Arjen Robben: Love Him or Hate Him, He Has Starred at This World Cup

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 8, 2014

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From a player point of view, this World Cup has graced us with individual displays of pure entertainment.

We often praise and critique some of the tournament's stars like Lionel Messi, James Rodriguez, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo, while we gloss over the familiar yet unsung players that have caught our eyes from time to time.

Many are rubbing their eyes with the numerous talents that have emerged in Brazil, but for me there is only one name thus far that confirms what I already knew in terms of quality, even if he is, at least for now, short of greatness: Arjen Robben.

Although his hint of self-confessed diving antics has often overshadowed his tireless work ethic and tenacious dribbling, Robben has been the most outstanding player of this tournament.

Until now, some defenders have tried, and maybe only temporarily succeeded, to keep Robben off his favored left foot, but you always sense the danger when he begins to run at you.



As Owen Gibson wrote for The Guardian:

While so much of the attention has, perhaps by design, been on the manager Louis van Gaal's tactics and tics, it is Robben who has powered the side to the semi-finals.

The statistics – three man of the match awards, three goals, one assist and that last-minute penalty against Mexico that highlighted the best and worst of his game (it was both a foul and a dive) – don't tell the whole story. From Holland's first game, that 5-1 evisceration of Spain that signalled not only the end of an era but also sent confidence coursing through Oranje veins, to their nervy, attritional victory over Costa Rica on penalties, he has been Van Gaal's one constant.

For defenders, it's not as simple as saying "force him to his right" and job well done. Frankly, I'm not sure I have the answer, which proves my point even more. Had we found the solution to stop his pe...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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