In his prime, Robben was as unstoppable as any player from his generation. Unfortunately, much of that prime was beset by constant injuries.
Arjen Robben was born 23 January , in Bedum, located in the northeastern Netherlands. He professional career started when he was signed by the club FC Groningen. He was by that time a part of the Netherlands youth team and he would make his first match for the Netherlands senior football team in Despite the unfortunate nature of his final year in the professional ranks, Robben will be remembered as one of the best players of his generation after many years of tormenting opposition defences with his raw pace and exceptional dribbling skills.
The Dutchman broke onto the senior stage at Groningen before being snapped up by PSV in , and Chelsea came calling two years later after seeing him inspire the Eindhoven-based club to an Eredivisie title. Robben added six more trophies to his collection at Stamford Bridge, including two Premier League titles and the FA Cup, scoring 19 goals in appearances for the Blues in total. Robben took his game to new heights at Allianz Arena, recording goals over matches while securing another 20 trophies, including a maiden Champions League crown and eight Bundesliga titles.
Thoroughbred talent and an unfaltering zeal for the game have contributed to the freshly-retired former Netherlands international's march to the top and kept him there, but it his signature move - an angled run in from the right-hand side coupled with a curled left-footed finish - that has cemented his reputation as one of the most feared wide men of all time. A lot of it is intuition. Aptly enough, it was former Bayern head coach Louis van Gaal's instinctive reassignment of Robben from his favoured position on the left-hand side of midfield to the opposing flank that breathed new life into a career that had stalled during a one-season stint in Madrid.
With right-footed counterpart Franck Ribery drifting in from the left touchline, the inverted winger was back and ready to turn opposing full-backs inside out. Robben has scored more Bundesliga goals, 99, than any other player from the Netherlands.
With 31 in the Champions League, he is the country's second-most prolific marksman in Europe's premier club competition. Robben also lifted the Champions League as part of Bayern Munich's treble-winning season in , scoring the decisive goal in the 89th minute. Provided he was fit not always a guarantee , Robben has been a regular fixture on the right wing for Bayern for a decade, having joined from Real Madrid.
He's best known for his trademark goal: receiving the ball on the right flank, cutting inside onto his stronger left foot, often leaving a defender or three in his wake, making a small amount of space for himself and then curling the ball around his marker and out of reach of the goal-keeper into the top left corner. In Germany, his double act with a fellow winger, Franck Ribery from France, became the stuff of legend.
The pair, nicknamed "Robbery," both spent the vast majority of their careers in Bavaria. Ribery is also retiring from the sport this summer.
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