The winger has some unhappy memories in Liverpool as Bayern Munich prepare to face the Reds in the Champions League.
Bayern Munich veteran Arjen Robben said Anfield is his “worst stadium” ahead of the Champions League last-16 tie against Liverpool.
Bundesliga champions Bayern will travel to last season’s runners-up and Premier League leaders Liverpool for the first leg on Tuesday.
Robben – who will leave Bayern at the end of the season – has some unhappy memories of Anfield from his time with Chelsea.
Chelsea were edged 1-0 on aggregate by eventual winners Liverpool in the 2004-05 Champions League semi-finals, while Robben and his team-mates lost on penalties to the Reds at the same stage of the tournament in 2006-07.
“I think, if you ask [about] the worst stadium for me, it’s probably Liverpool,” the 35-year-old Dutch winger told The Guardian . “You always have your favourite opponent and there always has to be a negative one.”
Reflecting on the two semi-final defeats to Liverpool in Europe, Robben added: “At that time [Liverpool] were really capable of being this cup fighter team, also in the FA Cup or [League] Cup.
“In one or two games they could really live up to it and perform, just not the whole season, which was maybe too much. That was their biggest quality: they were there at the moment they needed to be there.
“Now I think it changed and they developed really well. The manager has done a great job. Last year they were in the Champions League final and at the moment they are top [of the Premier League]. It’s a long, long time ago that they won the league and that’s the one they’re dreaming of.”
Bayern enter Tuesday’s contest limping a bit, having been made to work for a win over Augsburg on Friday night that had manager Niko Kovac warning his players that they would have to be better at Anfield.
The German giants have clawed their way back into the Bundesliga title chase, however. They now sit just two points back of league leaders Borussia Dortmund, though that lead could be extended to five points on Monday when Lucien Favre’s side take on Nurnberg in the league.
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