Robin van Persie

Feyenoord

Born in Rotterdam, Van Persie joined the youth squad of local side Excelsior when he was five, but left for Feyenoord at the age of 16 after falling out with the Excelsior coaching staff over his "petulant" attitude. An injury crisis at Feyenoord meant he was quickly promoted into the first team, and made his debut for the club at 17, the first of 15 total starts during the 2001–02 season. After starting for Feyenoord in the final of the UEFA Cup, which resulted in a 3–2 win against Borussia Dortmund, Van Persie received the KNVB Best Young Talent award. The following season, Van Persie signed a three-and-a-half-year professional contract with Feyenoord, and scored five goals in a 6–1 KNVB Cup thrashing of AGOVV Apeldoorn on 6 February 2003. However, clashes with his manager Bert van Marwijk saw Van Persie demoted to the reserve squad. During a match featuring the Feyenoord and Ajax reserves, he was one of several Feyenoord players assaulted by hooligans who had invaded the pitch. Van Persie's rift with Van Marwijk continued when he was sent home on the eve of the 2002 UEFA Super Cup final against Real Madrid after the coach was displeased with Van Persie's body language after being asked to warm up for a Champions League qualifier. Van Persie finished his tumultuous first full season with the first team having scored eight goals in a total of 28 appearances, in addition to finishing runner-up in the KNVB Cup. Feyenoord unsuccessfully attempted to extend…

U21 career

Van Persie was a U-21 international and took part in the 2004 and 2006 European Championship qualifying. Van Persie was used in a wider role as a left wing due to the preference of the experienced Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in the striker role. The Jong Oranje failed to qualify for the 2004 tournament and Van Persie did not participate in the latter as he was already in the senior squad for the FIFA World Cup. He earned his first caps for the Netherlands in less than the span of a week, first in a 2–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying win over Romania on 4 June 2005, and in another qualifier four days later against Finland, which saw him pick up his first international goal in a 4–0 victory.

2006 FIFA World Cup

Despite not being a regular starter for Arsenal, Van Persie was part of coach Marco van Basten's roster for the 2006 World Cup finals. He played in all four of the Netherlands' matches and scored his only goal in the group stage against Ivory Coast via a free kick as Oranje were eliminated in the Round of 16.

UEFA Euro 2008

Van Persie scored a team-best four UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying goals, and was deployed as a winger behind lone striker Ruud van Nistelrooy during the tournament after Van Basten decided to change to a 4–2–3–1 formation. As Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart were preferred in the midfield, Van Persie was left to battle with Arjen Robben for the remaining spot on the wing. On 13 June, he scored as a 55th-minute…

Early career

In May 2020, a year after his retirement, Van Persie became an assistant-coach to Dick Advocaat at his former club Feyenoord, where he would help train the club's strikers in an unofficial role. In May 2021, Feyenoord announced that Van Persie would officially join the club from the start of the 2021–22 season in a supporting role as a field coach, while also becoming the co-head coach at the club's under-16 team. For the 2023–24 season, Van Persie was promoted to co-head coach of the club's under-18 team, as well as the under-19 team in the UEFA Youth League. Feyenoord under-18 won the 2023 Mladen Ramljak Memorial Tournament with him as a coach. In the UEFA Youth League, Feyenoord topped a group of Atlético Madrid, Lazio and Celtic, before getting knocked out by Bayern Munich in the round of 16.

Heerenveen

On 17 May 2024, Dutch side Heerenveen announced that Van Persie would be their head coach from the 2024–25 season onwards by signing a two-year contract. In his first game as head coach in professional football, Heerenveen lost 1–0 to Ajax as Van Persie became Heerenveen's youngest-ever manager in the Eredivisie at an age of 41 on 11 August 2024. In his fourth game in charge, Heerenveen suffered a league record 9–1 defeat away to AZ on 14 September. Van Persie was criticised after subbing on goalkeeper Andries Noppert with a 2–1 lead against amateur side Quick Boys in the KNVB Cup round of 16, before Noppert caused a penalty and Heerenveen…

Van Persie was born in Rotterdam to an artistic family. His mother, José Ras, is a painter and jewellery designer who also teaches children with special needs. His father, Bob, is a sculptor. After Van Persie's parents divorced he was brought up by his father. At school, Van Persie had serious problems with his behaviour and was excluded from class almost daily. After joining Arsenal in England, Van Persie settled in Hampstead, an affluent suburb of north London. Van Persie is married to Bouchra (née Elbali), who is Dutch-Moroccan, and the couple have two children, a son named Shaqueel, born in 2006, and daughter Dina, born in 2009. When asked if this caused him to convert to Islam, Van Persie said: "It's not true. I am not a Muslim, nor a Christian or a Jew. I have been raised liberally. If you want to become a Muslim it should come from the heart. I would not do it just to please my wife. To believe for me is a quest for being a good man."