At Feyenoords 2:4 against NEC
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Robin van Persie, coach of Feyenoord Rotterdam, didn’t have much to laugh about at the weekend. The 4-2 defeat against NEC Nijmegen was the third defeat in the last four Eredivisie games for the 16-time Dutch champions. The pursuer is now six points behind league leaders PSV. But a special story happened before the game in Rotterdam kicked off on Sunday: In addition to the former star striker van Persie, his son also took a seat on the Feyenoord bench – as a player, in the professional squad for the first time.
Like his father, Shaqueel van Persie is a striker and has actually been at home with Feyenoord’s U21 team since this season. In his youth he played for Manchester City when his father was a few kilometers away for United, then for Fenerbahce and since 2017 in Rotterdam, where Robin van Persie became a professional himself in 2001 and ended his career in 2019. The London native, whose father was also active at Arsenal FC for a long time, did not yet make his debut against NEC, but the topic was still a concern for the Dutch media and fans.
Even before kick-off, coach van Persie said about youth player van Persie on “ESPN”: “On the one hand, of course, it’s a special moment, but on the other hand, we’re both just doing our jobs. So I won’t favor him, but I won’t disadvantage him either, because he’s my son. That wouldn’t be fair to him either.” He treats his son “simply like a player. Shaqueel handles it very professionally himself. It was like that from the start. When I was coaching him in the U16, he immediately said to me: Dad, listen, I’m not your son when we’re in Varkenoord (Feyenoord club grounds; editor’s note), I’m just one of your players. I was glad he said that, because that’s how I see it too.”
Young striker van Persie was allowed to play with the professionals for the first time in October, when he scored a goal straight after coming on as a substitute in a friendly against second division club FC Dordrecht. Afterwards, his father and coach said, according to “1908.nl”: “We also used these days to get to know the boys even better. We had conversations with these players, and I happened to do the same with Shaqueel. At the club and not at home, because Shaqueel is just like the other players. Otherwise, we didn’t really talk about it at home.” He was surprised at how much attention the decision attracted. “It was a friendly game and he scored a goal. That’s a great thing for any young player to score a goal in the first team. We didn’t make the whole thing bigger than it is.”