Why Robben is considered a great dribbler?

Most of the time he can't beat the man moving the ball at the last moment. His dribbling in thight space is decent at best.
most of the time he does not beat the man but does this  horizontally movement.

0:20

Ribery for example his much better dribbler than Robben, Robben is more about pace than dribbling. The strong point of Robben is the speed, and his shooting technique but in terms of dribbling he is not great, decent at best.

Decent at beast.
Agree. Maybe there are a few who are better at beast, but Robben's definitively pretty decent at beast.
Beasted in quite a number of games.

Highlights? He also had a great dribbling performance recently in WC14.

Top 11 most successful dribbles (OPTA, in a World Cup since 1966, Copa America since 2011 and Euro since 2012)

53 Maradona WC86
47 Jairzinho WC70
46 Messi WC14
43 Messi CA15
43 Kempes WC78
35 Eusebio WC66
34 Messi WC10
34 Donadoni WC94
34 Cruyff WC74
34 Robben WC14
32 Messi CA11

But you're right on Ribery, he has quite a lot more of successful dribbles (730) since 2009 in Bundesliga and CL than Robben (564). Also noteworthy is that Bundesliga is the easiest league to dribble and score from Top 5, because of the space, and the lack of average quality.

Robben not a great dribbler ?

Robben is the third best dribbler after Messi and Neymar

Saying Ribery is better doesn't mean Robben is bad

Robben relies on pace a lot more yes but his control and quick feet in tight areas is overlooked, it's definitely up there.

nazimali12 wrote:Robben is the third best dribbler after Messi and Neymar

Di Maria, Ribery, Brahmi, Hazard, Lucas Moura, Iniesta, Ben Arfa are some players who are better dribblers than Robben

Robben is an outstanding dribbler. Not all dribblers must go for a 'brazilian' style of footwork. His pace and control are excellent. Also the fact that his shoot/crosses are so dangerous makes it harder to mark him since you can't give him any space anywhere around the box.

Yeah he might not be a great dribbler . Ben Arfa is a greater dribbler than Ronaldo, doens't mean much.

Harmonica wrote:Highlights? He also had a great dribbling performance recently in WC14.

Top 11 most successful dribbles (OPTA, in a World Cup since 1966, Copa America since 2011 and Euro since 2012)

53 Maradona WC86
47 Jairzinho WC70
46 Messi WC14
43 Messi CA15
43 Kempes WC78
35 Eusebio WC66
34 Messi WC10
34 Donadoni WC94
34 Cruyff WC74
34 Robben WC14
32 Messi CA11

But you're right on Ribery, he has quite a lot more of successful dribbles (730) since 2009 in Bundesliga and CL than Robben (564). Also noteworthy is that Bundesliga is the easiest league to dribble and score from Top 5, because of the space, and the lack of average quality.

stats mean nothing, who has completed the most dribbles his usually the one who tries to dribble more..

for example bellarabi was the player who has completed more dribbles last season in bundes and he his not one the best dribblers in the world.

Killer wrote:

nazimali12 wrote:Robben is the third best dribbler after Messi and Neymar

Di Maria, Ribery, Brahmi, Hazard, Lucas Moura, Iniesta, Ben Arfa are some players who are better dribblers than Robben

Good for them, but Robben focuses on end product. His dribbles have purpose and he always looks to be in a position to release a shot, pass or cross. Prioritizing that doesn't make him less of a great dribbler, it just means dribbling is more of a tool than an end game for him (unlike Lucas, Hazard, etc.).

Iniesta probably has the best close control out of anyone but Messi and maybe Neymar, but his lack of pace means he can only dribble a certain way. Robben's explosive style is just as effective.

Killer wrote:

Harmonica wrote:Highlights? He also had a great dribbling performance recently in WC14.

Top 11 most successful dribbles (OPTA, in a World Cup since 1966, Copa America since 2011 and Euro since 2012)

53 Maradona WC86
47 Jairzinho WC70
46 Messi WC14
43 Messi CA15
43 Kempes WC78
35 Eusebio WC66
34 Messi WC10
34 Donadoni WC94
34 Cruyff WC74
34 Robben WC14
32 Messi CA11

But you're right on Ribery, he has quite a lot more of successful dribbles (730) since 2009 in Bundesliga and CL than Robben (564). Also noteworthy is that Bundesliga is the easiest league to dribble and score from Top 5, because of the space, and the lack of average quality.

stats mean nothing, who has completed the most dribbles his usually the one who tries to dribble more..

for example bellarabi was the player who has completed more dribbler last season in bundes and he his not one the best dribblers in the world.

And those who are great dribblers do it more, they go hand in hand.

If Bellarabi completed most dribbles in Bundesfodder, then he was the top dribbler there, excluding how individually marked someone is. On world scale you have to consider the quality of the opposition in addition of how marked you are individually.

Harmonica wrote:

Killer wrote:

Harmonica wrote:Highlights? He also had a great dribbling performance recently in WC14.

Top 11 most successful dribbles (OPTA, in a World Cup since 1966, Copa America since 2011 and Euro since 2012)

53 Maradona WC86
47 Jairzinho WC70
46 Messi WC14
43 Messi CA15
43 Kempes WC78
35 Eusebio WC66
34 Messi WC10
34 Donadoni WC94
34 Cruyff WC74
34 Robben WC14
32 Messi CA11

But you're right on Ribery, he has quite a lot more of successful dribbles (730) since 2009 in Bundesliga and CL than Robben (564). Also noteworthy is that Bundesliga is the easiest league to dribble and score from Top 5, because of the space, and the lack of average quality.

stats mean nothing, who has completed the most dribbles his usually the one who tries to dribble more..

for example bellarabi was the player who has completed more dribbler last season in bundes and he his not one the best dribblers in the world.

