Robin van Persie, as the coach of Feyenoord, will face his old club Fenerbahçe on Wednesday evening in the third preliminary round of the Champions League. A look back at Van Persie’s Turkish years – from a live presentation on Fenerbahçe TV to his physical struggles.
Van Persie always enjoyed football, from his time in the youth academy at Feyenoord to his time at Arsenal and Manchester United. There was only one club where he lost the joy of the game: Fenerbahçe.
“The salary was good, Istanbul is a beautiful city, and my daughter was very happy there,” Van Persie recently said in a podcast from SEG, the management agency he is affiliated with. “There were definitely a number of pluses to that adventure, but the joy in football was gone. And that was important to me.”
That joy was evident when Van Persie was greeted at Istanbul airport in the summer of 2015 by thousands of ecstatic Turks. His arrival was broadcast live on Fenerbahçe’s television channel. Later, he was presented in the stadium, in front of thousands of people.
As a striker for Manchester United and a two-time Premier League top scorer, Van Persie was one of the biggest signings in the history of the Turkish powerhouse. “The people in Istanbul were euphoric when Van Persie came,” says Ferhan Basaran, the chairman of the Dutch supporters’ association of Fenerbahçe.
“Songs were made for him before he even touched a ball. It was an honor that such a big player came to Fenerbahçe. But it never became a dream marriage.”
Van Persie struggled with his physical condition
Van Persie’s 2.5 years in Istanbul were inconsistent from the start. Although Van Persie was the top scorer in his first year, he played less under coach Vítor Pereira than he had hoped. The Portuguese coach saw more in the very strong Brazilian Fernandão, who, according to Pereira, was in better physical condition than Van Persie.
That physical condition was the reason Van Persie was able to end up at Fenerbahçe at all. Although Van Persie was only 31 years old when he signed for Fenerbahçe, he was already quite worn out. Manchester United’s coach Louis van Gaal was merciless: his former Dutch captain was allowed to leave.
Once in Istanbul, it became clear that Van Persie had indeed lost a lot physically, says Cor Pot. He worked as an assistant to coach Dick Advocaat at Fenerbahçe with Van Persie in the 2016/2017 season. “Robin had ailments. Especially in his groin. He was no longer in the best physical condition. We had to use him sparingly.”
Van Persie had to train less and was allowed to skip matches against smaller teams. All attention was focused on the top matches, in the league and in Europe. “And Robin did an excellent job in those,” says Pot. “He was still in a class of his own then and peaked at the right moments.”
Basaran was in the stands for the 2-0 victory over Galatasaray in 2016, in which Van Persie scored twice. “His first goal was pure class. He shot it in while sliding. I haven’t seen a striker do that in a Fenerbahçe shirt.”
Van Persie decided derby with Galatasaray
Van Persie’s good performances in big games created mixed feelings among Turkish fans. On the one hand, they enjoyed the special qualities of the Dutchman. On the other hand, they were bothered by the fact that Van Persie, who reportedly earned 5.5 million euros a year, could not deliver on a weekly basis.
“Well, Robin was of course not a cheap player,” says Pot. “People expected a lot. The criticism was fierce, fiercer than we are used to in the Netherlands. But when Robin played, he silenced everyone and things were often quiet again for weeks.”
Van Persie did not win any titles in Istanbul. But he was appreciated at Fenerbahçe. Until August 2017. According to Fenerbahçe, the then 33-year-old striker was struggling with a shoulder injury at the time, but against doctor’s advice, he still went to the Dutch national team for an international match with France.
In that match, he dropped out after 26 minutes with a knee injury, to the anger of the Turkish club management. It turned out to be the beginning of the end of Van Persie in Istanbul. He only played 199 minutes after that injury and returned to his old love Feyenoord in January 2018.
Van Persie eventually concluded his Turkish period with a respectable number of 36 goals, only one less than compatriot Dirk Kuijt scored for ‘Fener’. Kuijt grew into a club icon in his three years at Fenerbahçe and was nicknamed ‘Mister Duracell’, because of his never-ending work ethic.
“But Van Persie never became as much of a club legend as Kuijt,” says Basaran. “Our supporters enjoy fighters like Kuijt. Van Persie was more of an ornamental horse, who had to rely on his technique. The last months didn’t help. He hardly played football and it was mainly about side issues. Van Persie left through the back door.”
Yet Basaran expects Van Persie to receive a warm welcome when he enters the Sükrü Saracoglu stadium with Feyenoord next week. “Our fans are proud that Fenerbahçe’s name is on the resume of a player like Van Persie. Even though he has not been able to live up to the high expectations.”