Robin van Persie says his choice at hand son Shaqueel a senior debut in Feyenoord’s Europa League defeat by Celtic was made “as a coach” and never out of sentiment.
The 19-year-old ahead spent two seasons at Manchester Metropolis’s academy, earlier than following in his father’s footsteps with a transfer to Feyenoord in 2017 and signing a primary skilled contract with the Dutch membership in 2022.
Quick ahead to 2025 and Shaqueel was named in Feyenoord’s first-team squad for the primary time in Sunday’s Eredivisie defeat by NEC Nijmegen.
4 days later he made his senior debut, approaching within the 81st minute of Feyenoord’s Europa League loss to Celtic.
“I made that decision as a coach, not as a dad as a result of we wanted a aim,” mentioned former Arsenal and Manchester United ahead Robin afterwards.
“Shaqueel is a participant who can rating a aim from all angles. That was the explanation I introduced him on.
“From a father’s standpoint, when your son makes his debut that’s at all times a particular second. However I wasn’t that busy with having fun with that second, I used to be doing my work like Shaqueel was.”
The London-born teenager did not have likelihood to make an influence and had only one shot in Celtic’s field.
He got here on with the rating at 2-1, with Martin O’Neill’s facet scoring their third a minute after his introduction.
“The best way I see Shaqueel is as one of many gamers,” added Robin. “That is what we each agreed to a few years in the past once we already labored collectively. Shaqueel was dealing with that actually effectively, I’m too in my view.
“In a while once we are house after all we could have a pleasant second, once we are happy with one another. I’m happy with Shaqueel as a result of, like each participant who makes his debut, there’s a complete course of happening earlier than he made his debut. He labored exhausting, deserved it and, for him, is a particular second.”
Van Persie is just not the primary supervisor to offer his son a debut as BBC Sport picks out among the others, plus different father-son duos to have featured in the identical workforce.
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