Interview with Jonathan Northcroft of the
Sunday Times
PART 1
ROBIN VAN PERSIE wanted something more
special, something to represent him and his
journey. So, at Sukru Saracoglu stadium,
before i8,ooo manic fans and 25 camera
crews, he took to the pitch with Bouchra, his
wife, Shaqueel, his son, and Dina, his
daughter.
Instead of the usual sight of a new signing
doing a couple of keepy-uppies on their pitch,
Fenerbahces faithful got the whole Van
Persie clan. Robin juggled the ball with
Shaqueel and swapped passes with shy little
Di. Turks, family people, loved it. They were
even singing my name! Bouchra laughs.
Shaqueel, eight, highly promising, will join
Fenerhahces academy, having been at
Manchester Citys. Now he says dad, at our
presentation... because he thinks he made a
transfer as well, Van Persie grins. Thats the
target I wanted to reach. My family are as
much part of this move as me.
His own inner eight-year- old was awakened
at Sukru Saracoglu. The passion! I had other
options [in Italy and Spain but thats why I
chose Turkey. Football has to be fun. Thats
my aim, to go back to that childhood love of
the game. Go back? Fun dwindled for him at
Manchester United last season. It was a
baffling one.
He started having been Louis Van Gaals
captain-confidant in Hollands superb World
Cup campaign. He ended as Van Gaals
Invisible Man, out of the United team, then
out of the first-team squad, training on
Carringtons Pitch Two, reserved for surplus
players the club wants to sell. He is not going
to rake over the breakdown in his
relationship with Van Gaal. What is the point?
Van Persie lives in the moment, not in the
past. He and Bouchra seem buzzing with
energy about their new chapter in Turkey. An
international school has already been found
for the kids, they are house-hunting, and
learning Turkish. We are sitting, close to
midnight, in warm air in a hotel garden in
Asian Istanbul. A stroll away there is a chic
marina and a cafe-lined promenade. Life
changes, but life is good.
Van Persie will look back on United and
remember not the final months but the
warmth of the dressing room, his bonds with
people. After the deal [with Fenerbahce] was
done 1 got texts from Sir Alex, David Gill, Ed
Woodward who was very classy in making
this move straightforward for me, he says.
At Carrington, because I was training on my
own at the end, 1 waited two hours after my
session for the first team to come in, to say
goodbye to the players and that was nice. Ed
said Im always welcome back and thats what
Ill remember: Manchester United is a beast
where everything you do, good or bad, has
bigger impact. Like Arsenal, it is a family
club, a classy club.
Im not aiming for my career to be the
perfect fairytale and the ending at United is
just a small part of the story. If you look at the
whole thing, it was beautiful: 11 years in
England, with help from two of the greatest
managers, Arsène [Wenger] and Sir Alex,
playing with great players, so many
friendships, the welcome from English people.
I came aged 20 to sign for Arsenal [from
Feyenoord] and when the deal was done we
quickly bought a little car, drove back to
Rotterdam, packed three suitcases and off we
went. Now were leaving with three lorries.
Bouchra keeps everything. Shes still got all
the tracksuits of Arsenal, of United. We had
our kids in England, built our family there.
Right now, if we had to choose between living
in Holland and England when I finish playing
it would be England.
Arsenal was his school. Arsène is my football
father. He raised me from being a little kid, as
a footballer. What he does, for players young
and old, is create an environment where you
feel the trust like one big family.
People think there was an argument between
us.. On the contrary we always had a lot of
respect for each other. We just had some
different views at the time and Im still
talking to Arsene regularly now. He is a world
class coach and manager and above all, a
classy man.
Trust, respect, that goes two ways. Thats
what Arsène gives, what Sir Alex gives, thats
what the great managers give you... He did
not feel he was given those last year. Some
Arsenal supporters will never forgive his
United switch but maybe others now will.
Time heals, he says, but I understand. If
youre Arsenal captain and top scorer and
move to United, fans will be upset. And not
for one second have I been angry about that.
I wanted to win the Premier League. And we
did at United. But I had a very special time at
Arsenal. Some might want to erase me from
their history, but no one can change the facts.
I did score 132 goals for Arsenal, I did play
close to 300 games. One year as a captain.
His chemistry with Sir Alex Ferguson was
immediate. He scored 30 goals as United won
the title in 20 12-13 but went scoreless for ten
games. I was waiting for it: When is he
going to give me his hairdryer treatment? But
he said Its fine Robin, youll score and even
if you dont score youre helping the team.
We came from behind that season 26 times.
The mental strength was unbelievable. Fergie
always made you express yourself. Sometimes
hed come in and say, Boys, where do I start?
Its boring! Imagine me, 72 years old,
watching this kind of game? Hed say,
Excite me. Try a pass over 40 metres. Try a
dribble. I dont care if it goes wrong. I want
to sit on the edge of my chair. Please excite
me. And make the game quicker, please. He
was a genius.
Then there were close dressing-room bonds. I
did check before moving, how are players like
Giggsy, Scholesy, Ferdinand, Vidic, looking at
me? Would they still see me as a rival, an
Arsenal player? But the comments were
positive. From day one they accepted me.
The first training session we had three
boxes, where you play six v three, seven v
two, five v four, and they straightaway put
me in the best box. You get a signal there.
Youre not starting in No 3. Youre starting
Box One, with Giggsy, Scholesy, Ferdinand,
Carrick.
Its funny. A couple of years earlier we went
away on holiday to Majorca and Vidic was
there with his family. We ended up in the
same gym barely speaking to each other. Now
hes one of my best friends. We actually went
to Majorca last month to stay at their house.
Rio? He still calls me his driver. He had a
ban for six months and lived close to us. One
day I brought him to the game. We won. And
hes superstitious. So, for every game, I had to
pick him up, even when he could drive again.
And he still got to pick the music for the car!
I texted him to say I enjoyed the winning
but I enjoyed the journey there, the banter in
the car and the serious conversations, for hes
a clever guy, just as much.
Wayne [Rooney] is very funny. And a great
player. We became very good mates. It was an
invention of the press that there was a
problem between US. The same with Moyes. It
[replacing Ferguson] was a very hard job to
take. He did everything in his power to do
well and people were very harsh on him. We
liked each other.