NewsLiverpool's Greatest - No.81: Dirk Kuyt
Years: 2006-2012
Appearances: 285
Goals: 71
Trophies: League Cup (2012)
Dirk Kuyt endeared himself to Liverpool supporters with an incredible work ethic and a knack of producing when it mattered most.
Both traits meant the Dutchman was a much-loved figure throughout his six-season stay at the club.
A highlights reel that includes many contributions on grand stages will leave a fair number of his peers envious.
The mop-haired Dutchman – who joined from Feyenoord in the summer of 2006 – produced goals in finals, derbies and European crunch affairs.
He arrived as a striker and hit the ground running by scoring 14 times in a debut season that ended with an appearance in the Champions League final.
Kuyt scored a consolation in that defeat by AC Milan in Athens, having dispatched the decisive penalty in a shootout with Chelsea to secure the Reds’ spot in the showpiece.
The No.18 was moved to the right flank by Rafael Benitez but was still just as effective and willing to put in the hard yards from there.
He was the hero in a heated Merseyside derby in October 2007, putting two spot-kicks – the second one last-gasp – past Everton to claim victory at Goodison Park.
Kuyt delivered 15 strikes in 2008-09, when Liverpool finished runners-up in the Premier League, and matched that total two years later.
Another standout moment was a particularly unique hat-trick against Manchester United in March 2011, his three goals coming from a combined distance of 8.54 yards.
A place in the starting XI was not guaranteed in his final campaign in 2011-12 but he could still make an impact off the bench.
Kuyt came on in extra-time of the League Cup final with Cardiff City to earn the only medal of his Reds career with a 108th-minute goal and by holding his nerve when it went to penalties.
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