If you play at a world-class team like Chelsea, you have to perform every day.
— Arjen Robben
I enjoy working with the younger players and helping them to develop.
I guess my earliest football memories are of playing in the street and also the little pitches at school. I joined the local football team in my village when I was small, but we would play only once or twice a week. I honed my skills just by playing for fun with friends after school.
Every game is a new battle.
When I met Mourinho, I was still very young, but mentally and tactically, he worked on me. He was really demanding: you could not take a step below your level.
Losing drives me mad. It hurts.
I do not understand players going to China at the age of 27 or 28. Those guys are at the peak of their career. That is a waste, really. You only get one career. I sort of understand players who are already in their 30s.
I had injuries, but I didn't get them on purpose.
The history of football has always thrown up big surprises.
Football players have a great life, but we're only human.
Statistically, I've done my best work at FC Bayern. I just feel really good here.
The Champions League is very difficult - there are so many big teams in Europe, and one bad day, and you can be out.
Selfishness is a quality and not necessarily a bad thing.
A break in the middle of the season is good for everybody.
Every manager has a certain influence, and it depends whether you're 18, 25, or 30. You need different things.
When I'm fully fit, I have power and pace; then I feel good on the pitch.
Every new coach is interesting.
If you want to play dominant football, you need to get the ball, think fast, and play quick combinations in small spaces.
In my youth-team days, I was always a left-winger who would stay close to the byline and put crosses in the box, so I could never cut inside and shoot. It was only when I joined Real Madrid and started playing in a more central position, and then on the right wing, that I suddenly realised I had a really dangerous weapon.
Maybe sometimes you are punished for honesty, but I always prefer to be honest.
Van Gaal is the kind of guy who can really make individual players better.
When I came to Chelsea and worked with Mourinho, it was my first time abroad, so that was an important stage for me.
In a top team, you always have very big competition between players, and for me, that's not a problem at all.
I am not a daydreamer.
Some referees have to think about treating every player the same, even if it's Ronaldinho or another player from a Premiership club. It doesn't matter how good you are: you have to be treated the same.
You want to win all games, which means you want to win all cups and all prizes.
Football is my life, but my family's health is the most important thing in the world.
In my period at Chelsea, I was sometimes the one who switched sides because we were playing with two left-footed guys on the wings with myself and Damian Duff.
Always, if you win prizes and are successful, of course expectations are higher, at Bayern especially.
Forwards do a lot of things intuitively.
The best thing about football, and sport in general, is that if you suffer a big disappointment, then there is no better feeling than coming back the following year and doing well.
As a team, you always need to show something extra in the Champions League.
If I ever spat at an opponent, I'd never be able to show my face to my family ever again.
If you never pass or dribble or go on the outside, cutting inside will stop working.
David Alaba has a very good left foot. He's scored some good goals and free kicks.
I never had problems with injuries as a kid or in the youth team. My injuries started at Chelsea, when I broke my foot during a pre-season game. That was just pure bad luck, but after that, I had some muscular injuries, too, so I had to get to know my body better.
I just know that I love football,and when I'm on the pitch, I want to win.
Mourinho was always very strong for his players, and you needed to deliver for him. For me, it was good.
I'm not a diver. I know that.
When I came to PSV, I signed when Eric Gerets was coach there.
I will always be the first to admit when I have done something wrong.
I don't know if referees look at me differently; you'd have to ask them. I hope everybody gets treated the same, but I know that it doesn't always happen.
The most important thing is to stay down to earth and keep concentrating on the next game.
People don't understand how hard it is to be injured, not to be part of the team but to watch from the side.
I think that in each stage of your career, you need certain things to improve your game and to develop your style of play.
Bayern had no international success in the years before I joined, and my goal was actually to play at the best possible level, which would have meant winning the Champions League.
Attackers have to be selfish on the pitch occasionally, but it's important not to exaggerate.
You need to be very critical of yourself. There are a few very good managers who can make players better individually. Most managers think about the team process - and so you have to improve things on your own.
I've achieved everything in my career that I set out to - with the Champions League as the crowning glory.
The most important thing for me is to feel that young players want to learn on the training pitch. If they spend 10 hours sitting around playing PlayStation, that's their business.
