Van Persie named as Feyenoord manager after Priske sacking
Former Feyenoord and Netherlands striker Robin van Persie has been named as the club’s new head coach, two weeks after the sacking of Brian Priske.
The 41-year-old was confirmed as the Dane’s successor on Sunday after signing a contract until the end of the 2026/27 season.
Van Persie spent four years coaching Feyenoord’s youth teams before taking charge of Heerenveen at the start of the current season. Despite his team losing 9-1 to AZ Alkmaar and being knocked out of the cup by Quick Boys, Van Persie won admirers for his ambitious playing style and development of young players.
He will be assisted by René Hake, who was Erik ten Hag’s assistant coach at Manchester United until the former Ajax boss was fired in October, as well as his assistant coach in Heerenveen, Brian Pinas, and video analyst Yöri Bosschaart.
Van Persie will have just one league match in charge against NEC Nijmegen before taking on Internazionale in the last 16 of the Champions League next Wednesday.
“We are delighted to appoint Robin van Persie, a real Feyenoord icon, as the new coach of the first team,” managing director Dennis te Kloese said on the club’s website. “Robin knows the club inside out and knows exactly what it takes to produce results.”
Heerenveen disappointment
Heerenveen made no attempt to hide their disappointment at Van Persie’s decision to jump ship two-thirds of the way into his first season.
“While we understand his ambition, the timing midway through the season is very inconvenient for us,” managing director Ferry de Haan said.
“We set out on an adventure together and would have liked to have seen out the current season. Despite his short spell with us, we wish Robin all the best in Rotterdam.”
The Frisian club have named assistant coach Henk Brugge as Van Persie’s temporary replacement while they search for a new manager.
A native Rotterdammer, Van Persie bookended his playing career with spells in De Kuip, scoring 46 goals in 123 games and winning the Dutch Cup in 2018.
In between he played for Arsenal, Manchester United and Fenerbahçe, twice finishing as top scorer in the Premier League and winning the league title in 2012/13.
He also scored 29 goals in 99 appearances for the Dutch national team, most famously the diving header in the Netherlands’ 5-1 win against defending champions Spain in the 2014 World Cup.
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