The latest on van Persie’s coaching journey

“Yeah, so this is my second year at Feyenoord Under-16s,” he said in an exclusive interview with our club media. “Next year I will coach the Under-18s – so the team I had most of them last year.

“Together with doing my course – the pro licence course, I just finished my UEFA A licence – and at the beginning, I’m open to learning and I am learning almost every day. Every game we play, I learn something. For me, it’s fun.

“I’m now at the stage where I’m like a sponge and I try to learn and try to think as a coach, instead of as a football fan or as a player.

“Before when I was watching a football match, I was more watching it from the point of view like “ok, who is having a good game, who is doing something nice?”, and now I’m more looking at like this “what system is the opponent playing, what system should I play against that system?” So more tactics and systems these days, but it’s fun.”