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| Biography Robin van Persie was born on the 6th of August 1983 in Rotterdam. His parents got divorced when Robin was very young and so he lived a few days at his mums (José) house, and the rest of the week with his father Bob until he married on the 31st of March 2004 with Bouchra. Bob and José are both artists. Robin has two sisters: Lilly and Kiki.
At an early age, Robin came in contact with a football; he’d kick against anything that even remotely resembled a football. He joined Excelsior - a little Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam - when he was five years old. They immediately saw that he possessed exceptional football skills. When Robin got into his teen years, the club simply couldn’t hold him anymore. On his thirteenth, he was accepted into the youth academy of Feyenoord. It was not an easy time for Robin. He had some great difficulties with his coaches but his talent made him one of the most promising players in the Dutch national youth competitions. He was the captain of the reserve team that became champions in the season 2000-2001. In January 2002 he made the step up to the first team of Feyenoord. He made his debut against Roda JC and was awarded as Biggest Talent of that season. It that wasn’t the highlight of that period though; on the 8th of May 2002 he won the UEFA cup with Feyenoord.
There were ups and downs in the years after that fantastic season. The English club Arsenal, undeterred by a rebuff during the January 2004 transfer window, made a move for the striker at the end of the 2003-04 season. He made his debut for the team in the 3-1 FA Community Shield victory over rivals Manchester United on August 8th, 2004. The fans loved him from the very first moment; they saw him as the successor of Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp. The coach, Arsene Wenger, wanted to bring Robin slowly into the team, fully aware that Robin’s development and talent had to be treated with care and so the young Dutchman spent most of his time on the bench during earlier parts of the season. In the second half of the season, Robin became a star for Arsenal and scored some very important goals. At the end of that season, he was selected into the Dutch national team for the very first time. Robin received his first full international cap against Romania on the 4th of June 2005. He scored his first goal in his second match against Finland. On June 13th, 2005 Robin was accused of rape by a former Dutch Miss and was held into custody. Robin pleaded innocence from the start, but the police took the case very serious and he spent two weeks in jail. 8 Months later, the Dutch police closed the case because there wasn’t enough evidence that could be held against him. The first months after that turbulent summer were very difficult but he had an amazing comeback. Robin scored in the first game of the 2005-06 season and he continued to show good form, winning the prestigious Player of the Month award in November after scoring six goals in just four starts. He also qualified with Holland for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. A toe injury held him out the team. Meanwhile, Arsenal reached the final of the Champions League, but unfortunately Robin didn´t get to play in the match and so he saw Arsenal lose 2-1 against Barcelona from the sidelines. The World Cup 2006 started for Robin on June 11th against Serbia-Montenegro. Oranje won the match with 1-0. His first World Cup goal came in the 2-1 second victory against Côte d'Ivoire, a blistering free kick in the 23rd minute. Holland went on to the second stage of the tournament after an 0-0 draw against Argentina. The World Cup ended after Holland lost with 1-0 from Portugal, in an utterly disgraceful match that saw four players red carded. Robin became a star player for Arsenal and Holland after the World Cup 2006.
On November 16th 2006 Robin became a father for the very first time. In London, his wife Bouchra gave birth to a healthy baby boy and they named him Shaqueel. The name Shaqueel is of Arabic origin and its meaning is "handsome." It's a very uncommon name for boys. While celebrating his important equaliser against Manchester United in January 2007, he sustained an injury to his right foot; Robin broke his fifth metatarsal and was ruled out for the remainder of the season. 2007-2008 also wasn't the season that he hoped it would be. He didn't play a lot because of many injuries. Sadly, he wasn't fit enough to be a star on the EC 2008. He played all the matches and scored two times but Holland lost in the quarter finals. But 2008-2009 was a great season for Robin. He stayed fit for almost the whole season and played 44 matches for Arsenal. In those 44 matches, he scored 16 times. This made him Arsenal's topscorer. He was the leader of the Premier League assist competition with 11 assists. Robin was 4 times on row Arsenal's Player of the Month and important in matches against teams like Chelsea and Liverpool. Personally, there was another highlight this season. Robin was Arsenal's captain in a few matches. Robin was also important for the Dutch National team who qualified as first European team for the WC 2010 in South-Africa. The 2009-2010 season started very well for Robin. In the past 5 seasons, Robin played as a second striker but this season he started as a striker. He scored 8 goals in 15 matches. But in a Dutch friendly match in November, Robin got injured. His ankle ligaments were damaged because of a Chiellini tackle. The season at Arsenal was almost ended. Robin got his treatment in Amsterdam. Physio Leo Echteld got him ready for the World Cup in South Africa. The Netherlands went to the final, but lost it against Spain. In October 2009, Robin became father of his second child, daughter Dina Layla. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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