| DIRK KUYT PROFILE
by Neil Godfrey Date of Birth - 22/7/80
Nationality - Dutch
Position - Striker
Squad Number - 18
Cost - £10m
Club Hons (Lpool) - None
Intnl Hons - Holland Caps
Other Clubs - FC Utrecht, Feyenoord |
When Dirk Kuyt arrived at Anfield in August 2006, he came carrying a weight of expectation that few other new Liverpool signings in the previous 15 years had known. Many Liverpool fans believed that the coming season would finally end the long wait for the league title, and that a prolific goalscorer would be the final piece in the jigsaw.
Of course it didn’t work out that way, with a big part of the problem being a lack of goals in crucial games. The jury may still be out as to whether the Dutch striker is capable of firing the Reds to the title, but one thing that is beyond dispute is that as long as he wears a Liverpool shirt, he will give his absolute all trying to do just that.
Dirk started out as a winger, signing his first professional contract with FC Utrecht at the age of 18. He remained with the club for five seasons, scoring 51 goals in 160 appearances. Towards the end of his spell there he re-invented himself as a striker, and it was in this capacity that Feyenoord signed him in 2003.
In his three seasons with the Rotterdam club, Dirk established himself as one of the most prolific marksmen in European football, netting 71 times in 101 games. This tremendous record saw him called up to the Dutch national side in September 2004. His international career has seen him play mainly on the right of a front three, but after the 2006 World Cup he displaced Ruud van Nistelrooy as the Netherlands’ main central striker.
His goal record, and just as crucially his prodigious workrate, also made him a target for Rafa Benitez, who tracked him for a year and eventually beat off competition from a number of other teams in order to get his man. Dirk made his Liverpool debut as a second-half substitute in a 2-1 win at home to West Ham, and instantly demonstrated why he had been so popular with the Feyenoord fans. His non-stop running and his intelligent movement and link-up play showed the Anfield crowd that they had signed a special player.
Dirk scored his first Liverpool goal against Newcastle the following month, and he reached double figures in his first season with a stunning goal at Upton Park. He has struck up good understandings with both Craig Bellamy and Peter Crouch, and his unselfish and energetic style of play has been a huge asset to Liverpool’s game.
Like Ian Rush in his heyday, Dirk plays the striker role as the first line of defence, constantly chasing down and harrying opposition defenders in order to regain possession for his side. He doesn’t have lightning pace, but he’s certainly no slouch. Dirk’s strength and aerial ability are also valuable assets, as much for providing an outlet to relieve pressure as for providing an attacking threat, although his hold-up play is sometimes hampered by the one obvious weakness in his game, which is a variable first touch.
Some doubts persist about whether Dirk is capable of scoring enough goals to make a genuine difference to Liverpool’s title hopes, and speculation abounds that Rafa will sign another striker for the 2007/08 season. Dirk’s defenders would say that it’s too early to make a judgment on his goalscoring potential in the Premiership, given the paucity of the service that he’s received for much of this season, and the fact that his role has seen him frequently pull out wide and drop deep rather than lurk as a penalty-box predator.
Dirk has shown some cool finishing for his goals, and in that fixture at West Ham in January 2007 he proved himself capable of terrific long-range strikes as well. He also managed to get himself on the scoresheet in the CL final against Milan, but his header proved to be no more than a consolation strike in the end. Despite his reasonable goals return in his first season, he has himself acknowledged that he needs to be more clinical in front of goal.
Every bit as much as his performances on the pitch, it’s Dirk’s infectious character that has won over Reds fans. He wears his love of the club, the fans and the city and people of Liverpool on his sleeve, and within months of signing had strongly suggested a desire to remain at Liverpool for the rest of his career.
The fans’ respect for Dirk has been reinforced further by the dignified and dedicated way that he applied himself while his father has been seriously ill with cancer. Kuyt snr presented his son with the Dutch Player of the Season award at an emotional ceremony in August 2006, and happily recovered sufficiently to come over to Liverpool two months later to see Dirk score against Aston Villa. Sadly he would suffer a relapse and passed away in the summer of 2007.
As if all that isn’t enough to admire Dirk for, he has used the proceeds from his commercial contracts to set up and fund his own charitable foundation, helping some of the poorest people on earth in countries such as Nepal and Ghana, as well as people in deprived urban areas in his native Holland.
Only time will tell if Dirk can live up to the expectations placed on him, not least by himself. But however well or badly he performs throughout his Liverpool career, and however long that career might last, he has already ensured that he will have a special place in the hearts and memories of the Anfield faithful. Put simply, Dirk Kuyt is the sort of player who makes you proud to be a Liverpool fan.
