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

Robin Van Persie, the former Dutch striker (Feyenoord, Arsenal, Manchester United, Fenerbahçe)—known for his famous header against Spain from the edge of the box (2014), a modern-day version of the Diver of Paestum—recounted it this way: “I was driving home with my son after the Feyenoord-Ajax Under-14 match. Shaqueel played for Feyenoord, but he’d been benched for that game. He was disappointed and kept complaining—about his teammates, the coach, everything… So I explained to him: ‘Those are the words of a loser. You only talk about others; you haven’t said a single thing about yourself yet. Do you know what a winner does instead? He focuses on his own qualities and works hard to improve them. Is soccer your passion? Good, 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 got it… He was 13 years old.”

the brace—  Today he’s 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 just one Eredivisie appearance under his belt, came on in the 67th minute. In the 87th minute, he scored with a backheel; in the 88th, with an overhead kick, and celebrated by sliding on his knees across the grass, just as his father used to do, while the fans chanted: “We don’t need Batman, we have Robin.” Then Sparta made it 4-3, but it was the coach who lost his cool, not the father.