Kuyt has missed only 5 of 238 league matches in the last 7 years!

Dirk Kuyt was born on 22nd of July 1980 in Katwijk aan Zee, a small fisherman’s town near the Noordzee. He was the third of four children. He was raised mainly by his mother, while his father was often out on the open sea.

Kuyt [the "Kuy" is pronounced like "cou" in "couch"] learned to play football on the beaches of Katwijk. When he was ready to join a club as a five year old, he choose to play for Quick Boys, instead of VV Katwijk, a club that was very near his house.

When he was twelve years old, Kuyt had to choose between aspiring to become a fisherman or a footballer. He turned down the offer of an apprenticeship as a fisherman as while at sea, he would miss most of the midweek training sessions. He soon made a name for himself in fotballing circles, and not just because of his remarkably blond hair.

In March 1998, after several years in Katwijk’s youth team, Kuyt made his debut for the Quick Boys’ first team of, which was playing at the highest amateur level in Holland. He played in the last six league matches of the season, scoring three goals as a seventeen year old. 

His breakthrough at Quick Boys drew the attention of Eredivisie club FC Utrecht, who signed him in the summer of 1998. Kuyt was then mainly known for his hard work, but you could see there were more qualities to come. His technique became better and he would soon develop into one of the fittest Dutch professional football players ever.

It’s a testimony to his fitness that he has amazingly missed only 5! of 238 league matches in the last 7 years. Kuyt hit the heights with FC Utrecht in the 2002-2003 season. In his final match for FC Utrecht, the Dutch Cup final against Feyenoord in 2003 he contributed with one goal in a 4-1 victory. It was his first big prize. Ready for a higher level, he was transferred to Feyenoord that summer.

At the Rotterdam club, he soon became the most important player of the club and developed into a fantastic team player and a regular goalscorer. In his three seasons with Feyenoord he scored 20, 29 and 22 goals respectively. During his period with Feyenoord, he made his debut in the Dutch national team against Liechtenstein on 3rd September 2004, confirming the progress he'd made as a footballer.

He became topscorer of the Eredivisie in 2005, scoring 29 goals. In fact, that was his only highlight with Feyenoord, finishing 3rd, 4th and 3rd with Feyenoord in the Eredivisie. His desire to win prizes made him hungry for a bigger club. In Liverpool, he has found exactly that.

Article for LFChistory.net by Ramon Min at the Daily sportspaper "AD Sportwereld" in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Copyright - LFChistory.net