

Who Is… Robin van Persie
By: Darren_v | November 21st, 2011
Full Name: Robin van Persie
Date of Birth: August 6, 1983
Place of Birth: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height: 1.83 m (6 feet)
Weight: 71 Kg. (156.5 lbs)
Squad Number: 10
Robin van Persie was born on August 6, 1983 in the eastern district of Rotterdam, called Kralingen. Unlike the average professional footballer who grew up poor, Robin was born in a moderately wealthy family. His mother, Jose Ras, was a painter and jewelry designer, and his father, Bob, was a sculptor, and Robin was one of three children, having two sisters who’s names are Lilly and Kiki.
Having grown up in a multi-ethnic area which is home to Rotterdam’s major university, Erasmus University, and into an extremely artistic family, Robin was strongly encouraged to follow in his family’s footsteps to go into arts. Robin preferred to play football however, and at the age of four he joined the local district club, SBV Excelsior. Following his parents divorce and conflicts with the coaching staff at Excelsior, Robin would sign for Feyenoord at the age of 5, and from then would live with his father. Robin would be quickly promoted through the ranks at the Dutch club, and received KNVB Best Young Talent award in 2000/01. He then made his professional debut at the age of 17, thanks to the irony of injuries as the first-team squad was going through an injury problem at the time. van Persie would record 15 caps that first season in 2001/02, and would receive the Dutch Football Talent of the Year for his efforts.
‘I don’t see things the way my parents do,’ he says. ‘They can look at a tree and see something amazing, whereas I just see a tree. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate its beauty. When I watch the sea in somewhere like Sardinia, I see the beauty in that. ‘But I think there is a creative connection with my parents. It’s hard to explain in words, hard to put my finger on it. But I think football is where my creativity comes out.’
-Robin van Persie
To start the 2002/03 season, Feyenoord signed their young star to a 3.5 year deal, and it van Persie continued to show his talents on the pitch, typified by scoring 5 goals in one match in the domestic league cup match on Feb 3. Robin van Persie was well-known for being one of the most misbehaved students while in school, and this attitude would prove to give him difficulties with his club football. van Persie would encounter the difficulties of transitioning from youth football, to a career in football and playing for a livelihood and the consequences of money in the game. In an interview with the Daily Mail, he reveals how he attempted a trick during an UEFA Cup match and then faced the ire of elder teammates saying ‘Don’t do that again. You are playing with my money!’ He would also experience difficulties with the hierarchy at the Dutch club, specifically with club star, one Pierre van Hooijdonk. After booking a massage in the midst of a quick run of games, van Persie would show up only to have ranked pulled on him by the club’s star and found no one around to support his case. Most importantly however, van Persie would find himself at odds with the club manager, Bert van Marwijk, which would result in van Persie being demoted to the the reserve squad, with the manager claiming “his behavior made it impossible for him to remain in the squad any longer.” And when van Persie would be later recalled to the first team, van Marwijk would end up sending the youngster home on the eve of the 2002 UEFA Super Cup final against Real Madrid after the manager was displeased with Robin’s body language when told to warm up during a Champions League qualifier.
The following season Feyenoord would unsuccessfully extend the contract with van Persie, and so sent on a search to sell off the striker who’s relationship with their manager was in shambles. They would be unable to sell him however, most clubs citing concerns with his disciplinary issues. After prolonged negotiations, Feyenoord would finally land a deal for van Persie and on May 17, 2004, Arsenal would sign the striker for 2.75 million Euros, a little over half of their 5 million asking price. van Persie would make his Arsenal debut as a sub during the 2004 Community Shield match v Manchester United and earn his first Arsenal trophy as the Gunners won the match 3-1. His first competitive debut would come on October 27 and would score the opener in a 2-1 League Cup win over Manchester City.
A change of city, culture, teammates and a new manager seemed not to change Robin van Persie’s demeanor. Shortly after a car accident where van Persie crashed his expensive car into a lamp post at night, he would receive his first sending off at Arsenal. On February 26, Arsenal would go to Southampton and after throwing an elbow at Roy Delap, van Persie would loose his head and rashly lunge at Graeme Le Saux, earning him his second yellow of the game, prompting Arsene Wenger to seemingly be captured “offering only his second recorded public profanity as he asked Van Persie what on earth he thought he was doing.” and for reporter Clive White claim that Robin van Persie was “21 (yrs old) going on nine.” Wenger would bench van Persie for a period of games before an injury to Henry would force him back into action, and would score two goals in a win over Blackburn, before an injury to end van Persie’s season off, finishing his first season with 10 goals in 41 appearances for the London club.
The 2005/06 season would begin with van Persie scoring eight goals in eight games, and resulting the Dutchman with the Player of the Month award for November, and a contract extension with Arsenal. By some rude irony, he would break his toe two days later, and play the rest of the season with a hole cut into his shoe to alleviate the pain and allow him to continue to play. The season would end with van Persie being an unused substitute in the Champions League final loss to Barcelona, and he would end the season with 11 goals in 38 matches.
van Persie’s personal life would experience it’s ups and downs, as he married his long time girlfriend Bouchra on March 31, 2005. While on international duty for the Netherlands during the summer, van Persie would be arrested on suspicion of rape of former Miss Holland Sandra Krijgsman. He would spend two weeks in jail before being released. He was later found to have lied about the events of the night, but there was no evidence of non-consensual actions taken place whatsoever. He would describe those two weeks “I remember sitting there just thinking what a waste of time it was. I tried to stay positive and I never panicked because I knew the truth, but I just lost two weeks of my life for nothing. ‘Lots of positives came out of it, though. I learned a lot about the people around me and I learned a lot about life. At 21, life can seem easy and I suddenly realized the world doesn’t always work like that”
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The 2006/07 season was most memorable for Robin when he score that goal against Charlton Athletic.
van Persie would become a father for the first time November 16 as Bouchra gave birth to their son Shaqueel. He was named Rotterdam’s Sportsmen of the Year in 2006, but his season was ended early for the 2nd time in an Arsenal jersey when he fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot when celebrating a goal against Manchester United in January. Despite that, he still finished first on Arsenal’s scoring charts, with 13 goals and 8 assists in 31 matches.
The 2007/08 season began with Arsenal starting life without Thierry Henry, and van Persie was called upon to lead the line with Emmanuel Adebayor. Van Persie would score seven goals in 10 matches before a knee injury with the Dutch National team would sideline him for two months. He would re-injure himself and miss another month, and the rest of the season was frustrating for him and Arsenal as he only featured sporadically the rest of the season, featuring in only 23 matches and only scoring 9 goals.
“I think you will miss many more chances with your chocolate leg if you think negatively, thinking that it’s not your strong foot,”
-Robin van Persie
The 2008/09 season would begin with van Persie recording a brace August 31 in a 3-0 win over Newcastle United. He would then score his 50th Arsenal goal in that crazy 4-4 draw away at Tottenham, but then received his 2nd red card with Arsenal on November 1 in a 2-1 lose to Stoke City when he foolishly head-butted keeper Thomas Sorensen, who later admitted to ‘teasing’ van Persie to provoke a reaction which worked too well for all Arsenal fans’ liking and raised remembrance to his old petulant ways. van Persie would receive the honor of captaining the Arsenal for the first time on January 3, 2009 in a 3-1 over Plymouth where RvP would pot 2 goals himself. January would be the month that Robin van Persie would either score or assist every single Arsenal goal, earning him the club’s Player of the Month. The season would end against Stoke City where a RvP brace would ensure him as the club’s leading scorer for the 2nd time in his career. With 20 goals and 15 assists, Arsenal would name Robin as their Player of the Year.
The summer of 2009 would see a contract extension with Arsenal with him being quoted as saying, “My heart is with Arsenal and I just can’t picture myself in a different shirt. I just can’t see it now because I love this Club so much.” Emmanuel Adebayor’s departure would see Wenger changing formations and inserting van Persie as the lone striker, a position which many wondered if he could excel at. van Persie would continue to rack up the assists for Arsenal, his movement and positional awareness proving to be exceptional, and was named the Barclay’s Player of the Month in October, the 2nd such award. November would bring about international friendlies, and yet another injury for the Dutchman which would prevent him to play for five long months as Arsenal would play without a recognized striker for long stretches of the campaign and for some fans to start considering him as ‘a good luxury player, but completely undependable.’ Robin had been impressive when playing, but with only 20 matches in which he managed 10 goals and 8 assists, the comments had some painful merit to them.

