The former striker, now coach of Feyenoord, recounts what he said to his 13-year-old son who was complaining about everyone. Six years later, Shaqueel came on and scored two goals in a minute, celebrating like his father.

Robin Van Persie, former Dutch striker (Feyenoord, Arsenal, Manchester United, Fenerbahce), famous for his header against Spain from the edge of the box (2014), a modern version of the Diver of Paestum, recounted it this way: “I was driving home with my son after Feyenoord-Ajax, Under 14. Shaqueel played for Feyenoord, but he was on the bench for that game. He was disappointed and kept complaining about his teammates, the coach, everything… So I explained to him: ‘These are the words of a loser. You only talk about others, you haven’t said anything about yourself yet. Do you know what a winner does? They focus on their own qualities and work hard to improve them. Is soccer your passion? Fine, but first you have to answer this question: do you want to be a loser or a winner? Think about it, Shaqueel, and choose freely. If you decide to be a loser, that’s fine, I’ll still love you as best I can.” Two days later, I secretly watched his training session. I saw a little tiger running, fighting, giving it his all. Well, maybe he understood… He was 13 years old.

The double—  Today he is 19. On Sunday, his father asked him to warm up. Robin Van Persie, Feyenoord’s coach, was losing the derby against Sparta 3-1 at home. Shaqueel, with only one appearance in the Eredivisie, came on in the 67th minute. In the 87th minute, he scored with a backheel, in the 88th minute with an overhead kick, and celebrated by sliding on his knees on the grass, just like his father used to do, while the fans chanted: “We don’t need Batman, we have Robin.” Then Sparta made it 4-3, but lost their coach, not their father.