The 35-year-old Robin van Persie was last on the pitch as a professional, but his Feyenoord team lost 0-2 to The Hague. But in the 92nd minute, when Van Persie was replaced, the De Quep Stadium showed respect for the legendary player - the game was suspended, and players from Feiyenoord and The Hague lined up to applaud and bid Van Persie away. In the stands, Feyenoord fans show off the giant TIFO "Legendsareforever" in their hands.
Perhaps surprisingly, Van Persie still holds the all-time record for the Dutch national team – 50 goals in 102 games.
Although the Eredivisie made changes to Ajax's schedule for the Champions League, and the final round will not take place until next week, Van Persie decided to complete his last dance at the team's home stadium, in front of family and friends.
His retirement did not come suddenly. Last October, Van Persie made it clear that it was time to end his 17-year career. "I'm happy I made my decision early so that I can have a whole year mentally ready for it. If I had only made the decision a few weeks ago, it would have been difficult to digest in a short period of time," said Van Persie.
Feyenoord is where his football dreams began and where he grew old. From 2001 to 2004, Van Persie played here for four seasons and won the trophy with the team in the 2002 UEFA Cup against Borussia Dortmund.
He has since joined Arsenal as the "Gunner". During his eight years here, he grew into a true striker and scored a record 35 goals in the 2011 season, making his career highlights. However, after joining Manchester United in 2012, he suffered a long-term injury after experiencing the highlights of his first season and lifting the league trophy with the team, and eventually had to leave the team to join Fenerbahce.
In his 10 years in the Premier League, he played more than 280 games and scored 144 goals, becoming the dutch player with the most goals in Premier League history.
Injuries have left him in Turkey in a similar situation as he did under Manchester United. But eventually, he met again with the club he was a child with – Feyenoord accepted a free agent to join Van Persie. Together with Feyenoord, he won the Dutch Cup for the 2018 season, a title he has been away from since the 2013 Community Shield Trophy in England.
In fact, the 35-year-old Van Persie is far from the point of "incorruptible and old". This season, he made 30 appearances for Feyenoord, scoring 18 goals. However, Van Persie said he hopes to be able to end his career actively, rather than passively.
Van Persie has not yet revealed his plans after retiring, and although he is unlikely to leave football, he does not seem to want to be a coach: "Being a manager means too much pressure. Look at Guardiola, who has hardly had a chance to breathe day and night. Because if you only lose three games, you may be pushed to the brink of graduation. When you are a player you can directly affect the outcome of the game, but as a coach, everything is indirect, everything depends on the player. See how Van Basten is treated as a coach? This caused all the aura on his body to be lost. As for myself, I just want to rest for a while now. ”
"I'm happy for the wonderful career he's finally had, both for him and for football, because it's players like Robin who give football colour and flavor." Arsenal legend and former team-mate with Van Persie, Bergkamp said.
[Reporter] Zhu Xiaolong
【Author】 Zhu Xiaolong
【Source】 Southern Press Media Group South + client