well, it was a difficult one to have foreseen ... if you had kept him, you guys could easily have been playing a 4-2-3-1 with Robben and Cristiano causing havoc from each flank, and swapping sides just to throw more cats amongst the pigeons ... but Robben is very injury-prone, and it is always more of a gamble keeping him than selling him ... Bayern took the gamble because they needed to more than you guys -- you clearly had enough cash to cover whatever positions you needed to ... but as it turned out, Ricky Kaká's season was destroyed by his injury, Cristiano missed a few games in the early part of the season with injury, Benz has had his share of injury problems too, while Robben's injury situation has been minor ... that is luck / fate / providence / whatever you want to call it ...
also, there is the psychological aspect ... at Bayern, he is one of the biggest stars in the squad, unlikely to be overshadowed, under a Dutch manager who he could be comfortable speaking his own language with, in a country closer to home ... and in addition to that, he had a point to prove after taking a step away from the big-time of Real Madrid, which can be a huge motivating factor for those who embrace in a constructive spirit ... all those things would have been missing if he had stayed ...
similar story with Sneijder about motivation ... it was a real slap in the face to Sneijder for Real Madrid to get a Golden-Ball-winning attacking midfielder, and deem Sneijder surplus; he too had a point to prove ...
as a fan of the Dutch national team, I am very pleased about it, and hope they can carry that impetus into the World Cup ... but if I were looking at it from a Real Madrid fan's point of view, I'd be patient, and wait to see what your new recuits can do when fully fit, and see if Robben and Sneijder can keep up their level of motivation next season too ... unfortunately you guys have a very fickle president in charge, and I don't think he knows much about patience; so it would be no surprise to see some kneejerk reactions if you guys finish this season trophyless ...
. He will do that and he already took the first step doing that; he reminded the guys on the post-match interview that "this is a small but important step forward". Also, if you read player's reactions, you see that all of them are aware that the race for the title hasn't ended yet. But now, everyone knows that we are the big favorites.
We need him in the final streak of La Liga and they are saying that maybe Van der Vaart is finish for the season.
