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Position: Forward
Date of Birth: 22/07/1980
Height: 6'0
Weight: 13st 2
1st team games: 174
1st team goals: 46
International caps: 56
International goals: 13
Former clubs: FC Utrecht, Feyenoord
Birth Place: Katwijk, Netherlands |
Dirk Kuyt arrived at Liverpool in the summer of 2006 for a fee of approximately £10m.
In his time at the club he has gained a reputation as one of the hardest workers in the game, and has become a popular player with fans due to this hard work & endeavour.
Kuyt signed his first pro contract with Eredivisie team FC Utrecht at the age of 18, having previously played for local amateur side Quick Boys. The youngster made 30 appearances in his debut season, mostly on the right wing, and scored six goals.
Kuyt continued to play predominately as a winger until 2002 when Foeke Booy took over at Utrecht. Booy played him up front for the entire season, a move which paid off as Kuyt scored 23 goals. One of these came in the Dutch Cup final victory over Feyenoord, a game which alerted the Rotterdam club to his talents. In the summer of 2003 they signed Kuyt to replace for the Fenerbache bound Pierre Van Hooijdonk.
He notched up an impressive 22 goals during his debut season at Feyenoord, though this was just the start. In the opening game of the 04/05 season Kuyt scored a hat-trick against De Graafschap. He finished the campaign as the country’s highest scorer with 36 goals to his name.
With his goalscoring form it was a matter of when not if he would get an international callup, and in September 2004 Kuyt made his Holland debut against Liechtenstein. Nine days later he scored his first international goal in a World Cup qualifier against Macedonia.
In the summer of 2006 after another successful season at Feyenoord a number of clubs were sniffing around Kuyt, most notably Liverpool & Newcastle. On August 18th it was announced that Liverpool had won the race to sign the dutch hitman, who left Feyenoord with a record of 83 goals in 122 appearances.
Kuyt made his debut as a substitute against West Ham at Anfield on August 26th. Whilst he didn’t get on the scoresheet the fans were impressed with his workrate, something they would soon come to expect from him. His first goal for the club ironically came against the club Liverpool had fought for his signature, Newcastle United, and he went on to score a further 13 times in his debut season. The season ended for Kuyt with a starting place in the Champions League final, where he scored a late consolation as Liverpool lost the game to AC Milan.
The 07/08 season started with the sad news of the death of Kuyt’s father, something which hit him very hard and by his own admission had an effect on his form. By the end of the season though Kuyt had returned to form, especially in Europe where goals against Marseille, Inter Milan and Arsenal helped the club reach another Champions League semi-final. Liverpool lost the tie against Chelsea despite another Kuyt goal in the first leg, taking his tally for the season to 11.
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