Sometimes, we just wish some breed of players will never grow old, get injured, leave a club, resign from a team or retire from the game entirely. They're so spectacular on the pitch that you always wanna see them on the screen doing what they know how to do best.
One is almost tempted to think at times that tournaments without these classic figures may not be too interesting to follow, depending on the degree of their likeness of a player. I never enjoyed the 2018 World Cup in Russia after Argentina were shown the backdoor by France at the quarter finals. With no Messi to watch, my interest deflated and though I tried to watch the games, it just wouldn't be as usual.
Over the years, I've witness lots of awesome players who play at the highest level make their career retirement speech, it's always touching and it leaves me with that consciousness that I will never see them play again. I miss the likes of Ronaldinho of Brazil, J.Jay Okocha of Nigeria, Christopher Katungo of Zambia, Luis Figo of Portugal etc.
And now, another legendary figure has taken a bow from the game. I wish I could tell him to continue, but hey! You just can't change some stuffs. July 4th witnessed a breeze of emotions as one of the best football players in Netherlands retired from the game of soccer. The Bayern Munich Legend may not have won the Ballon d'Or in his time, but we just can't sweep under the carpet the fact that he is one of the best legs of his era.
While the Americans were busy celebrating their Independence day, Arjen Robben saw it as the perfect time to hang his boots, thus leaving many of his fans with emotions. It's been an interesting career for the Dutchman, having featured in over 500 games for both his Country and Club. At 35, he is convinced he can't go further and has decided to bow out of the arena. Just like Christopher Columbus, he has traversed across borders and has a lot to show for his football adventures.
Having won league titles in Germany, Spain, Holland and England, one can only imagine what his trophy cabinet looks like. Even though the likes of Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo appears to have blaze the trail for the past decade, I think Arjen Robben deserves a spot after the duo or alongside them. He is one of the most successful players in history, and providence has been in his favour. He was just a 16 year old boy when he started his career at Groningen in 2000, and finished as the clubs player of the year.
He later moved to PSV before touching down at Stamford Bridge in 2004 to take his career to the next level. Plagued by series of injuries, the pacy Robben still managed to score 7 goals as Chelsea went on to grab the Premier League trophy, a feat they replicated the following season. After an awesome three years spell in England, Robben won one FA Cup, two league titles and Community Shield. Not so many foreign players can boast of that.
He later went to Real Madrid where he also won the Spanish league in his first season. However, with the arrival of Christiano Ronaldo, Xabi Alonso, Kaka, Benzema and even Perez as Madrid's new President, Arjen took his career to Germany. It didn't take him long to prove his mettle, and will later finish the 2009-2010 bundesliga season as the top scorer. He also helped the Bavarian Club grab the league title. Robben also won the Champions league in 2013 with Bayern after a disappointing 2012 final outing with Chelsea.
His farewell speech is quite touching and it goes thus... "It's July again. The time for a soccer player to be preparing for the next season. Not me. I've used the last couple of weeks to think things through. As everybody knows I took some time after my last match for Bayern Munich to make up my mind for the future. And now I have decided to end my career as a professional player. This has been without a doubt the hardest decision I have had to make in my career. A decision in which 'heart' and 'head' bumped into each other. The love for the game and the conviction that you can still take over the world versus the reality that it doesn't always go like you want it to and that you're no longer a 16-year-old boy who doesn't know what it's like to be injured." Robben said, his face so emotional.
For me, he is one of the best this generation have seen, and though he has taken a bow, his heroics will forever be remembered.
Comments