Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben, Inter’s Wesley Sneijder, the Dutch Duo Real Madrid Sorry to Let Go Of
Real Madrid is one of the biggest and definitely the most successful club in Europe. With a healthy 8 Champions League titles, Real Madrid is always fighting for the top spot in Europe. They have been dominating the La Liga as well, with 31 league titles to their credit; a big lead over their archrivals Barcelona FC. However, the recent successes of Barcelona were seen as a threat by the management at Real Madrid, who decided to throw in a lot of money for the transfer season. However, the management at Real Madrid made some unintelligent decisions, which came back to haunt them in the future. Out of these decisions, the most major one was to let go of the explosive Dutch duo of Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder.
There is no doubt that the policies at Real Madrid have destroyed the careers of many players. One of the recent examples is of David Beckham, who joined Madrid from Manchester United. However, he was later on sold to LA Galaxy, a US soccer club, for a hefty sum. This, later on, proved to be the decision which led to the downfall of the world-class midfielder. In the last season, however, the Madrid management was doing something unprecedented. They were planning to change every single player in the team, but eventually they let go of some of the Dutch players in the team, including Robben, Sneijder and Huntelaar.
Somehow, Madrid failed again in the last season, despite signing some of the biggest names in the world of football, like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka. On the other hand, for Robben and Sneijder this proved to be a blessing in disguise. Everyone knew the potential of these two players; hence it was assured that they would make it to the big clubs in Europe. This eventually happened with Robben going to Bayern Munich and Sneijder making his way to Inter Milan, under Jose Mourinho. Both these teams met each other in the Champions League final, and both these players played a crucial role in their respective team’s success.
Wesley Sneijder played 26 games in Serie A, while coming up with 4 goals and 6 assists. Although this might not seem like healthy statistics, it was good enough for Sneijder in his debut season in one of the toughest leagues in the world. In Europe, Sneijder scored 3 goals and made 6 assists, eventually winning the Champions League with Inter Milan. He also won the Serie A and Copa Italia in the same season, thus completing a rare treble in the Italian league.
Arjen Robben had the same season with Bayern Munich, as he scored 16 goals and made 7 assists in only 24 matches. He was, therefore, the major driving force behind Munich to lift the Bundesliga title. In the Champions League, Robben scored four goals in 10 matches, but the most important one was the perfect volley against Manchester United, which gave them their place in the finals.
Both these players were not done yet, as they proved the major players in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, leading their team into the finals of the tournament for the third time in history. This time, however, if the good form of Robben and Sneijder continues, they would be the ones to lead their team to the unprecedented victory in the finals. Arjen Robben has scored two goals and made one assist in the World Cup so far, despite missing the first two matches due to injury. Wesley Sneijder has scored five goals and made one assist in the tournament, while picking up the title of the Man of the Match in four matches, including the quarterfinal as well as the semifinal. Robben has also picked up a man of the match award.
Real Madrid would now be holding their heads in despair, as they were the ones to let go of these two World Class players. As their players like Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo failed to inspire during the World Cup, this loss would hurt more. At least there is a big lesson in all this drama: money cannot buy success, but a good team with quality players is something that can definitely bring success to the team. At last, Real Madrid’s management must have learnt that lesson.
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