Robin van Persie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 6/2014
Personal information
Full name:
Robin van Persie
Date of birth:
6 August 1983
Place of birth:
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Height:
1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position:
Striker
Club information
Current club:
Manchester United
Number:
20
Youth career
Excelsior:
1997-1999
Feyenoord:
1998-2001
Senior career*
Feyenoord:
2001-2004
61x apps / 15x goals
Arsenal:
2004-2012
194x apps / 96x goals
Manchester United:
2012-
59x apps / 38x goals
National team
Netherlands U17:
2000
6x apps / 0x goals
Netherlands U19:
2001
6x apps / 0x goals
Netherlands U21:
2002-2005
12x apps / 1x goals
Netherlands:
2005-
86x apps / 46x goals
* (appearances, National team caps and goals correct as of 19:00, 18 June 2014 / UTC)
Robin van Persie, born 6 August 1983, is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.
He is the captain of the Netherlands national team. He is a youth product of Feyenoord Rotterdam.
Having joined Arsenal in 2004, Van Persie became the club captain on 16 August 2011, one year before he joined rivals Manchester United.
He is recognised as one of the best strikers in the world.
His playing style and ability have drawn comparison to Dutch legend Marco van Basten.
The son of two artists, Van Persie was encouraged to follow in his parents' footsteps, but he instead preferred football and joined SBV Excelsior's youth squad.
He made his breakthrough at another hometown club Feyenoord, where he spent three seasons and won the 2002 UEFA Cup.
He was named the Dutch Football Talent of the Year for the 2001-02 season.
Disagreements with manager Bert van Marwijk culminated in a change of club and Van Persie moved to Premier League side Arsenal for £2.75 million in 2004 as a long-term replacement for Dennis Bergkamp.
He won the FA Community Shield and the FA Cup in his first season with the London club but did not win another major trophy for the rest of his eight-year spell at Arsenal.
Van Persie has been named Premier League Player of the Month five times. In 2013, he was ranked 11th in The Guardian newspaper's list of the 100 best players in the world.
Van Persie was a Dutch youth international, having represented the Netherlands under-17, under-19 and under-21 sides.
He made his senior international debut in 2005 in a friendly match against Romania.
One month later, he netted his first senior international goal in a 4:0 win over Finland.
Van Persie has 86 caps and has scored 46 goals for the Netherlands, making him their top scorer of all time.
He has represented his country in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2012 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup