign until an injury to Toni Kroos allowed him to regain his place in the team.
Pep Guardiola’s imminent arrival would have been weighing heavily on his mind after Heynckes’ departure. Could Robben, a direct player who has never been shot-shy, flourish given the Spaniard’s patient passing game?
It didn't take Robben long to answer that question. He began Pep’s reign last season with a plethora of goals and he has consistently been head and shoulders above his teammates.
The current incarnation of Bayern, though freescoring and fearsome at their best, have sometimes laboured to break down stubborn defences. On those occasions, though, they have usually had a man to rely on.
Robben has regularly been the game-winner, using his pace and dribbling to break beyond the last line of defence to either score or assist. The Dutchman is Bayern's X-factor. While the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Xabi Alonso manipulate possession, it is the No.10 who provides the punch.
His importance to the team is not merely tactical, though. Since losing the Ballon d’Or to Cristiano Ronaldo at the start of last year, Franck Ribery has suffered a dramatic dip in form and, as age begins to take its toll, the Frenchman is no longer the creative outlet he once was on the flanks.
Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski are both wonderful talents, but have been unable to replicate their Borussia Dortmund form in new surroundings. Xherdan Shaqiri, the heir apparent to Ribery and Robben has now departed for Inter, unhappy with his lack of first-team chances.
Speaking in February, Robben was quick to credit his coach with his great form.
“Normally you think you’ll go downhill slowly once you hit 30," he said. "But I have the feeling I can learn new things. Guardiola has made me better again. He does not only improve teams and make them better, individuals can learn from him too.”
But the fact remains that he is the only individual who has really thrived in the last 18 months. While it is true that all teams have a tendency to rely on star players – it is hard to imagine Guardiola’s Barcelona having had so much success without Lionel Messi - Bayern's statistics speak for themselves.
Robben has scored on 19 occasions in all competitions this season, already his best-ever numbers for a league campaign and comfortably more than any of his team-mates. Of all the games in which he has found the net, Bayern have failed to win just one - at home to Schalke when they were hampered by Jerome Boateng’s red card. In all the matches Bayern have slipped up in this term, only in the aforementioned clash versus Schalke did Robben score.
To put it simply; when Robben fails to perform, so do Bayern.
This was demonstrated in the Champions League last-16 first-leg stalemate against Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine when the Bavarians were again down to 10 men. Try as he might to run at the hosts and cut inside from the right, Robben was well marshalled.
In the wake of the draw, former Bayern midfielder Dietmar Hamann claimed that his old club were utterly reliant on the 31-year-old.
“Bayern are a one-man team at the moment,” he told Sky. “Gotze has had his ups and downs and Ribery is back from injury but didn’t get involved. Lewandowski’s head is not in the right place.”
Two years ago, he would have feared for his future at the Allianz Arena. Booed by his own fans for missing a penalty in the eventual Champions League final defeat to Chelsea, he was a bit-part player in Jupp Heynckes’ treble winning campaign until an injury to Toni Kroos allowed him to regain his place in the team.
Pep Guardiola’s imminent arrival would have been weighing heavily on his mind after Heynckes’ departure. Could Robben, a direct player who has never been shot-shy, flourish given the Spaniard’s patient passing game?
It didn't take Robben long to answer that question. He began Pep’s reign last season with a plethora of goals and he has consistently been head and shoulders above his teammates.
The current incarnation of Bayern, though freescoring and fearsome at their best, have sometimes laboured to break down stubborn defences. On those occasions, though, they have usually had a man to rely on.
Robben has regularly been the game-winner, using his pace and dribbling to break beyond the last line of defence to either score or assist. The Dutchman is Bayern's X-factor. While the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Xabi Alonso manipulate possession, it is the No.10 who provides the punch.
His importance to the team is not merely tactical, though. Since losing the Ballon d’Or to Cristiano Ronaldo at the start of last year, Franck Ribery has suffered a dramatic dip in form and, as age begins to take its toll, the Frenchman is no longer the creative outlet he once was on the flanks.
Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski are both wonderful talents, but have been unable to replicate their Borussia Dortmund form in new surroundings. Xherdan Shaqiri, the heir apparent to Ribery and Robben has now departed for Inter, unhappy with his lack of first-team chances.
Speaking in February, Robben was quick to credit his coach with his great form.
“Normally you think you’ll go downhill slowly once you hit 30," he said. "But I have the feeling I can learn new things. Guardiola has made me better again. He does not only improve teams and make them better, individuals can learn from him too.”
But the fact remains that he is the only individual who has really thrived in the last 18 months. While it is true that all teams have a tendency to rely on star players – it is hard to imagine Guardiola’s Barcelona having had so much success without Lionel Messi - Bayern's statistics speak for themselves.
Robben has scored on 19 occasions in all competitions this season, already his best-ever numbers for a league campaign and comfortably more than any of his team-mates. Of all the games in which he has found the net, Bayern have failed to win just one - at home to Schalke when they were hampered by Jerome Boateng’s red card. In all the matches Bayern have slipped up in this term, only in the aforementioned clash versus Schalke did Robben score.
To put it simply; when Robben fails to perform, so do Bayern.
This was demonstrated in the Champions League last-16 first-leg stalemate against Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine when the Bavarians were again down to 10 men. Try as he might to run at the hosts and cut inside from the right, Robben was well marshalled.
In the wake of the draw, former Bayern midfielder Dietmar Hamann claimed that his old club were utterly reliant on the 31-year-old.
“Bayern are a one-man team at the moment,” he told Sky. “Gotze has had his ups and downs and Ribery is back from injury but didn’t get involved. Lewandowski’s head is not in the right place.”
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