They are a fantastic big club and it will be a real pleasure to play here."[9]. Rumours began in May, with Kuyt stating, "I am happy at Feyenoord but I would like to play in the Premier League. Dirk Kuijt (anglicised to Kuyt, Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdɪrk ˈkœyt] (listen); born 22 July 1980) is a Dutch former professional footballer. [12] One of the reasons for his early popularity was his post-match courtesy to the fans; after each match, he would walk to every corner of the ground and applaud the Liverpool supporters. It was also the first goal scored by Liverpool against a top four club in the league in the 2006–07 season. He scored against Stoke City and Burnley in two home 4–0 triumphs. Kuyt's goal against Debrecen means only Ian Rush and Steven Gerrard have scored more goals for the club in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League. During a friendly against England, he opened the scoring less than ten minutes after kick-off, pouncing on Rio Ferdinand's poor back pass. On 3 October 2014, he announced his retirement from international football. Kuyt started all seven matches for the national team, which finished as runners-up to Spain, and finished the tournament with one goal and three assists.[43]. Booy played Kuyt as a striker / attacking midfielder (behind the striker) for the entire season, and Kuyt repaid him with 20 league goals. Kuyt missed only five games over seven seasons from 1999 until 2006 and appeared in 179 consecutive matches between 2001–06, striking up a fruitful partnership with fellow Feyenoord teammate Salomon Kalou. His father was a fisherman and he has stated that if he would not have found a career in football he probably would have followed his father into the family business. His overall rating in FIFA 07 is 82 with a potential of 86. In his next game, a 2–1 win in the Premier League against Manchester United, he assisted fellow countryman Ryan Babel's winning goal. © www.fifaindex.com 2020 - Terms Of Service - Cookie Policy. In the third place play-off, Kuyt made his last international appearance in a 3–0 victory over Brazil, playing the full 90 minutes in the right wing-back position. [20] Kuyt finished the season as Liverpool's top goal scorer scoring 13 league goals, finishing with a total of 15, equalling his best return for the club in a season. "[8] Kuyt completed a move to Liverpool on 18 August for an undisclosed fee. Of course it's not good for the confidence when you lose five times in a row. Kuyt began his professional career with Utrecht in 1998 and quickly became part of its first team. Despite being vice-captain, he did not feature in any games until the match against Andorra on 12 October replacing Jermain Lens as a substitute in the 71st minute.