Personal Information
Full Name | Dirk Kuyt |
Date of Birth | July 22, 1980 |
Nationality | Dutch |
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) |
Role | Forward |
Past Team(s) |
Dirk Kuyt: A Brief Biography
Dirk Kuyt is a footballer from Netherlands, born on July 22, 1980, he plays at right wing position. He played for 19 seasons which included 104 international games for Netherlands.
Background
He started his career with football at a really early age of 5, with Quick Boys FC in his hometown Katwijk. In 1998, he made his debut in the first team of Quick Boys, due to his successful and impressive performance, he was chosen in Eredivisie club- FC Utrecht.
Debut
He made his debut for FC Utrecht on August 30, 1998
Rise to glory
Kuyt scored the decisive penalty in the semi-final shootout against Chelsea and played an important role in helping Liverpool reach the Champions League final in 2007. By the end of his career he had made 15 goals in 48 Champions league games. Kuyt’s scoring for Liverpool helped them win the League Cup in 2012.
He was awarded the individual of top scorer in 2004 for Feyenoord Rotterdam in Holland Casino Eredivisie and Player Of The Year in the same league in 2002. He was also named Footballer of The Year in 2006. Apart from these individual achievements, he has helped his team in winning following awards, English Super Cup in 2006 for Liverpool FC, Turkish Super Cup in 2012, 2013 & 2014 for Fenerbahce SK, Dutch Cup in 2002 for FC Utrecht and in 2015 for Feyenoord Rotterdam and Dutch Champion in 2016 for Feyenoord Rotterdam.
Low points
His shoulder injuries and malleolar injury have been the low points in his career due to which he had to miss 13 games for Liverpool FC in 2010.
Club career
Dirk has played in international cup competitions like UEFA Cup 2001-02 for FC Utrecht, and from 2003-05 for Feyenoord Rotterdam, for Liverpool FC in Champions League from 2006-09, Europa League 2009-10 for Liverpool FC, and in Champions League Qualifications in 2007-08( Liverpool FC) and in 2012-13( Fenerbahce SK).
Participation in national cup competitions include TOTO KNVB beker from 1998-2002 for FC Utrecht and in 2015-16 for Feyenoord Rotterdam, EFL Cup in 2006, 2009 & 2011 for Liverpool FC, FA Cup from 2006-11 for Liverpool FC.
He has even participated in National Leagues like Eredivisie from 1998-2002 for FC Utrecht, from 2003-05 and in 2015 & 2016 for Feyenoord Rotterdam. Other leagues include Super Lig 2012-14 for Fenerbahce SK, Premier League 2006-11 for Liverpool FC.
Captaincy
Dirk became the captain of Feyenoord Rotterdam in 2005 and was the top scorer for the club.
Records
Dirk became the seventh Netherlands player to make 100 international appearances and thus won his 100th international cap against Mexico in 2014 World Cup. He was the seventh Netherlands player to reach the hundredth international cap.
Retirement
Dirk retired in 2015, after his retirement he started working with the management team of Feyenoord with technical director, Martin van Geel as his mentor there. He currently works as an assistant coach for Quick Boys FC.