It was supporter coordinator Matthias Mulder of FC Groningen who announced the return of Arjen Robben on Saturday, June 27 at 5 pm on the Grote Markt in Groningen. The surprise effect was immense. Nobody was aware of the news and even the landlord of the screen on the Grote Markt was deceived. Some members of the supporters’ association were lured to the stadium for a thank you for their efforts in the past season. This was followed by the same video with Robben on a big screen as the one on the Grote Markt.
“That you can bring something like this: wonderful”, Mulder looks into the picture on Friday General Newspaper back that day. He will never forget the moment the news comes out. “That quarter of a second, when Arjen’s face appeared on the screen, it just hurts you.” Robben’s return to the Dutch fields was limited to one season. The former the Dutch international announced on Thursday that after much thought he has decided not to continue another season.
No Groningen player will blame Robben for not having been a relatively successful comeback due to injuries. “We are a little bit Calimero’”, explains Mulder. “We often look to others, to the West. Robben’s choice for FC Groningen went against all feelings. How can a great player like him choose Groningen? Who’s going back to those Calimeros? It’s almost scary, amazing. That he did so warms your body. Then you grow as a club, as a province. We had something to say at the campsite again.”
Robben immediately tempered expectations after the announcement, because the physical problems made it questionable how big his role would be on the field. Ultimately, his contribution was limited to six Eredivisie matches and the play-off match with FC Utrecht on 19 May. The highlight was his two assists at the beginning of May in the away match against FC Emmen. Mulder emphasizes that FC Groningen is used to greats leave, not to return. “We don’t know a great man like him. This is six times Luis Suarez squared.”
President John de Jonge of the supporters’ association spoke with Robben last season about his return to the club, eighteen years after he left as a young top talent. “Then you notice that he himself does not fully realize what he is causing. I don’t think he understands how big he is in the world, and even less how big he is in Groningen. When I told what it did to everyone, he looked a little surprised. But hey, he is of course also just a very down-to-earth Groninger.”
Mulder agrees that Robben’s impact on the province is significant. He describes Groningen as ‘a province where it is not easy’. “Poverty is greater here, there are earthquakes. I sometimes say: the Groninger should stand up for himself a bit more. Be proud of the province and the club. Robben gave the Groninger a lot of pride, even if you are not a supporter of FC Groningen.”