Ronald Koeman’s successor may be –
who might see Robben as an option for
the postponed European Championship.
Season tickets sales in Groningen
have increased, but it is uncertain how
many will see him in action, even when
he is playing. Due to the COVID-19
measures, social distancing is necessary
and that will decrease the capacity. It is
even forbidden to cheer or chant during
the matches. So far no club has found
a clue how they can prevent fans from
supporting their club.
Nevertheless, when the Eredivisie
starts, many will hope to see Robben
in action against former club PSV on
September13 – though perhaps not
Eindhoven’s new coach, Roger Schmidt.
The German is the best example of
a new era of Eredivisie coaches who
prefer a pressing style – a concept that
is meticulously used at the Red Bull
clubs. It was Schmidt’s RB Salzburg side
that totally outplayed Ajax back in 2014,
and the Eindhoven club have turned to
him in order to wipe out two trophy-less
seasons. In doing so, PSV have swept
aside their traditional concept of former
players – such as Phillip Cocu and MarkAll eyes on Arjen
F
orget Hakim Ziyech’s transfer
to Chelsea or any multi-million
moves by several Ajax players
when the transfer market
recovers. Whatever happens, the most
remarkable summer signing has been
done by ninth-placed Groningen, where
Arjen Robben will make his comeback.
Eighteen years after leaving his
boyhood club, where he started at the
age of12, the 36-year-old winger is
back home. Last year, Robben
announced his retirement after a
decade at Bayern Munich, but now he
is back at the club where it all started.
Only16 years old and still a high
school student, Robben made his debut
in 2000, playing 46 league matches
and scoring eight goals in two seasons.
By then he had already attracted many
top clubs, and he opted for PSV, turning
down Ajax. A highly-successful journey
followed in the colours of Chelsea, Real
Madrid and Bayern Munich. A career
with loads of silverware including11
league titles, six national cups and, of
course, the Champions League, scoring
the decider against Borussia Dortmund
in 2013. Robben also has 96 caps for
the Netherlands under his belt, beinga key player at three European
Championships and three World Cups.
In the 2010 final, Iker Casillas prevented
him from being theOranje’sultimate
World Cup hero.
Robben’s return has elements of a
Cinderella story. He isn’t opting for the
Netherlands’ traditional top three or
a comeback at Bayern – Groningen
are nothing more than a mediocre
mid-table club.
The real question is whether he
will have a fairy-tale ending or a huge
disappointment. After all, throughout his
career Robben has been injury prone.
In his last four seasons he missed 60
matches. Robben remains optimistic:
“I’m in better shape than I had
expected”, he said in preseason training.
His fitness coach at Bayern, Holger
Broich, also has no doubts.
One thing is for sure, he will be
closely watched by many. That includes
the new national coach – whoevervan Bommel – learning the ropes in
the youth section before moving up.
The big question though, is whether the
53-year-old German has the players
to have his ideas executed.
Vitesse, for years Chelsea’s satellite
club, have adopted a similar approach
by appointing Thomas Letsch –
Schmidt’s former assistant at Salzburg- as head coach, whileJohannes Spors,
once of RB Leipzig, is their new director.
FC Twente almost followed by
appointing another former Leipzig man
Alexander Zorniger, but he withdrew.
Instead came RonJans, who is looking
for rehabilitation after resigning from
FC Cincinatti following allegations
that he used a racial slur.
At the top of the table, Ajax will
be the main contenders for the title,
providing they can keep their squad
relatively stable, with AZ their main
challengers. It’s unclear whether
Schmidt’s new-look PSV can contend,
while Feyenoord are the dark horses.
Former Rangers manager Dick
Advocaat has got the Rotterdam side
back on track after replacingJaap Stam
in October 2019, as he remained
unbeaten in the Eredivisie until the
league came to a standstill.
The 72-year-old is still going strong,
even if Dutch fans have not forgotten
him for making “the worst decision in
Dutch football history” – substituting
man of the match Robben in a Euro
2004 game against the Czech Republic,
and turning a 2-1 lead turned into
a 3-2 defeat.
Whether Robben’s decision to return
is set to be remembered in a similar way
remains to be seen.
Klaas-Jan Droppert
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Season preview2020-21
NETHERLANDS EREDIVISIE
Pressing matters...
Roger SchmidtCentre of attention...
Arjen RobbenWhen the Eredivisie starts, many
will hope to see Arjen Robben in
action against former club PSV
on September 13