On his third return to Feyenoord, Van Persie starts with a point loss

About ten seconds it looks like he is invisible. Robin van Persie enters the grass of De Kuip on Saturday evening and runs his hands casually in his pockets virtually unnoticed along the sidelines. Only when he approaches the television cameras in the corner, for his first preview as head coach of Feyenoord, an applause will start in the stands. Van Persie smiles, folds and waves.

It is an almost super cool entrance, for a man who was welcomed so often in this stadium. There are no banners in the audience, only twice the fans sing his name, on the familiar melody of Seven Nation Army. The memorial skills of the moment can mainly be seen in the amount of photographers and video teams that for the competition to displace Van Persie.

How do you welcome someone he returns for the third time at the place where he debuted as a professional football player 23 years ago? Van Persie also came back here at the beginning of 2018, to close his career as a football player, after fourteen years of foreign adventures. Partly due to a goal from the Rotterdammer, Feyenoord won the cup that season.

Six months after his farewell, Feyenoord brought him in again, spring 2020, for an unofficial position as a striker trainer. It turned out to be the prelude to a second career as a trainer: Van Persie led youth teams for three years. And since Sunday he has been back, now as head coach. It is up to him to bring stability, after a short and extremely whimsical period under the recently dismissed Deen Brian Priske.

Van Persie himself looks at least as unaffected as the spectators for the competition match against NEC. He looks relaxed all week, he makes jokes. Along the line he hits acquaintances on the shoulders, waves, laughs, and gives hands. Almost as if he has been doing this work all season. With folded hands he takes a seat on the reserve bench. The first two minutes he watches unmoved.

Safe and risky choice

His appointment is both logical and surprising. As a player, Robin van Persie has grown into a club icon, is well with the fans, knows the talents that are on breaking through. That makes it a safe choice. At the same time, he is a risk: inexperienced in the trainer profession. Van Persie did not finish his training for coach professional football just before the summer.

For Feyenoord that was a reason not to consider him, when Arne Slot left for Liverpool after three successful seasons. The club leadership found Van Persie too inexperienced, he first had to mature at another club. He then started working as head coach of SC Heerenveen, Feyenoord came to Priske after a search of « many months ».

Why the club management is now, just nine months later, is convinced of Van Persie is hard to say. Has he gained so much experience in a short time? Feyenoord director Dennis in Kloese moved around that question at the presentation of the new trainer. « He knows the club well and his football vision is in line with Feyenoord. »

Nevertheless, according to Te Kloese, they were quickly convinced that Van Persie was « the right decision », if supported by the experienced assistant René Hake. « We had several candidates, » said te Kloese. “Based on knowledge, of conversations, from the moment too, you make a decision. It went pretty quickly.  » Contact with Van Persie was only a week.

The courtesy phase

As a coach, his vision is closer to the playing style of Slot than that of Priske, Van Persie said at his presentation. They both play 4-3-3, they like attacking, combative football, « they choose » the same patterns in attacking and building « . At the same time, he ignored the expectations: Feyenoord is struggling with a « laundry list » of injuries, that makes it impossible to immediately start with « the ideal playing method ».

Moreover, it is impossible to put a stamp on a team so quickly. Four times they trained together, focused on defending three times, to build up once. « Normally you take six weeks for that. » According to Van Persie, it makes a difference that he is still « in the experience phase ». “Everyone is now curious about me. But soon we will play matches, and then it will be disappointing. ”

His debut is immediately such a competition. Feyenoord is combative, but rarely really good. The home team has great difficulty against NEC, which defends tough and compactly. Up to the penalty area, Van Persie's team can easily combine, but from then on it is often sloppy. The result is that although Feyenoord gathered many opportunities together, it rarely becomes really dangerous.

Twice it seems as if the new trainer will even lose his first game. Just before half -time, NEC breaks out dangerously, and goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther can barely process a header of Vito van Crooij. Fifteen minutes before the end, substitute Lars Olden Larsen heads, but that goal is rejected by the video referee because earlier in the attack a player of NEC made hands.

It ends scoreless, the fifth point loss in the seven league games since the winter break. With the eyes on the grass, Van Persie makes a round past his players. Nothing could be blamed for them, he will say a little later. Just before he disappears, he quickly lights his hand, to the small tuft of fans that is still left in the stands.

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