Robben all praises for his old gaffer's - Jose Mourinho and Louis Van Gaal
Just ahead of the crucial clash in Premier league, the English media Telegraph had first hand chance to talk with the Bayern Munich winger at their training complex.
Robben who has played under Jose Mourinho and Louis Van Gaal, was all prasises for his former bosses. With all the respect for his former bosses, he has his at most respect for his current one too.
“I am enjoying it so much over here,” Robben says as he took time out at Bayern’s Säbener Strasse training complex this week. “It is the perfect club with the perfect manager for me. My family is happy, we have lived here for five years and I am exactly at the place I want to be. It cannot be better than it is at the moment, so you don’t need to have thoughts about other clubs and other leagues. If you see me again in three years in the Premier League, then who knows, but at the moment, there is not even one per cent of me thinking about going to England or anywhere.”
Robben on the game against Roma: “Everything we did Roma didn’t have an answer for and, yes, we scored some great goals too,” Robben said. “Everybody expected a difficult game, but it was remarkable, also for Roma and their fans. It was one big surprise because, after 35 minutes, it was already 5-0, which was quite impressive I think. Maybe it is the best we have played, but we have had so many great games, especially the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, home and away, in 2013.
“Those matches are special, it was a semi-final, but the Roma game was just the group phase. Barcelona was even more important, so maybe it weighs [means] even more, but the Roma game is also one that we will not quickly forget.”
Arjen on the managers and their styles:
“They are both very demanding, really intense, and what they ask from their players is the same kind of intensity,” Robben says.
“They are the same in the way they prepare things, the way they live and breathe football and tactics, every second of the day almost. When I came to Chelsea and worked with Mourinho, it was my first time abroad, so that was an important stage for me.
“But I have also worked under Van Gaal, and now Guardiola, and I feel so privileged to have worked for these great coaches because it has certainly helped me make good steps in my career. When I met Mourinho, I was still very young, but mentally and tactically, he worked on me. He was really demanding, you could not take a step below your level.
“We played a lot of games, but how he prepares his team, what he says to the players, he can really say the right words at the right time and you start to think more. I made a big step under Mourinho, mentally.”
The similarities between the two coaches are clear, but what about the differences, their unique qualities?
“Mourinho was always very strong for his players and you needed to deliver for him,” Robben said. “For me, it was good. It was also very special because, in my first year, we won the league, Chelsea’s first in 50 years, and that was important for everybody at the club. But for me, the big thing I learnt from Mourinho was about mentality. He taught us to be strong, collectively, and also strong for yourself.
“Van Gaal is the kind of guy who can really make individual players better. It was the most important step of my career to go from Real Madrid to Bayern. It was the best move of my career, coming here and working under him. It really gave me a lot of confidence and a new way of working.
“You know his style – maybe it helped me because of the Dutch language – but the way he trains players means you have to adapt initially. Maybe that is why people are adapting in Manchester now, because the intensity is very high and you have to get used to it. But it was good for me because I got stronger, I got fit, and that was very important for my game.”
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