The costly miss against Spain in the WC 2010 final
For almost his entire career, Arjen Robben has been somewhat
of an enigma. Mesmerizing at times and ridiculously frustrating at others, the
Dutch winger had made a habit of choking in important games. In 2010, Bayern
came up short against Inter Milan in the Champions League Final.
The same
summer, Robben was put clear in on goal with just Iker Casillas to beat, in
the World Cup Final in South Africa. He again fluffed his lines and Spain went
on to clinch the title in extra-time. And perhaps the nadir came in the 2012
Champions League Final in Munich’s Allianz Arena. Bayern, much the dominant
side for 90 minutes, failed to break down a resolute Chelsea team, and Didier
Drogba’s header took the game to extra time. However, he turned from hero to villain
in a matter of minutes, conceding a penalty in extra time, and Robben was given
the chance to win club football’s biggest prize on his team’s home ground. It wasn’t
to be. Petr Cech saved his spot kick, and then two more in the penalty shootout,
and it was all over. There was no home triumph. The 11 heroes in blue had taken
the cup to Stamford Bridge, and Bayern, who also had finished runners up in the
league and domestic cup to Borussia Dortmund, were left with a ‘Treble Horror’
season. Arjen Robben lived through a footballer’s worst nightmare.
DROGBAAAAAA!!!
Petr Cech saves Robben's extra-time penalty
Its Chelsea, Not Bayern, who celebrate in Munich.
However,
this season everything changed. Bayern, obviously hurting because of their setbacks,
steamrolled everything that came in their path. The Bundesliga was wrapped up
in April, and they finished with 91 points, 25 clear of 2nd placed
defending champions-and fellow Champions League finalists, Dortmund. Nobody was
spared. Bar a minor scare against Arsenal in the last-16 return leg, the
Bavarians didn't concede a single goal in the next 4 knockout rounds,
dispatching the champions of Italy, Juventus 4-0 and the mighty Barcelona 7-0
on aggregate, with mind-numbing ease.
Barcelona Destroyed
Juve Dismantled
Gone was the complacency which had so often been their Achilles’ heel.
Gone were the games where Bayern didn't know how to react after falling behind.
The psychological issues were hammered out and Bayern became a full-fledged German
winning machine. This has to be, of
course, credited to the impeccable man-management and tactical acumen of Coach
Jupp Heynckes and general manager Mathais Sammer. Heynckes in particular, has
thrown down the gauntlet for Pep Guardiola. How can you possibly top This?
German Crown, but its Europe they want to conquer.
But Dortmund were no easy opponent.
However,
as they took stage at The Wembley on May 25th, 2013 for the
Champions League Final against arch-rivals Dortmund, there was still an air of apprehension.
Will the likes of Robben, Lahm and Schwiensteiger finally, finally clinch an
International crown? Or will they fall at the final hurdle again? And sure
enough, the first half was familiar, frustrating and ominous to say the least. Borussia
Dortmund, the team which has enchanted almost all of Europe with their
blistering brand of football- and whose journey to the final had been no less
than a fairy tale, beating Shaktar, then doing a ‘‘99’ on Malaga, and then embarrassing
the Spanish capital club Real Madrid 4-1 in Dortmund, and then holding on to
their nerve in an equally thrilling second leg in Madrid, which they lost 2-0,
going through 4-3 on aggregate-could have been 4-0 up by 25 minutes, but for
the heroics of a certain Manuel Neuer. Schwiensteiger
was taken completely out of the game by the vibrant BVB midfield and Arjen
Robben had squandered two golden chances when put through on goal. For Bayern
fans, it was sickeningly familiar.
A frustrating First Half.
Dortmund’s fairytale of a journey looked to have been destined for a Cinderella ending. But then Bayern upped the ante and Roman Weidenfeller made some truly exceptional saves, Game on. Bayern took the lead after some good work from their famed ‘Robbery’ duo. The Flying Dutchman first kept his cool to take a Ribery lay-off to the byline and calmly square it to Mario Mandzukic to tap into an empty net. BVB, though were no pushovers and they equalized through a İlkay Gündoğan penalty just 8 minutes later, to come right back into the tie. And then, with just 2 minutes of normal time left, he wrote his name in Bayern legend as he latched onto another -surprise surprise-Franck Ribery layoff, sidestepped a challenge with an exquisite piece of footwork and calmly roll the ball past Weidenfeller, for the title. Bayern were champions, rightfully and Arjen Robben was the man of the moment. Losers, Bottlers, Chokers no more, Bayern had made their mark on Europe,and they did that in some style.
Mario puts Bayern in front.
