Showing posts with label Arjen Robben. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arjen Robben. Show all posts

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Sue the player – not the Federation
















Bayern Munich is seeking reparations from the Dutch medical team. Arjen Robben, playing injured throughout the World Cup, re-aggravated a left hamstring injury leaving him sidelined for the first two months of Bayern's 2010/11 Bundesliga campaign. And apparently it’s the medical staff’s fault.

I should note this is not the first time the Dutch medical staff and the football association (KNVB) have come under fire. Back in November 2009, Robin Van Persie injured himself in a friendly against Italy sidelining him for 6 weeks with a serious ankle injury. Arsenal immediately filed a complaint seeking compensation from the KNVB. Aside from wanting them to cover his salary for the time missed, they were furious over alleged mismanagement of Van Persie’s treatment. Did Arsenal have justification? Sure they did.

Drawing parallels between the two however, other than the fact that both implicate the Dutch as plaintiffs, would be inaccurate and unwise. Club teams loathe international friendlies - especially meaningless ones. Van Persie's situation was one of these instances in that the Netherlands had already qualified for South Africa months before. Only three months into the Premiere League season, Van Persie was getting plenty of playing time and had plenty more yet. There was no reason for him to play against Italy. I have no problem calling him up, but don't play him. An entirely different scenario is what makes Bayern’s case groundless and moot.