Over the weekend, Robin van Persie, the head coach of Feyenoord, included his son Shaqueel in the matchday squad for the first time. However, the young talent had to remain patient for his debut as he stayed on the bench during Feyenoord’s 4-2 defeat to NEC Nijmegen.

Van Persie, a former star forward for Manchester United and Arsenal, took over as Feyenoord’s head coach in February. Despite the recent string of losses, including Sunday’s third consecutive defeat, he has downplayed any crisis concerns, focusing instead on nurturing talent like his son’s.

Shaqueel van Persie, who joined Feyenoord in 2017—the same club where his father launched his illustrious career—signed his first professional contract in 2022. As a promising striker, he has trained with the first team multiple times and participated in friendlies, but his inclusion in the matchday squad marks a new chapter in his journey.

Robin van Persie has been committed to keeping his son grounded amidst the budding soccer career. A few years back, after Shaqueel was benched during a match with Feyenoord’s Under-14 team, he expressed frustration about his coach and teammates during the drive home. Van Persie, who earned 102 caps with the Netherlands, seized the moment to impart a valuable lesson on humility and patience to his son.

Feyenoord boss Van Persie named his son Shaqueel in a matchday squad for the first time

Following in his famous father’s footsteps, Shaqueel joined Feyenoord, where Van Persie had begun his own career, in 2017 before signing his first professional contract in 2022

Van Persie told the High Performance Podcast in 2020 about a lesson he had given to his son to keep him grounded, telling him: ‘Winners take control and look where they can improve’

Van Persie Sr has been eager to ensure his son stays grounded, evidenced by an incident a few years ago when Shaqueel was playing for Feyenoord’s Under-14s.

On the car journey home, Shaqueel had complained about his coach and teammates after spending a match on the bench. The 102-cap Netherlands international used the moment to teach his son an important lesson.

Speaking on the High Performance Podcast in 2020, Van Persie said: ‘I told him, “Shaqueel, you sound like a loser when you talk like that. You sound like you lost. You’re blaming him, blaming her, blaming this, blaming everything, but I don’t hear one single thing about yourself.

‘”Winners take control, they blame themselves and look where they can improve. This is what you should be thinking about. Ask yourself, are you a loser, or are you a winner?

“‘It doesn’t matter to me because I’m your dad. The only job I have, and your mum has, is to get you ready for life when you’re 20.

‘“You can make your mistakes, you can do whatever you want. I love you the same amount. It doesn’t matter to me whether you make it as a footballer or not.

‘”But you say that this is your passion, so you have to take control of your life and stop complaining”.’

Van Persie said he noticed an immediate shift in Shaqueel’s attitude afterwards: ‘I saw this tiger! Training, working, running. And I thought, “Okay, he realised he has to take control of his life.”‘

Van Persie has played down talks of a crisis following his side’s third straight defeat on Sunday

It has been a challenging period for the Feyenoord manager, with Sunday’s loss to NEC – which included a stunning goal from just inside the halfway line – marking a third straight defeat.

Next up is the visit of Celtic in the Europa League on Thursday, but Van Persie insists there is no reason to panic ahead of facing the Hoops.

He said: ‘You could call it a crisis if you play really poorly and don’t show anything. That’s not the case.

‘We played a fantastic first half against NEC. We should really have won that match. It’s not good enough, and this isn’t Feyenoord, but every match has its own story.

‘But we have now conceded ten goals in our last four league matches, and that’s too much. And to lose the last three matches is unworthy of Feyenoord. What happened was we lost a few tackles and were sloppy.

‘But we have to defend better in our next match.’