Robben & Van Persie beat De Boer & Sluiter in entertaining Legends Game

It was entertaining, at times spectacular and certainly exciting: the Legends Game between Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie on the one hand and Raemon Sluiter and Ronald de Boer on the other. In the end, Robben and Van Persie won: 6-4.

The stands in the atmospheric AFAS Live were already packed when the former footballers and former tennis player entered the centre court Sunday afternoon for the finals of the World Padel Tour Decathlon Amsterdam Open. Actually, De Boer was supposed to play with Rafael van der Vaart, but he had to cancel this week. Sluiter replaced him.

'It was unfortunate that Van der Vaart couldn't make it, but I played wonderfully with Sluiter,' De Boer said afterwards. As a former footballer, he praised the volley and the feeling with which Sluiter, as a former tennis player, put those balls away. 'Of course, as a former tennis player, I have an edge,' Sluiter said. 'But it's going to take some time before I understand how to make the best use of the glass walls.'

So, after an exciting and entertaining match, De Boer and Sluiter had to acknowledge their superiority to Van Persie and Robben. The former strikers were among the best footballers in the Netherlands for years, but are now avid padel players. Robben is known to have had a padel court built in his garden.

Sluiter: 'Padel is a hobby for Robben and Van Persie, but as far as possible they play professionally. The discipline and drive with which they play. Everything is gigantic. I love that about them.'

De Boer secretly regretted the defeat, but mostly enjoyed it, he confessed afterwards. 'It was great to play in this ambiance and I think we entertained the audience. Besides, the whole World Padel Tour Decathlon Amsterdam Open, but also this Legends Game is a good promotion for the padel sport in the Netherlands.'