Former Manchester United striker Robin van Persie, now with Fenerbahce, was extremely excited to learn that his current team ended up in the same exact UEFA Europa League grouping as his former team. Funny how that is- all these perfect narratives emerge in these “blind draws” with the Europa League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, EFL Cup etc.
How serendipitous it all is, these made for the media story lines that “naturally” and “fortunately” just happen by circumstance.
Just prior to the match, Van Persie revealed a major reason that his time at Manchester United had to end. He said that the retirement of club icon Sir Alex Ferguson had a lot to do with his move away from Old Trafford.
During the actual match, United routed the Turkish side in dominating fashion, as Paul Pogba stole the show. RVP did score late, but it didn’t make much difference in the outcome of the game. However, the score did get a rise from both Sir Alex and United fans in attendance. So that was a special moment for Van Persie
From Sports Illustrated‘s Planet Futbol:
Former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who was attending the game while sitting next to disgraced ex-England manager Sam Allardyce, also applauded for Van Persie, who spent three productive seasons at United.
He scored 58 goals in all competitions across three seasons as a Red Devil and won a Premier League title there as well, and that was acknowledged by the grateful crowd–who surely had an easier time applauding an opposing goal with Manchester United in complete control of the result.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
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