Robin van Persie

General

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Robin van Persie
Personal information
Full name:	Robin van Persie
Date of birth:	6 August 1983 (1983-08-06)
Place of birth:	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position:	Forward
Youth clubs
1997–1999 1998–2001	Excelsior Feyenoord
Senior clubs
Years	Club	App (Gls)
2001–2004 2004–2012 2012–2015 2015–2018 2018–2019	Feyenoord Arsenal Manchester United Fenerbahçe Feyenoord	061 0(15) 194 0(96) 086 0(48) 057 0(25) 036 0(20)
National team
2000 2001 2002–2005 2005–2015	Netherlands U17 Netherlands U19 Netherlands U21 Netherlands	006 00(0) 006 00(0) 012 00(1) 101 0(50)

Robin van Persie (born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker. He is a youth product of Feyenoord. Having joined Arsenal in 2004, Van Persie became the club captain on 16 August 2011, one year before he joined rivals Manchester United. He is recognized as one of the best strikers in the world. His playing style and ability have drawn comparison to Dutch legend Marco van Basten. On 7 June 2013, Van Persie was appointed captain of the Dutch national team.

The son of two artists, Van Persie was encouraged to follow in his parents' footsteps, but he instead preferred football and joined SBV Excelsior's youth squad. He made his breakthrough at another hometown club Feyenoord, where he spent three seasons and won the 2002 UEFA Cup. He was named the Dutch Football Talent of the Year for the 2001–02 season. Disagreements with manager Bert van Marwijk culminated in a change of club and Van Persie moved to Premier League side Arsenal for £2.75 million in 2004 as a long-term replacement for Dennis Bergkamp. He won the FA Community Shield and the FA Cup in his first season with the London club but did not win another major trophy for the rest of his eight-year spell at Arsenal. Van Persie has been named Premier League Player of the Month three times. In 2013, he was ranked 11th in The Guardian newspaper's 100 Best Footballers in the world.

Van Persie was a Dutch youth international, having represented the Netherlands under-17, under-19 and under-21 sides. He made his senior international debut in 2005 in a friendly match against Romania. One month later, he netted his first senior international goal in a 4–0 win over Finland. Van Persie has 78 caps so far and has scored 41 goals for the Netherlands, making him their top scorer. He represented his country in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2012 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Honours

Club

Feyenoord

• UEFA Cup (1): 2001–02

Arsenal

• FA Cup (1): 2004–05
• FA Community Shield (1): 2004

Manchester United

• Premier League (1): 2012–13
• FA Community Shield (1): 2013

International

Netherlands

• 2010 FIFA World Cup: Runner-up

Individual

• KNVB Best Young Talent Award (1): 2000–01
• Dutch Football Talent of the Year (1): 2001–02
• Premier League Player of the Month (5): November 2005, October 2009, October 2011, December 2012, April 2013
• Rotterdam Sportsman of the Year (1): 2006
• BBC Goal of the Month (5): September 2006, December 2008, December 2011, August 2012, April 2013
• Arsenal Top Goalscorer (4): 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12
• Arsenal Player of the Year (2): 2008–09, 2011–12
• Arsenal Goal of the Season (2): February 2011 vs Barcelona, December 2011 vs Everton
• UEFA Euro 2008 Bronze Boot
• Premier League Golden Boot Landmark Award (3): 2011–12 (10 goals), 2011–12 (20 goals), 2011–12 (30 goals)
• Premier League Golden Boot (2): 2011–12, 2012–13
• PFA Players' Player of the Year (1): 2011–12
• PFA Fans' Player of the Year (1): 2011–12
• Premier League PFA Team of the Year (2): 2011–12, 2012–13
• FWA Footballer of the Year (1): 2011–12
• ESM Team of the Year (1): 2011–12
• Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year (1): 2012–13
• Manchester United Goal of the Season (1): April 2013 vs Aston Villa

External links

Netherlands – 2006 FIFA World Cup - Round of 16

1. van der Sar 2. Jaliens 3. Boulahrouz 4. Mathijsen 5. van Bronckhorst 6. Landzaat 7. Kuyt 8. Cocu 9. van Nistelrooy 10. van der Vaart 11. Robben 12. Kromkamp 13. Ooijer 14. Heitinga 15. de Cler 16. Maduro 17. van Persie 18. van Bommel 19. Vennegoor of Hesselink 20. Sneijder 21. Babel 22. Timmer 23. Stekelenburg Manager:   Marco van Basten

Netherlands – UEFA Euro 2008

1. van der Sar 2. Ooijer 3. Heitinga 4. Mathijsen 5. van Bronckhorst 6. De Zeeuw 7. van Persie 8. Engelaar 9. van Nistelrooy 10. Sneijder 11. Robben 12. Melchiot 13. Timmer 14. Bouma 15. De Cler 16. Stekelenburg 17. De Jong 18. Kuyt 19. Huntelaar 20. Afellay 21. Boulahrouz 22. Vennegoor of Hesselink 23. van der Vaart Manager:   Marco van Basten

Netherlands – 2010 FIFA World Cup - Runners-up

1. Stekelenburg 2. van der Wiel 3. Heitinga 4. Mathijsen 5. van Bronckhorst 6. van Bommel 7. Kuyt 8. de Jong 9. van Persie 10. Sneijder 11. Robben 12. Boulahrouz 13. Ooijer 14. de Zeeuw 15. Braafheid 16. Vorm 17. Elia 18. Schaars 19. Babel 20. Afellay 21. Huntelaar 22. Boschker 23. van der Vaart Manager:   Bert van Marwijk

Netherlands – 2014 FIFA World Cup – Third place

1. Cillessen 2. Vlaar 3. De Vrij 4. Martins Indi 5. Blind 6. De Jong 7. Janmaat 8. De Guzmán 9. Van Persie (c) 10. Sneijder 11. Robben 12. Verhaegh 13. Veltman 14. Kongolo 15. Kuyt 16. Clasie 17. Lens 18. Fer 19. Huntelaar 20. Wijnaldum 21. Memphis 22. Vorm 23. Krul Manager:   Louis van Gaal