If Bayern Munich fans had any initial concerns that their lacklustre form of late would cost them at home against Mainz on Saturday they were quickly left reassured when Arjen Robben dinked the ball over Rene Adler to make it 2-0 after just 23 minutes.
The German champions would go on to win the game 4-0 but for the Dutchman the goal represented his first of the season. It was also his 132nd for the club he’s called home for the past eight years and, perhaps more importantly, a sure sign that the senior winger would be just as useful to Bayern for yet another season.
At the age of 33, Robben would be forgiven for losing a yard or two of pace and finding himself on the bench with his feet up. Yet each and every season the tricky winger from the town of Bedum keeps coming back quicker and stronger than ever.
Like his French counterpart, Franck Ribery, each summer has seen a familiar concern arise over the durability or capacity of his intent in the coming campaign, only for Robben to dazzle and continue to assert himself as one of Bayern’s most important players. It happened under Jupp Heynckes, it happened under Pep Guardiola and with 16 goals and 14 assists in just 37 games last season, it happened under Carlo Ancelotti too.
So why isn’t the Bayern winger considered among the greats of Dutch football?
When the topic of greatest Dutch players tends to come up, names likes Dennis Bergkamp, Frank Riijkard and Ruud Gullit spring to mind, before digging a little further back to untouchable stars such as Johan Cruyff and Marco Van Basten. Yet when we compare their careers to Robbens the disparity is nowhere near as big as their corresponding rankings on a list would suggest.
Robben has scored more goals for Holland than Van Basten, one more than Cruyff and just three less than Bergkamp. And unlike Van Basten, Riijkard, Gullit or Bergkamp, Robben took Holland to a World Cup final and almost won it.
The Bayern star may not be able to boast as many Champions League awards as Van Basten, Cruyff or Riijkard, but one victory from three finals shows his pedigree at the very top of European football is without question. And unlike the Milan side that Riijkard and Van Basten won so much with, Robben’s Bayern have had to compete an era of super clubs, with vastly stronger opposition.
Yet if there’s one category Robben surely surpasses them all it’s longevity. By the age of 33 Cruyff was already relaxing in the United States, Riijkard had finally decided to hang up his boots at Ajax and Van Basten was already four years in to an early retirement following a nasty ankle injury.
Despite league titles in Holland, England, Spain and Germany, Robben may never be considered an equal among such company but at the very least he should be considered among the very best of his time. The evergreen winger has never looked stronger at Bayern and let’s hope his legacy is already carved in stone.
