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Robin van Persie has said his decision to hand his son Shaquille his first-team Feyenoord debut in the Europa League against Celtic was made “as a coach” and not out of sentiment.
The 19-year-old striker spent two seasons in Manchester City’s academy, before following in his father’s footsteps by moving to Feyenoord in 2017 and signing his first professional contract with the Dutch club in 2022.
Fast forward to 2025, and Shaquille was named in Feyenoord’s first-team squad for the first time in Sunday’s Eredivisie defeat to NEC Nijmegen.
Four days later, he made his debut for the first team, coming on in the 81st minute of Feyenoord’s Europa League loss to Celtic.
Former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robben said afterwards: “I made this decision as a coach, not as a father because we needed a goal.”
“Shaquille is a player who can score goals from all angles. That’s why I brought him on.
“From a father’s point of view, when your son makes his debut, it’s always a special moment. But I wasn’t busy enjoying that moment, I was doing my job like Shaquille.”
The London-born teenager had no chance to make an impact and only had one shot in the Celtic penalty area.
It was 2-1, and Martin O’Neill’s side scored their third goal a minute after his introduction.
“The way I see Shaquille is he is one of the players,” Robben added. “That’s what we agreed on two years ago when we actually worked together. Shaquille was handling it really well, and so was I, in my opinion.
“Later when we return home, of course we will have a beautiful moment, when we are proud of each other. I am proud of Shaquille because, like any player who makes his debut, there is a whole process that takes place before he makes his debut. He worked hard, he deserved it, and it is a special moment for him.”
Van Persie is not the first coach to give his son a debut, with BBC Sport picking out a few others, as well as a father-son duo who featured in the same team.
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