Feyenoord coach Robin van Persie is pleased that his former club Fenerbahçe was drawn on Monday in the draw for the third qualifying round of the Champions League. Secretly, he had already hoped for that beforehand.
The outcome of the draw was announced when Van Persie landed with his players on Monday at the airport of Salzburg. From there, the team left for Grassau, Germany, for the training camp in preparation for the new season.
“Fantastic, I had secretly hoped for that a little bit already,” Van Persie said on the club channel after the first training in Germany. “Of the clubs we could have drawn, Fenerbahçe personally gave me a special feeling.”
Van Persie played for Fenerbahçe between 2015 and 2018. During that period, the Turkish club played twice against Feyenoord. With Robin van Persie in the team, Fenerbahçe won both away and home 1-0 in the Europa League.
“I have also been back privately once, but now I am not coming there as a supporter of Fenerbahçe, but as coach of Feyenoord. That is my club, our club,” Van Persie said. “We have work to do. That is to continue to the play-offs of the Champions League.”
The first match between Feyenoord and Fenerbahçe is on August 5 or 6 in De Kuip. The return match is scheduled for August 12 in Istanbul.