Munich: Thomas Mueller is holding Arjen Robben back with a giant elastic band, waiting intently for Pep Guardiola’s signal. When Guardiola drops his hand and hollers ‘Ja!’, Mueller releases and Robben bursts into life.
First he sprints 10 metres to two small hurdles, which he skips over, then slaloms between two posts before a ball is rolled towards him. Without breaking stride, Robben takes one touch to control, draws back his left foot and hammers a drive from 20 yards that gathers speed as it zips past Manuel Neuer.
There is barely a flicker from Robben as he jogs back to his starting point, but Guardiola is satisfied. ‘Super!’, Bayern Munich’s coach acknowledges, beating his hands enthusiastically.
This might be a routine session at Sabener Strasse, Bayern’s leafy headquarters on the outskirts of Munich, but there is nothing ordinary about the way Robben goes about his business, repeating the drill as he strives for perfection.
It is a fascinating insight into one of the world’s best players at work. Voted into the FIFPro Team of the Year for 2014, this flying Dutchman is thriving and is second top scorer in the Bundesliga with 17 goals.
As we speak after training, his esteem for Guardiola bursts through. “I’ve had the privilege to work with a lot of great coaches and he is certainly one,” says Robben. “I’m 31 but over the last 18 months I feel I’ve made steps forward.
“He is just crazy about football. In my first conversation with him, he told me it was important I started to enjoy football. He didn’t want me to relax but to appreciate what was in front of me.
“He said: ‘Enjoy football, enjoy your life’. Straight away he gave me confidence.”
Robben has never lacked belief in his ability, but he has been transformed since Chelsea sold him to Real Madrid in 2007. The 13 major honours he has subsequently collected make him a rare breed — a player offloaded by Jose Mourinho who has not only enjoyed success but gone to a different level.
His time at Stamford Bridge was trophy-laden — two league titles, two League Cups and an FA Cup — but, deep down, Robben doesn’t believe he showed his potential as questions were asked about his fitness.
So what changed? “I’m a few years older and have less hair, I guess!” he says, laughing. “I think I made a positive development at Chelsea. I was very young when I arrived, only just 20, and the problem I had was injuries.
“I missed the first three months. It was a crazy situation during a friendly against Roma in America. Olivier Dacourt, the French midfielder, had a bad game, was frustrated and kicked me. He got a red card but he broke my foot. It was like you see kids in school. He was running behind me, taking kicks! I twisted over and broke my metatarsal.
“When I got back, I started playing at a very high level. It was just the injuries. I had bad luck.
“That is why it is so pleasing now. At the time, you hear people say you are made from glass. I was angry because I felt like I was always having to defend myself. I know now something was wrong with my body.
“I’m a very explosive player and need everything to be right. I started working with an osteopath the last year I was in Madrid and have stayed with him. I have control of my body now and know when I can ‘go’.”
Did that uncertainty place a strain on his relationship with Mourinho? “He was very fair, very good,” he replies. “The only problem was the injuries. He could not count on me. It was frustrating for both of us and it became difficult. But, in a football point of view, he was very important. He helped me mentally.”
If Mourinho shaped Robben, and Guardiola applied the polish, Louis van Gaal ‘made’ him. When the winger left Madrid for Munich in 2009, he knew it was his last chance to become the headline act at one of Europe’s giants.
“From the first day he made me feel important,” Robben said of the now Manchester United boss. “He gave me an important role and I had a great first year. I am very thankful to him. He is a coach who makes individual players better. That is rare nowadays.”
Scrutiny is on Van Gaal, given United’s erratic displays. Joining his old boss last summer was never an option, but not because Robben had concerns about joining a faltering project.
“I have a lot of confidence he will be a success,” he says. “He needs time to build his team.
“The life I have with my family is so good, the team has been successful. If things were not going so well, maybe [joining United] would be the first option. But he knows I am happy.”
Robben is spoken of as a Ballon d’Or candidate, while accusations that he goes to ground too easily are becoming a thing of the past.
“There are times people say too much and it isn’t fair, but I can live with that,” he says. “I will always be the first to admit when I have done something wrong.”
At present he is doing little wrong. Another Bundesliga title should be wrapped up in spring, but one trophy is coveted. The Champions League is an obsession for the man whose goal secured Bayern’s fifth title in 2013 — but Robben is not one to dwell on the past.
“Do I still think about that goal at Wembley?” he asks, recalling the night he broke Borussia Dortmund’s resistance. “Not any more. I am not a daydreamer.”
— Daily Mail
