PUBLISHED ON 4 JUNE, 2012
It was expected after his lack of action last season but Liverpool will begin the new campaign without one of their most loyal and commendable servants.
Dirk Kuyt confirmed yesterday that he has signed a three-year contract with Turkish side Fenerbache. The move is expected to be completed officially later this week.
On his official Twitter account last night, Kuyt tweeted: “It was a privilege to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world!! After 6 years I'm really looking forward to join Fenerbache.
"I'd like to thank everyone I've worked with at LFC and especially my teammates. Also I'd like to thank the supporters for their great support.
And to all Fenerbache supporters. I can't wait to start!! And really looking forward to win as many trophies’s as we can get!!!"
Flying in from Feyenoord
The 31-year old signed for Liverpool after a prolific career in Dutch football. He scored 122 goals in the Eredevisie between 1998 and 2006, playing for Utrecht and Feyenoord.
He joined the Reds in August 2006 initially as another striking option alongside Peter Crouch, Craig Bellamy and Robbie Fowler.
He scored his first goal a month later in a routine 2-0 win over Newcastle United.
The Dutchman made a quick impact, scoring 12 league goals in his first campaign and converting the decisive penalty in the Champions League semi-final shootout success over Chelsea.
Manager Rafael Benitez also started Kuyt in the final in Athens and that faith was rewarded with a late albeit futile header in the club’s heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to AC Milan.
Second season syndrome
With the arrival of Fernando Torres in the summer of 2007, Kuyt was pushed down the pecking order and he started to lose confidence in both his finishing and game play.
Kuyt only scored three goals in the Premier League during the 2007-08 season, two of those where crucial penalties to beat Everton in a bad-tempered derby at Goodison Park.
Towards the end of the year, Benitez opted to try and play the versatile Dutchman out on the flanks, in an effort to help sort out a clear weakness at Anfield.
The experiment worked and he finished the season well, often setting up goals for the dynamic Torres and popping up with critical goals against both Inter Milan and Arsenal in another dramatic Champions League run for the club.
Kuyt’s end of season form got him back into the Holland squad for Euro 2008 and he hasn’t lost his place since.
Drought ended at City
Trailing 2-0 to Manchester City in October 2008, Liverpool were on the verge of losing their first game of the 2008-2009 campaign following a pitiful first half display.
Torres dragged the team back into the game with two strikes and in stoppage time, Dirk Kuyt ended his 11-month Premier League goal drought with a late tap-in to complete one of the greatest top flight comebacks of all time.
2008-09 was to be his best season, scoring 15 times in all competitions and continuing to build on his reputation as a big game player.
He was a regular in the Benitez era at Anfield and whenever the Spanish star Torres was missing through injury, Kuyt never complained and often filled in through the middle, normally to great effect.
Some injury problems at the start of 2010-11 meant he never quite fulfilled his potential in the dark days of Roy Hodgson’s management but better times were still to come.
Memorable hat-trick against United
It was one of the easiest hat-tricks of all-time but no-one could begrudge Dirk Kuyt’s day in the limelight on March 6, 2011.
Liverpool recorded a brilliant 3-1 win over Manchester United and he scored all three goals. The first was a tap-in after some sensational work from Luis Suarez. Five minutes later, Kuyt pounced on Nani’s wayward header to direct a second past Dutch colleague Edwin van der Sar.
When van der Sar couldn’t hold onto a Suarez free-kick with 25 minutes left, Kuyt completed his first and only ever treble for Liverpool.
There were also memorable goals against Manchester City and a converted penalty 11 minutes into injury time at the Emirates, to seriously hurt Arsenal’s title prospects.
The Dutchman ended as joint top scorer for Liverpool in all competitions, matching his 15-goal haul from 2008-09, scoring 13 in the Premier League during the Kenny Dalglish revival.
A frustrating finish
Last season was a tough one for the popular Kuyt who had to be content with a place warming the bench for much of the club’s poor season.
There were still great moments, including an 88 minute winner against biggest rivals Manchester United in an FA Cup fourth round tie at Anfield, and the second goal in the Carling Cup final as Liverpool edged out a brave Cardiff City effort on penalties.
This silverware was Kuyt’s only trophy during his six years of dedicated and hard-working service on the red side of Merseyside.
In total, he scored 50 Premier League goals in 207 top flight matches for Liverpool. Only Fowler, Torres, Steven Gerrard, and Michael Owen have managed to score more goals in the Premier League times for Liverpool.
Kuyt netted 15 goals in European competition, leaving him third on Liverpool’s list of continental goal scorers and will take many wonderful memories to Turkey.
You can’t say a bad word about Dirk Kuyt as he prepares for Euro 2012 with Holland. The Premier League and especially Liverpool will miss his loyalty, determination and versatility next season.
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