The legendary Dutch player Robin van Persie has refuted claims that feeling had any influence on his choice to give his son Shaqueel a senior debut during Feyenoord’s Europa League defeat to Celtic.
Late in Thursday’s match in Glasgow, the 19-year-old was introduced by the former Manchester United and Arsenal striker, who is presently Feyenoord’s head coach.
After returning to the Rotterdam club in 2017 after spending two years at Manchester City’s system, Shaqueel signed his first professional contract in 2022 and has since risen through the ranks.
Just four days prior, he was benched in Feyenoord’s Eredivisie loss to NEC Nijmegen, giving him his first taste of professional involvement.
He was substituted in the 81st minute while his team was behind 2-1 in Scotland, but Celtic scored again nearly instantly to win 3-1.
Van Persie emphasized that the choice was solely about attempting to save the match and had nothing to do with family relationships.
He later added, “We needed a goal, so I made that call as a coach, not as a dad.” “Shaqueel has the ability to score goals from every angle. I brought him on because of that.
During his brief cameo, Shaqueel only managed one goal within Celtic’s area, but according to his father, the youth earned the chance via consistent efforts behind the scenes.
From a father’s perspective, your son’s debut is always a memorable occasion. However, I was working like Shaqueel and wasn’t too preoccupied with savoring the situation,” he remarked.
Shaqueel is one of the players, in my opinion. We both agreed to this while we were already working together a few years back. Shaqueel handled that pretty nicely, and I think so too.
Naturally, when we get home later, we’ll have a pleasant moment and feel proud of one another. Like every player who makes their debut, Shaqueel underwent a lengthy process before making his debut, which is why I am happy of him. It’s a memorable occasion for him because he worked hard and earned it.