And those who are great dribblers do it more, they go hand in hand.

If Bellarabi completed most dribbles in Bundesfodder, then he was the top dribbler there, excluding how individually marked someone is. On world scale you have to consider the quality of the opposition in addition of how marked you are individually.

It depends on how much the one is selfish, his style of play and even the position(a striker has less space to dribble than a winger). For example Di Maria don't dribbler that much, he like to use his vision and passing but when he wants to dribble can dribble the whole team, something that Robben can't do even his best dreams especially against a top team.
example:
0:53 Robben can't do nothing like this.
I don't even know what is considered a dribble by opta,  but the horizontally movements of Robben are not dribbles and this is Robben, some decent 1 vs 1 a lot of pace and those  horizontally movements, not really a great dribbler

Yes, Di Maria can dribble whole team when he wants, but he only does it when he feels like it.

That depends on what you look for in dribbling. Effectiveness vs. flash. I'm sure Robben can do plenty of flashy things but they are rarely as effective as a simple horizontal cut and then burst forward -- he makes great use of a combination of control and pace with his dribbling that makes him one of the best dribblers in the world.

Also he absolutely can do what di Maria did at 0:53 in that video, have you ever actually watched him play?

For example you say that 'those who have the highest dribbles sometimes just try to dribble more' which is fine to say, but Robben has the highest dribble success rate between himself and any of the players you have mentioned:

Take on success % last season

Take on success % the season prior

And if you want to claim it's a league thing....

Take on success % at the world cup

As you can see it's not just about flash. Robben is one of the best dribblers in the world, if not the best, because of his combination of control and speed.

and why would his "horizontal movements" not count? he feints his way across the box evading challenge after challenge to emerge in a better position. That sounds to me like the definition of dribbling. It doesn't have to be showy, it just has to work.

nazimali12 wrote:Robben is the third best dribbler after Messi and Neymar

Has Di Maria fallen off the face of the earth, already?

a number of people on here have it right. it depends on what you look at with respect to dribbling. he isn't your step over, skills challenge type dribbler...but if u're looking at end product and effectiveness, he's pretty good. his style has a lot to do with pace control, to score many goals from those runs is impressive. and moreso the fact its a consistent routine that has worked for him over the years.

its like asking why kobe (a few years ago, not this airball kobe), was considered a great scorer when most of his points came off fadeaway jumpers, when other people score by doing other flashier things. well, if the fadeaway jumper is effective and getting the job done, then voila

I don't understand why Robben would ger critisism for his dribbling and not Messi. What I mean by this is that Messi also relies on more ball control and feints to keep the defenders guessing. Hell Robben is so damn good that I remember one period of time where he was doing the same thing on the right wing - defenders knew he wanted to cut in to his left and get a shot off, but they still couldn't contain him.

It's not what you would get from a Neymar, Ronaldinho, but it is still very technical and a pleasure to watch.

my argument has nothing to do with the flashy movements, but with the fact that Robben rarely beats the man moving the ball at the last moment and this his the dribbling not those horizontal movements. He is nothing like Messi.
Robben also is not great in tight space.

He is for sure an effective player but not a great dribbler.

Killer wrote:Robben rarely beats the man moving the ball at the last moment

Except this is like the only thing Robben does in terms of dribbling. His entire game is built on 3 things, his speed, his ridiculously accurate left foot, his close control to beat players/create space.

Every single Robben play is him giving the ball the tiniest of touches at the last second to fool defenders. He moves around showing just enough of the ball but still in his control, and waits till the last second when the defender commits to make his move. If the defender gives him space he shoots/crosses, if the defender tackles he moves the ball away and evades the challenge. He then repeats that 100 times. His whole game is basically playing chicken with his marker.

The Robben:
1. Run around the box
2. Show just enough of the ball to the marker and wait for him to commit
3. Nudge the ball away in the last moment
Is he in a good position to unleash the shoot/cross?
If not, repeat steps 2 and 3

The fact that everyone that has ever watched Robben play knows what he is gonna do and yet it works every time tells how good of a dribbler he is.

I think this can accurately go to Robben's wikipedia page.

Yeah I'm starting to think Killer has never actually watched Robben play. He's not describing his style at all.

Killer wrote:my argument has nothing to do with the flashy movements, but with the fact that Robben rarely beats the man moving the ball at the last moment and this his the dribbling not those horizontal movements. He is nothing like Messi.
Robben also is not great in tight space.

He is for sure an effective player but not a great dribbler.

1. He is effective in tight spaces
2. stop making these imaginary guildlines on what a good dribbler is. If you can keep running with the ball at an opponent with speed and having the ball glued to your feet, that is good dribbling.

Okay, Robben is one of the best in tight spaces, in the league of the the Messi's, Hazard's & Neymar's. His dribbling style is more effective than flashy.

I could agree he may not be as good as say Di Maria or Messi or Hazard in dribbling.

But his left feet is fabulous, he has a glorious 1st touch & he is very nimble fitted & does well in tight spaces.

You may thing he is not an amazing dribbler, but giving wrong or mis-guided opinions about other facets of his game is not proper.