Arjen Robben has admitted that he would like to play more than he is currently. Although, he accepted coach Pep Guardiola’s decision to start him on the bench, he said that he needs to get his rhythm back, for which he would need to play more matches.
Last Friday, Bayern locked horns with Hamburg. Robben came on as a substitute for Douglas Costa at the 81st minute and Bayern won the match 2-1. This was Robben’s first appearance after Bayern’s 4-1 Champions League victory over Olympiacos in November. The 32-year old was out of the footballing circuit for sometime now following a muscle injury.
TZ quoted Robben as saying, “I noticed that I'm getting stronger. I need rhythm, I need games. This time it was only 10 minutes.”
"Of course [I'd like to be playing more], but this is the coach's decision and you have to accept it,” he continued. “I haven't even been in training for two weeks; I still need a little more time, but I will do everything in training.”
When somebody of Robben’s calibre feels that he is getting “stronger”, it is a thing of worry for opponents. There’s no doubt the winger is full of confidence and is waiting to make a full return for the first team. Nonetheless, Robben is not being complacent as he has urged his team mates to be ready for their Champions league last-16 meet with Juventus who are going to be at their level best against Bayern Munich. On this note Robben added,
"We must continue to work well and improve ourselves. Juventus will come faster than you think. We need to be at full throttle in every match,” he sent a rallying cry to his teammates.
Robben has scored three times for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Had he not been injured and out, one hopes he would have bagged more goals. One must, at the same time, face the reality of the situation which is that Robben is now 32 years old and the wing positions are currently occupied by youngsters Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman, who have done no harm to their reputation in the absence of Franck Ribery and Robben.
However, with the games coming thick and fast with the resumption of the Champions League on the cards, Bayern will need experience and more bodies to get them through this run and Robben’s return couldn’t have been timed better.
