After a decade of service, the famous Robbery at Bayern Munich has come to an end
Bayern Munich fans have a tough summer ahead as two club legends will be leaving the club after a decade of mesmerising service at the club. It was announced earlier this year that Arjen Robben would be leaving the club while Franck Ribery's departure was announced yesterday. Franck Ribery joined the club in 2007 from Marseille for €30 million and it did not take long for him to settle down at the club and soon became a fan favourite. Bayern fans made chants about him.
‘'OOOOOHHH FRANCK RIBERYYY
OOOOOH FRANCK RIBERYYY
IS NICHT GROß, (he is not big)
IS EHER KLEIN (is rather small)
ER SOLL UNSER KÖNIG SEIN VON UNSEREM REKORDVEREIN (but he is the king of our record club)
FRANCK RIBERY SHA LA LA LA LA''
This was based on which Joe Dassin's Champs Elysées which has been used in the N'Golo Kante Song.
The club was not new to technically brilliant wingers but Ribery was special. His ability to fight it off even with rough challenges resulted in huge admiration among the fans.
2 seasons later on Arjen Robben was signed from Real Madrid for €25 million. 29th August 2009 marked the starting of a decade of Robbery as Arjen Robben was brought in the field by Louis van Gaal as a substitute against Wolfsburg and within 15 minutes of stepping onto the pitch, Ribery set up Robben for his first goal in Bayern colours and made it a dream debut for him. Since then, it has been a display of one of the best winger duos the world of football has ever witnessed.
Their high point came in 2013 when Franck Ribery set up Arjen Robben with a teasing through-pass beyond the Dortmund defence and Robben managed to put it past Roman Weidenfeller to give Bayern a 2-1 lead in the dying moments of the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley.
Even with age, these two showed no signs of slowing down and kept both the wings at Bayern Munich dazzling in the seasons that followed. Both of them have been loyal servants at the club and have acknowledged the support given to them by the board and the fans over time.
Together the statistics of Ribery and Robben stand at :
Ribery:
422 Games
123 Goals
183 Assists
Robben:
306 Games
143 Goals
101 Assists
Both of them had to deal with quite a number of injuries over time and it's unfortunate to miss out on more of their entertaining football action on the pitch. They've been so legendary that club president Uli Hoeness said that a spectacular farewell for the duo was more important than winning titles this season.
CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed that a big and special farewell match will indeed happen in 2020. He also asserted that Franck and Arjen shaped the most successful decade of the club and it's very likely the duo will also be inducted in the Bayern Hall of Fame.
Right now, Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry have already taken up the responsibility of carrying their legacy forward and they have begun well enough. If Bayern wins the Bundesliga this season, Ribery will win it for a record 9th time while Robben will join the likes of Philipp Lahm, Oliver Kahn and Bastian Schweinsteiger on 8 titles.