Robbery.. the dynamic duo

February 12th, 2011.  Write it down, memorize it.. it's the first game that Ribery & Robben played together in the 10/11 season.  Both nearly at their peak form, it was a joy to behold, and one of Bayern's best games of the season.  Bayern played Hoffenheim at the Allianz Arena after the week before they played Koln leading 2-0 at half time only to let them score 3 second half to win the match.  A complete meltdown would be an understatement.  This match Bayern scored 2 first half but held in the 2nd half only to score 2 other goals thanks to the brilliance of Robben.

Robben's comeback filled with goals

Now it's undeniable that both Robben and Ribery at their best are world class and some of the best in the world at their positions.  I also believe they are the best wing pair in Europe, due to their similarities and differences.  Both are fast and love to beat their man.  Both can score and create but there are differences between the two.  Robben is the hybrid winger, the type in the style of Messi & Ronaldo.  He will score .. a lot.  He is a goal scoring threat and needs to be double and tripple marked throughout the entire match.  He scored 19 goals last season in the 2nd half of the season, similar form to the 2 best wingers in Europe at the moment.  He has come back this season and already 5 matches into the season, he has 5 goals & 2 assists.  Once again, he shows he is like those two in being an absolute world class goalscoring machine.  Now it might be the system, Lahm that plays behind him and Schweini pulling the strings from the back that he has turned into such a goalscoring type as before he would just be one of the players that could put the ball in the net when needed.  His highest goalscoring seasons with Chelsea and Madrid were 9 and 8, yet with Bayern he scored 23 goals last season and if he didn't get injured this season, 30 goal mark would have been more than probable.  Ribery on the other hand is a different player, not as selfish as Robben he is more of the creative type of player.  Bar last season, he has lead the assist charts for Bayern every season, he was the creative force of Bayern for 2 years running nearly single-handedly creating most chances by himself.  He has amazing vision and great passing ability, he knows when to pass and shows imagination while doing it.  Now both players can create goals and and make them, the difference is that one is more of a goalscorer and the other is more of the "creative" type.  This offers a great mix of diversity, makes Bayern unpredictable and very difficult to stop.

Love is in the air!

They showed this vs the Hoff as well.  The first goal, a brilliant team goal.  Ribery gets the ball and pushes forward, makes certain that 3 players are unto him and then passes to Muller who then lays a perfectly well weighted ball to Robben to cross low for Mario Gomez to finish.  The second goal, Ribery again does what I state and that is to create.  He misses an easy chance first though and than passes it to Muller who finishes by shooting on the keeper's side of the net.  The last goal is really excellent example of Ribery's vision.  He takes the ball from half the field, does a fake so the 2 opposing players stop for a split second, accelerates brings 2 players towards him  dribbles past one and takes one look then to cross to Robben with his weak foot who then finishes.  Gomez is at the time being marked by the 3 defenders giving Robben some room who has only 1 defender to beat.. he takes a step and then shoots a brilliant shot that curves in the top corner.  Robben also shows his 2 abillities as a goalscorer in both goals.  The first getting the ball in a counter and dribbling past 3-4 players and then slotting the ball home while the 2nd showing his great long range shooting.  The biggest question mark is whether these 2 stars can stay fit because if they can, Bayern has a shot on their day vs any opposition.  When they are injured, Bayern obviously suffer.

Now it would be simply put unfair of me not to include the love that they share with one another, straight from the FCB.com website.

“We wanted to prove we’re a great team,” Robben declared in a joint post-match interview with Ribéry. “It's not good when I don’t have Robben on the field,” said the France star. If both play, opposing defences are stretched far greater, and FCB are far less predictable on both flanks. “He adds extra quality to the team,” said Robben, returning the compliment and finishing with a broad grin: “And I love him too, of course.”


I feel like love is in the air..  Happy Valentine's Day!