Robin van Persie hands Feyenoord senior debut to son Shaqueel in UEFA Europa League defeat to Celtic - 'Made that call as a coach'

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Shaqueel van Persie's Feyenoord debut was a "special moment" but fully deserved and not a decision made out of sentiment, said head coach Robin van Persie after his side's UEFA Europa League defeat to Celtic. The former Netherlands international insisted he was not thinking paternally when he opted to introduce Shaqueel as a second-half substitute. The teenager has been at Feyenoord since 2017.

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Robin van Persie insisted his son Shaqueel has earned his place in Feyenoord's team after the teenager was given his professional debut against Celtic in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

Former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Van Persie, who was appointed Feyenoord boss in February, turned to the bench in the second half with his side trailing.

Forward Shaqueel, 19, was introduced for his first appearance, but could not prevent a 3-1 defeat to the Scottish champions.

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Van Persie made clear his pride, but claimed the decision was not one made out of sentiment.

"I made that call as a coach, not as a dad, because we needed a goal," he said in his post-match interview. "Shaqueel is a player who can score a goal from all angles, so that was the reason why I brought him on.

"From a father's point of view, it was a special moment, because when your son makes his debut that's always a special moment.

"But, to be fair, I wasn't that busy with enjoying that moment. I was just doing my work, like Shaqueel was."

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Video credit: TNT Sports

Asked if it was hard to separate his role as coach and father, Van Persie said: "No, not at all. The way I see Shaqueel is just as one of the players. This is what we both agreed to a couple of years ago when we already worked together.

"Shaqueel is handling that really well, and I am too, in my opinion. Later on, when we are home, of course we will have a nice moment where we are proud of each other. From my point of view, I'm proud of Shaqueel because he worked really hard, like every player who makes his debut.

"There's a whole process going on before he actually made the debut, so he deserved it and, for him, a special moment."

Shaqueel is the latest of several players to have made their debuts under their high-profile fathers.

Johan Cruyff gave his son Jordi his debut at Barcelona, as did Harry Redknapp with Jamie, Zinedine Zidane with Enzo and Luca, Sir Alex Ferguson with Darren, and Diego Simeone with Giuliano.

Shaqueel spent two years in Manchester City's academy before joining Feyenoord in 2017. He signed a professional contract in 2022 and was named in the club's first-team squad in Sunday's Eredivisie defeat by NEC Nijmegen.

Observing the significant moment during live coverage of Feyenoord's loss to Celtic, TNT Sports commentator Rory Hamilton said: "Shaqueel van Persie is going to come on for his professional debut, the 19-year-old. Son of the legendary Robin van Persie.

"This must be such a special moment for Robin van Persie to see his son come on, but really, he needs him to do him a turn here."

There was to be no dream debut for the youngster as Celtic instead extended their lead through Benjamin Nygren late on.

Goals from Yang Hyun-jun and Reo Hatate had given the visitors the lead after Ayase Ueda's 11th-minute opener.

Celtic climbed to 21st in the league phase standings with victory, while Feyenoord are 30th, with just three points from five games.

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