Robben thrilled with Guardiola praise

Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben is flattered by the praise he received from new manager Pep Guardiola.

The Spaniard, who replaced Jupp Heynckes at the Allianz Arena, described the Netherlands international as a “gift”.

And the 29-year-old is looking to repay that compliment by working hard to bring further success to Bayern.

“Obviously that is always nice to hear. My motivation couldn’t be better and it is nice when a manager says something like this,” Robben said.

“The most important thing for me is to train right now and get to know him, get to know what he wants from the team and the players.

“I am looking forward to the new season and have high expectations.”

The Dutchman has been impressed by his initial meetings with the former Barcelona manager, and believes he will have a positive influence on the Bundesliga champions.

“The first impression was very good,” he continued. “He is highly motivated to work and I think we have a nice team. To have a manager like him, that only can be positive.”

Bayern completed an unprecedented treble last season as they added the UEFA Champions League and DFB-Pokal titles to their league success.

But Robben has warned his team-mates must avoid resting on their laurels.

“Everything is starting from scratch,” he added. “Obviously we want to defend the championship and the DFB-Cup but we can also earn extra titles.

“I always say it, when you play football you play for titles. Next season there are six, but to win them will be very difficult.”

Meanwhile, centre-back Holger Badstuber is in regular contact with Guardiola as he continues his recovery from a recurrence of a cruciate knee ligament injury.

“The manager asks me sometimes how I plan the coming weeks and months,” Badstuber said. “He lets me know his thoughts and we agreed on many points.

“What’s important for me is to follow a good schedule until the next operation. After the next operation things will go better for me.

“I need to be patient until my injury is fully healed. This depends mainly on how the bone will grow. I hope it will be fast – it will be crucial for me to manage this well and look closely into how to cope with it.

“We will see how long it will take, but I am optimistic that it won’t last too long.”