Dirk Kuyt may have only won a League Cup with Liverpool but his place in the club’s history is greater than that.
The Dutchman was at Anfield for six years and his effort and attitude found him a place in the hearts of Liverpool supporters. There was never a lack of professionalism from Kuyt, he took the role he was given by the manager and got on with things to the best of his ability.
He’s also much loved at Feyenoord, where he played before and after Liverpool. Sandwiched in the middle, before his Eredivisie return, was a spell at Fenerbahce, and, of course, the Turkish fans also took to him.
Kuyt writes a regular column for De Telegraaf and this week he’s spoken about two things connected with Liverpool.
With it being the 30th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy, he naturally shared his feelings on that and how he believes it impacts upon the club and city: “Prior to the match of my old club Liverpool against Chelsea, the 96 victims of the Hillsborough tragedy were considered. That happens every year and every year it gives me goosebumps. The pain and sorrow of the city of Liverpool can be felt every time.
“What is special is that pain and sadness can also connect in sports. It can provide a force that is incredibly large. The enormous solidarity has been felt in Liverpool for years since the stadium disaster in Sheffield. I experienced it myself when I lived and played football there and I was once allowed to read a psalm in memory of the victims in the stadium.
“The people there cling to each other to bear the sorrow. It is also what Liverpool stands for. A close-knit club with great supporters, who even manage to get something positive out of all that grief.”
With such a strong squad at his disposal, Jurgen Klopp has had to make difficult decisions this season, and one of them has been dropping Georginio Wijnaldum from the starting line-up recently.
Kuyt believes his compatriot is showing the best attitude towards the situation: “What I also like is the fantastic mentality of Georginio Wijnaldum. Before the kick-off I saw his gaze. You felt the disappointment that he was not playing, but when you see how professional he was before, during and after the game, you get even more admiration for him. That’s how you should be as a pro.
“The statistics of the midfielders were shown before the game. Gini has played more than 3000 minutes this season. The next midfielder is on around 2000 minutes. That means 
that he has played the most by far. At the moment, Jürgen Klopp is choosing others, also because Gini is tired and big competitions are coming up. The final sprint becomes so important. Yet Gini deals with that in a great way. He falls in, does his work and celebrates with his fellow players as it should be. A real team player.”
Kuyt longs for Liverpool to get success this season, and he added that after the long period without winning a league title, it would now feel ‘even better’.
