Kylian Mbappé and Erling Braut Haaland are in every respect the great examples for other talents, including those of the Dutch Juniors. Robin van Persie is impressed by the potential of the attackers of Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund respectively. In his last year at Fenerbahçe, Van Persie already saw the qualities of the Frenchman in a friendly game with AS Monaco. “We played on the back field of an amateur club, but what I saw of him in those twenty minutes I have never seen in a boy of that age before. So explosive and so technical… ”
“He did more at the end of that game than we all had done in seventy minutes together. It was insanely good. I watched the last piece from the couch and said to the others: ‘If this doesn’t become a world star, I will eat these football boots’ ”, Van Persie assures in his column on Tuesday. The Telegraph. According to the former Oranje-international, Haaland ticks all the boxes of mentality, physical, tactics, behavior outside the field, ambitions, intransigence, scoring drive and more. “It is unprecedented that at such a young age he can achieve that high level against the best teams in the world.”
“You have to have a lot in your baggage and be mentally strong enough to be able to do that every day. And he has that. Within the next year, Haaland will also make a mega transfer, ”Van Persie predicts. “You don’t become a world star just like that. Having talent is one thing, but going for a good career requires a lot of dedication. These two players are therefore the ultimate examples for the youth. In so many areas they are working on their ‘weapons’, as I always call it. They work so hard on everything. ”
Van Persie recently spoke in the context of a YouTube series with twelve players of the Dutch Juniors. He spoke with the players, in four groups of three, mainly about media attention and whether their development is going according to their own expectations. “Just like her, I was impatient, I wanted more and that was sometimes impossible. At the same time, and fortunately I had less of that, they have to deal with enormous pressure from the outside due to the arrival of social media and talk shows. ”
“I see that it is sometimes difficult to deal with that. In my time there was no internet and there was not nearly as much commotion about things. ” Van Persie believes that the Netherlands should be happy with players who have the potential to make it to the big the Dutch. “Give them their time, no alarm bells if they pick up a red card or pee outside the pot. My overall impression is that there are enough players with extra qualities in this Juniors. I would be surprised if several players do not make it to the Dutch first team. ”