Pegged back to 1-1 by Ilkay
This is
not to take credit away from BVB’s incredible achievement. They won hearts, all
over the world, including the writer’s and many of his friends’, but it would’ve
been cruel had Robben been denied his chance of redemption. Fairytales can
wait, so can miracles. This year it was all about Die Roten. It was all about
their legendary coach and it was all about Robben’s redemption. The Cup’s finally
‘coming home’ to Munich, and Bayern have become well and truly the greatest
side witnessed in the modern footballing era, and Arjen Robben is finally in the headlines for all the right reasons. Mia San Mia.
Starting this week, I will bring
to you a handpicked choice of music albums, film scores, singles-pretty much
everything what a standard music aficionado may like and may not have heard.
So, let’s start off with the voyage with U2’s ‘The Joshua Tree’.
The album draws its influences
from American rock, Irish folk music, acoustic blues and gospel. Released in
1987, it broke the shackles and expanded the horizons of alternative rock with
its motley nature of themes ranging from love, spirituality to violence, war, politics
and social malaises like drug addiction, inequality and unemployment. This is
the record which catapulted U2 from heroes to legends and drew multitudes to
their fan base.
The album opens with ‘Where The
Streets Have No Name’, a stadium anthem which has become a permanent staple in
U2’s live concerts. Starting with a chiming guitar arpeggio and modulated
synthesisers the song eventually builds up to its climax guided by Bono’s
passionate vocals, Adam Clayton’s pulsating sound of the bass and sheer
wizardry with the guitar by The Edge to create a ‘wall’ of sound. The name of
the song may sound odd, but it stems from Bono’s belief that a person’s income
in Belfast can be estimated by knowing his address. The band dreams of a world
without inequality, social encumbrances; where the streets have no name.
‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m
Looking For’ deals with spiritual yearning, the void that is sometimes created
in spite of success. The chiming sound created by The Edge’s use of the delay
effect strongly reminds you of chrome bells ringing on Christmas Eve and Bono’s
choir-like singing accentuates the spiritual imagery brought to your mind by
the song. The chorus is breathtakingly beautiful. ‘With Or Without You’, a
troubled love song inspired by Bono’s conflicting lives he led as a musician and a family man
is notable for The Edge’s use of the delay effect and a prototype of the
Infinite Guitar enabling ‘infinite sustain’. The main guitar riff is
intoxicating and the song regularly features in ‘Greatest Hits of All Time’
lists.
If you care not to break the
chronology, you will be caught off guard by the abrupt conceptual shift of the
album with ‘Bullet the Blue Sky’. It is a rebel song with strong political
overtones as The Edge ‘puts the El Salvador Civil War through an amplifier’. It
successfully synthesises an image of war- Bono’s angry vocals and Adam
Clayton’s aggressive bassline are redolent of roaring cannonballs, screeching
fighter-planes and ricocheting bullets. ‘Running to Stand Still’, a slow piano
ballad describes the plight of a heroin-addicted couple. The subtle guitar
notes and the harmonica at the end are soothing and gradually grow on you. ‘Red
Hill Mining Town’ speaks about the relationships strained and lives torn apart
by unemployment.
‘In God’s Country’ ups the tempo
with racy guitar strumming and energetic vocals. The song dishes out innuendos
regarding the dearth of political ideas in the West. ‘Trip Through Your Wires’,
packed with harmonica, is an unconventional love ballad while ‘One Tree Hill’
is an epitaph, a tribute to the departed, a celebration of life.
As we approach the end, the album
skews again. ‘Exit’ is a song about a psychotic killer. Clayton’s bassline and The Edge’s riffs succeed to
create an eerie and surreal aura. The song’s up there with Metallica’s ‘Enter
Sandman’ and Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. ‘Mothers of the Disappeared’ is the
concluding track of the album. It is a token of empathy to all the mothers
whose children have been taken by sporadic occurrences of violence like war and
riots. Bono’s choir-like vocals, the morose guitar notes and synthesisers bring
the album to a melancholy finale.
The Joshua Tree is notable for
utilising the complete range of Bono’s voice and tonal quality and The Edge’s
delay effect, creating chiming cadences which went on to become his trademark
sound. The album is implicitly critical of The USA’s foreign policy and
describes the band’s love-hate relationship with The United States. Overall,
the album takes you through various human emotions and packs a punch. Happy
listening!
MY PICKS: Where The Streets Have
No Name, With Or Without You, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
TRIVIA: Writer Derek
White conducted a mathematical study of The Edge’s rhythmic delay. He found
that by dividing the number of delay notes per minute by the songs tempo in
beats per minute, he arrived at ‘e’, an important fundamental mathematical
constant!
