Impending Doom: Facing Mortality

Robin van Persie deserves Feyenoord’s trust as long as he keeps Ajax under his control. Hugo Borst thinks so, he says The Orange Winter. The lead of the Rotterdam team over the record champion is five points.

Borst was critical of John Heitinga several times in the autumn, whom he called a dead man walking mentioned. The journalist has a higher opinion of the Feyenoord trainer. “I think Van Persie is a different story than Heitinga. We knew that Heitinga had not made too much of an impression at Ajax in his first period. It was surprising that he was still allowed to try again.”

“My sources said that he is a nice trainer, but is not prepared for such a difficult job as Ajax. That is why I thought: this will not work. It is different with Van Persie,” Borst believes. “His prospects were not that impressive either. Van Persie does have a very strong personality, but when he messed up by taking the captaincy from Quinten Timber and that gave it to a bunch of scratchers and underdogs…”

“Numbers one, two and three were guys without any personality. Then I thought: my God.” Borst believes that Van Persie should keep Feyenoord’s confidence for the time being. “I think he should still be given a chance. Van Persie is in second place. As long as he keeps Ajax under him, you should not touch the legs of your chair. Feyenoord has made this choice, but if Van Persie loses a lot in January and February, I fear that his end is also near.”

Aiko Tanaka

Aiko Tanaka is a combat sports journalist and general sports reporter at Archysport. A former competitive judoka who represented Japan at the Asian Games, Aiko brings firsthand athletic experience to her coverage of judo, martial arts, and Olympic sports. Beyond combat sports, Aiko covers breaking sports news, major international events, and the stories that cut across disciplines — from doping scandals to governance issues to the business side of global sport. She is passionate about elevating the profile of underrepresented sports and athletes.

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