Shirt Stories: Robin van Persie and the Tale of The Flying Dutchman

Words by Oscar O'Connor

The header of all headers

They say revenge is a dish best served cold, and wearing this Netherlands shirt in the sweltering heat of the 2014 tournament in Brazil, Robin van Persie had ice in his veins.

Four years on from the last-gasp loss to Spain in the 2010 final, the 2014 campaign began like none other before it, with the winners and runners-up of the previous tournament playing the opening match against each other. What could possibly go wrong?

This generationally talented and cohesive Spain team had won three major international tournaments back-to-back-to-back. After 27 minutes, Xabi Alonso converted a controversial penalty and it seemed like business as usual, with Spain playing irresistible tiki-taka possession football. It would take something truly miraculous to stop them in their tracks...

This Robin van Persie Netherlands shirt was displayed as part of The MWS Legend Collection NYC exhibition, a celebration of football history told through some of the game’s most iconic shirts and unforgettable moments.

One of the most lethal and prolific strikers in world football, Van Persie was the all-time leading goal scorer for the Netherlands at the time. He was not only a great scorer of goals, but often a scorer of great goals: outrageous technique, silky skills, and ferocious shot power in abundance.

He scored incredible volleys, long range curlers, and penalties that threatened to take the net off. But for all the spectacular finishes in Van Persie’s highlight reel, none comes close to topping the gravity-defying wondergoal he scored against Spain in 2014. And he did it wearing this shirt.

The Moment

Picking up the ball just inside the Spanish half, Dutch left back Daley Blind angled a 50-yard lofted through-ball that sailed diagonally across the pitch, floating into a pocket of space behind the Spanish defence. What happened next will likely never be repeated on a football pitch. 

Van Persie timed his run to perfection to stride onside through the Spanish lines, and with the ball still hanging in the air over his shoulder, Van Persie launched himself like an Olympic diver and met the falling ball with a diving header, lofting it back up into the air. The ball looped up over the onrushing Iker Casillas, and sailed into the Spanish net. Golazo!

Van Persie's goal was nominated for the 2014 Puskás Award

Only the most legendary goals get their own nickname, and Van Persie’s header, one of the greatest goals ever scored at the World Cup, was instantly dubbed the Flying Dutchman. Aside from the sheer technical brilliance of its execution, it was an incredibly significant goal for the Netherlands too.

The pain of 2010 was replaced by an eruption of dayglow orange jubilation from the Dutch support. The game was tied at 1-1 heading into the half-time break, and Spain’s decade-long aura of invincibility had just slipped. But the Oranje, playing in their handsome deep royal blue away jerseys, were just getting started. 

Arjen Robben put on a scintillating display of pace, guile and finishing in the second half, cutting in on that unstoppable left foot to score two incredible goals.

Stefan de Vrij bundled home a header from a Wesley Sneijder free-kick, which he comically headed against his own knee before it crossed the line.

And Van Persie added to his most complete performance in the Dutch jersey by closing down a Casillas clearance, before slide-tackling the loose ball into the empty net.

The game finished with the stadium scoreboard reading Netherlands 5-1 Spain, the greatest international team of a generation put to the sword.

It’s a result that would have lived long in the memory anyway, but thanks to Van Persie’s Flying Dutchman, it’s a World Cup moment that will never be forgotten. Spain would go on to crash out of the tournament in the group stage, while the Dutch would go on to beat hosts Brazil 3-0, to claim bronze medals in the third-place playoff match. 

And it all started with Van Persie’s masterpiece.