LONDON – If the old saying of “better late than never” if ever were more true, look no further than Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben.
Robben, the oft-maligned Dutch striker, who has been heavily criticized for Munich’s past failures on the big stage, scored his first ever Champions League goal at the 89th minute to life the Bavarian side over their bitter Bundesliga rivals, Borussia Dortmund, 2-1
With the win, Bayern Munich ties Liverpool F.C. for third all-time with five European titles, behind Real Madrid’s nine and A.C. Milan’s seven.
Coming into the game, Bayern had a 2-0-2 mark against Dortmund, while Bayern has now avenged last year’s loss to Chelsea on it’s own home pitch at the Alianz Arena, this match was more than about Bayern exacting it’s own form of payback for it’s two painful losses in 2010 and 11, but also about lifting the proverbial “can’t win the big one” off of Robben’s.
Without a doubt, one of the finest strikers in the world, Robben along with fellow countrymen Mark van Bommel, Robin van Persie, Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder fell short on Bert van Marwijk’s stacked EURO 2012-led squad, with much of the off-field criticism directed towards Robben.
While Bayern’s European triumph will best be remembered as outgoing manager Jupp Heyncke’s swan song, it should also be remembered as Robben’s personal redemption as well.
Personally, I fail to see how a player as talented, skilled and naturally gifted as Robben to be labeled a “choke artist” when he scores 45 goals in 78 appearances for Die Bayern and 95 in all competitions.
Choker is a little too harsh in the case of Robben.
With his deal set to now expire and Bayern the champions of Europe, the only question that needs to be answered now is maybe it is time to move on for both parties.
One thing is now clear, Robben can no longer be considered a selfish choker, but now a champion, his tragic and under-achieving career got the storybook ending it deserved at F.C. Hollywood.
Robert D. Cobb is the Founder/CEO/Senior Editor-In-Chief Of The Inscriber : Digital Magazine, for questions, comments and concerns email me at [email protected] follow me on Twitter @RC_TheInscriber and follow The Inscriber : Digital Magazine on Twitter at @TheInscriber
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