FIFA World Cup 2010 Player Profile: Robin van Persie
Dutch and Arsenal forward Robin van Persie has made his mark on both country and club football with his impressive ball control, quick short passing and unique shot technique. Persie started off with SBV Excelsior’s youth squad and then moved on to Feyenoord, where he won the UEFA Cup in 2002. His next move was to Arsenal, where he currently plays. In only his first year, Persie won the FA Community Shield and FA Cup with the London Club.
Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger compared Robin van Persie to the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Theirry Henry and Marco van Basten. "He can be the best passer in the League and the best goal scorer in the League. He is an intelligent player, he turns very quickly, the timing of his runs is fantastic and he has a short back-lift. Around the box he has what is very difficult to give a striker. He moves away from defenders in a very, very perfect way. He is much stronger than people expect. He uses his body well. He learned to play football in the street.”
After Persie moved to Arsenal, he faced the challenge of playing as a centre forward instead of his original position as a left winger. Wenger was confident that he could mould Persie into a centre forward as he had done with Theirry Henry, and claimed that Persie could play as a winger and a centre forward. Persie scored a goal and won Arsenal the trophy on his debut when he came on as a substitute against Manchester United in the FA Community Shield. However, he spent the next season on the bench and finally made his competitive debut a year later, scoring a goal in the process.
His performance in the 2005-2006 season earned him the Player of the Year award and a contract extension until 2011. But his career has been plagued with injury, his first spell occurring in the 2004-2005 season where he only managed ten goals in over 41 appearances in all competitions. The next season he was again hit with injury when an opponent broke his toe, but Persie chose to play the next three matches, cutting a hole in his shoe to alleviate the pain. In 2006, he fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, bringing yet another season to an early end. But despite being absent for the large part of the season he finished as Arsenals top goal scorer with 13 goals in all competitions.
With Henry’s departure Persie was given the role as the lone striker, he suffered another injury and was out for another two months in the 2007-2008 season, managing seven goals in ten regular season games. Upon his return, he was substituted off after an injury scare and didn’t feature regularly the rest of the season. In the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons, he performed better, leading and inspiring his team to victory on quite a few occasions. In 2008, he was the highest goal scorer for his club and achieved his career best of 20 goals in all competition and was named Arsenal’s Player of the Year.
His true test will come in the 2010 World Cup final against Spain, if successful, Netherlands will win the World Cup for the very first time. Persie made his debut for the national team in the 200 World Cup qualifiers, with wins over Romania and Finland, contributing a goal to the 4-0 victory in the latter. Persie only managed one goal in the 2006 World Cup, as Netherlands were eliminated in the round of 16. In Euro 2008 however, his goal tally went up as he found the back of the net four times. Netherlands finished top of their group but were eliminated in the second stage again.
Persie promised an improved performance in the World Cup as he scored in a crucial qualifying match against Sweden, taking his team ahead. He ensured his team finishing the top of the group again with an important goal against Cameroon, and even played the match against Uruguay, which determined who would go on to play in the final.
However, he’s been overshadowed by Robben and Sneijder. Ahead of the tournament Robin van Persie stated how he would like to become a World Champion like Maradonna, he has the ability to be a serious goal scoring threat to the opposition, but he needs to step up if he hopes to achieve that dream. Netherlands take on Spain in the World Cup 2010 final tomorrow, on the 11th of July.
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