The new campaign of 2010/11 would start with van Persie donning the classic No.10 jersey and bringing back memories of Arsenal and Dutch legend Dennis Bergkamp, but in style and now, number. van Persie would record his 200th match for Arsenal on August 28, and it would end in familiar scenes; an ankle injury and a place on the treatment table yet again. It would take van Persie until January 1 of 2011 to record his first goal of the season, and a fortnight later he would add a brace to his tally, making him the fourth Dutchman to score 50 goals in the English top division. On the 22nd of January, van Persie would record his first hat-trick for Arsenal against Wigan, followed by 2 goals in up in Newcastle, and then yet another brace the following week against Wolverhampton, setting a new record for the most goals scored in the first 2 months of a calendar year with ten. February 27 would signal Arsenal’s return to a Cup final since 2006, and van Persie would score the equalizer for the Gunners, getting injured on the play. He would return for the Champions League return match against Barcelona where he would be sent off in absurd fashion for scoring a goal one second after being whistled for offside and in the the post-game interview he would call the decision a “Total joke”, claiming that with the noise of the 95,000-strong crowd he could not hear the whistle. On April 24 he would become the first player to score in seven successive Premier League matches, a record which he would extend to nine games on the final game of the season at Fulham. He finished the season with 22 goals and 7 assists in 33 matches, equaling the record of 18 league goals from the turn of the year to the end of the season held by Christiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry himself. His goal in the first leg against Barca in the Champions League would be named the club’s goal of the season.
“Robin van Persie’s such an amazing footballer. He hardly needs any space or time to become dangerous.”
-Bert van Marwijk (oh the irony)
Following the (thankfully?) departure of Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie was named captain of Arsenal to start the 2011 season. He recorded his 100th goal for Arsenal on September 24, becoming the 17th Arsenal player to reach the century milestone. He then recorded the fastest goal in a league match (28 seconds) against Sunderland on October16 and then recorded his 2nd career hat-trick at Arsenal in the 5-3 win at Chelsea. He was subsequently named the Premier League Player of the Month for October. In 17 matches thus far in 2011 van Persie has already scored 15 goals, along with 3 assists. He has currently scored in five consecutive league matches, and has scored 10 of the Arsenal 15 goals in their current five game win streak. In the 2011 calendar year, Robin van Persie has played 29 matches and has scored 31 League goals. It is a record that is only equaled by two Premier League legends, Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry.
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Robin van Persie is now 28 years old and in the prime of his career. He is finally healthy and showing the quality that he has always possessed, and was only partially shown thanks to his many, various injury issues. Arsenal is not a one-man team, but no one can deny or question how much van Persie means to the club at this time. He is the captain, the leader, the leading goal scorer. He is the face of this Arsenal squad, and he is showing how a true captain leads his squad.

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**Thanks to @oranje_sky who helped compile this
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Full Name: Robin van Persie









