‘I’m very motivated'
Robben poised for return against Schalke
27.04.2011
To a man, the Bayern stars were glued to their TV screens on Tuesday evening, watching the Champions League semi-final first leg between Schalke 04 and Manchester United. “Manchester were simply better and Schalke never had a chance,” commented Arjen Robben following the 2-0 defeat for the men from Gelsenkirchen, who visit the Allianz Arena on Saturday evening.
“United played Schalke off the park,” Andries Jonker declared in an FCB.tv exclusive interview. However, the Royal Blues are not out of the competition yet, as they travel to the Theatre of Dreams for the second leg next week. “Schalke will still be hoping to reach the final,” the FCB coach continued, “they’re still in with a chance.”
That might be to Bayern’s advantage this Saturday. “I reckon they’ll be thinking about several different things,” mused Jonker in the build-up to the clash with the side lying tenth in the Bundesliga. Despite the league situation, there is no risk of FCB underestimating the Ruhr valley side, as the men from Munich have twice lost to the Royal Blues this term, a 2-0 defeat in the reverse Bundesliga fixture, and a bitterly painful 1-0 loss at the Allianz Arena in the DFB Cup semi-final.
Robben eligible again
It is high time Bayern returned to winning ways against Ralf Rangnick’s team, and Arjen Robben is itching to make his contribution. The Dutchman has completed a two-match ban, imposed after his red card against Nürnberg, and is eligible to play at the weekend. “Robben is a world-class player. I hope he shows that on Saturday. We need him,” said Jonker, “he needs to show what he’s made of.”
Robben took a seat in the main stand for Jonker’s debut victory over Leverkusen. Watching that crushing 5-1 win from the sidelines “wasn’t that difficult” said the man with the most scorer points in the league since Christmas (9 goals, 4 assists). “But it didn’t feel good against Frankfurt,” he confessed, “you can’t help, you’re stuck at home on the coach. I was cross and it wasn’t easy.”
Maximum return
The winger’s performance in training over the last two weeks leaves little room for doubt as to his dismay at the two-game suspension. Robben gave 100 percent effort, never shirked a tackle, and shot at goal from every conceivable angle. “I feel a certain responsibility towards the team and the fans. I left them in the lurch for two games. I’m really sorry about that,” he said, “I’m very motivated.”
The whole of the Bayern team is sure to be highly motivated at the weekend, less because of the couple of scores they have to settle with Schalke, Robben said, and more due to the position in the standings. “We’re not where we have to be,” the player noted, “we have to win our last three games if we’re to qualify for the Champions League. That's the biggest motivating factor.” The first of the three wins is slated for Saturday.
Credit: FC Bayern Munich (www.fcbayern.t-com.de)
No comments:
Post a Comment