Bayern’s CL triumph over BVB
When bogeyman Robben hopped to the hero
05/24/2023, 9:20 p.m
Ten years ago there was the historic “German Final” in the Champions League between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in Wembley – with the very special hero Arjen Robben. The Dutch winger had become a double scapegoat the previous season.
Arjen Robben proudly wears the historic winner’s red jersey as he recalls the magical moment exactly ten years ago. To the shot into luck that turned the bogeyman into an “eternal” hero and an icon of FC Bayern – with his own fan song. “I dreamed of you, of our Wembley night. We won the cup, climbed the throne, Arjen did it,” the Bayern supporters have been singing happily since May 25, 2013, when Robben “shot”. in London as if in slow motion, at “5 km/h”, as Bastian Schweinsteiger joked, hopped past Roman Weidenfeller into the BVB goal.
But it doesn’t matter: His goal to make it 2-1 in the 88th minute crowned Bayern Munich the big winner in the German final against Borussia Dortmund – and Robben to “Mr. Wembley”. “The song and the name ‘Mr. Wembley’ make me proud,” said the retiree to Bayern-Vereinsmagazin 51. Titles are “nice, of course, but the fans’ appreciation is worth more to me.” “Kaiser” Franz Beckenbauer then spoke of a “sign of fate that he scored such a goal”. According to ex-Bayern boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in the AZ, this was “in a way reconciliation and crowning glory at the same time”.
“Stay as you are, no matter how many titles you win”
Ironically, seals. The year before, the winger had been branded a scapegoat by many after missing penalties in the Bundesliga final sprint in Dortmund and especially in the bitter “Drama dahoam” against Chelsea. Forget! It’s about “how people remember you, even as a person,” said Robben. That’s why he always says: “Stay as you are, no matter how many titles you win.” 32 Robben won with Eindhoven, Chelsea, Real Madrid and especially FC Bayern – this one made him immortal. “I still remember exactly how I was sitting in the bus to the stadium, at the window, music on my ears – I was so convinced: Whatever happens, we’ll win today!” he recalled.
The course of the game in the “biggest game of all time”, as the then BVB coach Jürgen Klopp called it in “Kicker”, was not quite as clear. İlkay Gündoğan equalized the Munich lead by Mario Mandzukic (60th) with a penalty eight minutes later. As extra time approached, Robben came.
“A Moment For Eternity”
“I react to Franck (Ribery, ed.), he puts me in the barrel, I can push him in,” he said of the most important goal of his impressive career. This, he emphasized right after the final whistle, “means a lot to me, I can’t really believe it. So many emotions.” According to Thomas Müller, it was “a moment for eternity”. For Robben and FC Bayern with legendary coach Jupp Heynckes, it was also salvation after many setbacks. Stars like Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger got rid of the blemish of not being able to win finals or failing at important moments overnight.
“The pressure”, then captain Philipp Lahm later described the situation, was “incredibly great”. “We didn’t know if we’d get the chance again. I’ve always said: If you want to be a golden generation, you have to win titles.” This was possible thanks to Robben. He now trains the Be Quick 1887 U15s three times a week in his hometown of Groningen. When the 39-year-old stands on the artificial turf pitch in a dark tracksuit, little reminds him of the hero of 2013, the celebrated “Mr. Wembley” with his own song : “Arjen did it!”