Arjen Robben could hardly believe it himself: immediately after the Dutchman had made the score 4-0 against Hamburger SV with his second goal of the afternoon he pointed to his right foot. Bastian Schweinsteiger arrived on the scene seconds after that and the Bayern skipper acted as a shoeshine boy by pretending to polish his team-mate’s boot.
“That was the biggest surprise of the day,” said Schweinsteiger with a grin after the overwhelming 8-0 victory over Hamburg. “We’re really happy he scored a goal with his right foot. That doesn’t happen every day,” the team captain added. “They always make fun of my right foot,” explained Robben at the end of the game, “they’re not wrong as it’s not as good as the other one,” admitted the 31-year-old before adding: “But sometimes it works.”
14 goals this term
Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was full of praise for Robben and not just because of his rare right-footed strike. “Of course, he had another brilliant game. But that’s the norm rather than the exception. I’ve been saying it for over a year: I think he’s the best outfield player in the world at the moment,” declared Rummenigge a month after the World Player of the Year vote that saw Robben ranked fourth.
When Robben is on the ball, there’s a “red alert for every defence,” declared Rummenigge. “He’s world class at the moment and virtually unstoppable. He dribbles, he’s quick and he scores bags of goals. We’re really happy he’s playing for Bayern Munich.” Robben scored goals number 13 and 14 of the season against Hamburg, as many as the entire HSV team has scored in the current campaign.
“It doesn’t really matter who scores,” vouched the ever-modest Robben after his brilliant display. He always sets out to “do his best for the team.” His attacking position also requires him to be responsible “for goals and assists. When you get into the right position you need to keep calm and focus on scoring.” And at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if it’s with the left or the right foot.
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