Robben & Ribery: The deadly double act who defined Bayern Munich

Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben both left Bayern Munich at the end of the 2018-19 season – and we couldn’t have been sadder about the end of an era.

Robben and Ribery, who became known to the Bavarian faithful as ‘Robbery’, formed a fruitful relationship at Bayern and fittingly bowed out with another Double as Bayern won their seventh straight Bundesliga title.

Robben decided to call it a day altogether at the end of the season, and while Ribery decided to carry on for Fiorentina in Serie A, both players’ careers will be largely defined by their time together in Munich. 

It was August 29, 2009, when Robben and Ribery played their first game together for Bayern, with Ribery assisting Robben twice in a 3-0 victory over Wolfsburg. It would prove the start of a very successful partnership.

Ribery had arrived at Bayern first, signing from Marseille in the summer of 2007 for a club-record €25million and taking the No.7 shirt. He had come to global attention playing for France at the 2006 World Cup but remained with Marseille for one more season, which he capped off by being named France Football‘s French Player of the Year, ending Thierry Henry’s four-year run.

Robben joined two seasons later and, having already won titles at Chelsea and Real, arrived with a weighty reputation. Given that Bayern had shelled out the best part of €50million on the duo, it did not take long for the German press to coin the phrase ‘Baylacticos’.

Their instant impact didn’t go unnoticed by their team-mates. “I couldn’t keep up with them,” Mario Gomez said after Robben’s debut brace against Wolfsburg.

It was the start of a blossoming relationship. These were two world-class footballers entering their best years, and it was little surprise that they