Robin van Persie

Robin van Persie (born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, Van Persie was known for his excellent technique and ball control, intelligent positioning, and vision.

He is the all-time top scorer for the Netherlands national team.

He is currently an assistant manager at boyhood club Feyenoord in his first managerial role.

Starting his career as a winger, Van Persie made his senior debut for Feyenoord during the 2001–02 season, which culminated with victory in the 2002 UEFA Cup final; he was also named as the Dutch Football Talent of the Year.

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, Van Persie received the KNVB Best Young Talent award.

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.

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.

Feyenoord unsuccessfully attempted to extend Van Persie's contract during the off-season, and his deteriorating relationship with Van Marwijk led to his spending most of the 2003–04 season on the bench.

He again played 28 matches, but finished with two fewer goals than the previous season.

Feyenoord shopped him at the end of the campaign but found few takers due to Van Persie's past disciplinary issues.

During the January transfer window, the Eredivisie club opened negotiations with Arsenal, who were seeking a long-term replacement for aging veteran Dennis Bergkamp, but both parties could not agree to terms.

After five years with Feyenoord, he fell out with manager Bert van Marwijk, and he joined English club Arsenal in 2004 as a long-term replacement for compatriot Dennis Bergkamp.

Van Persie was converted to a striker by manager Arsène Wenger and went on to be a mainstay goalscorer for Arsenal.

On 17 May 2004, Van Persie signed a four-year deal with Arsenal for £2.75 million, just over half of Feyenoord's original asking price of £5 million.

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, who planned to convert Van Persie from a left winger to a centre forward as he had successfully done with star player Thierry Henry, said of his new acquisition, "He can play on the left side of midfield, as a creative player behind the main strikers or as a target man."

Arsenal had further padded their stable of strikers in January by signing Spanish forward José Antonio Reyes, leaving the two to battle for playing time.

Van Persie made his debut and won a trophy in the process, as he came on as a substitute in the 3–1 FA Community Shield victory over Manchester United on 8 August 2004.

Van Persie spent most of his time on the bench during earlier parts of the 2004–05 season, and marked his first competitive start on 27 October by scoring Arsenal's opening goal in a 2–1 League Cup win over Manchester City.

He was sent off for the first time, however, in an Arsenal shirt on 26 February during a 1–1 road draw with Southampton, following a lunge at left-back Graeme Le Saux, for which Wenger was seen yelling an obscenity at Van Persie from the sidelines.

He then later lambasted his charge in the press.

"I do not support Van Persie today, but he did not look out of control at half-time. When the referee has sent off a home player, he is under pressure, so, if any player had to behave, it was him."

Meanwhile, Telegraph sportswriter Clive White described Van Persie in his match report as "21 going on nine."

Van Persie was consequently benched for a number of games, starting with Arsenal's upcoming replay in the FA Cup against Sheffield United, and he was reintroduced into the squad only after Henry was out with a calf injury, and his return to the first team saw him score twice in a Cup semi-final win over Blackburn Rovers.

He came on as a substitute in the final and scored one of the penalties in the shootout as Arsenal beat Manchester United.

The end of Van Persie's season was disrupted by injury, and he finished with ten goals in 41 appearances in all competitions.

After representing the Netherlands at under-17, under-19 and under-21 level, Van Persie made his senior international debut in 2005 in a friendly match against Romania.

A month later, he scored his first senior international goal in a 4–0 win over Finland.

He represented his country at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, and the 2008 and 2012 UEFA European Championships, reaching the final in 2010 and finishing third place in 2014 at the former tournament.

Born in Rotterdam, Van Persie joined the youth squad of local side SBV 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.

He scored a club record of 35 goals in 2011 and was club captain for the 2011–12 season, prior to joining rivals Manchester United in July 2012.

In his first season, he won the Premier League and his second consecutive Premier League Golden Boot.

By the end of the season he had helped his boyhood team win the Dutch Cup, his first trophy since the 2013 FA Community Shield.

Van Persie recorded over 100 caps and scored 50 goals for the Netherlands, and from 2013 to 2015 served as the team's captain.

After two injury-hit seasons followed, Van Persie fell out of favour at United and he was allowed to leave for Fenerbahçe in July 2015.

During his spell in Turkey, Van Persie featured regularly in his first season, but saw limitations in playing time in the following two campaigns after suffering with injuries, with both club and player agreeing to a buyout in January 2018, after which he rejoined Feyenoord on a free transfer.