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Dirk Kuyt has returned to Fenerbahce as part of new head coach Ismail Kartal’s technical staff, marking another link between the Istanbul club and one of its former foreign stars.
The former Dutch forward, who played for Fenerbahce between 2012 and 2015, will serve as Kartal’s first assistant. The move was announced after Fenerbahce confirmed that Kartal would take charge of the team for the new season.
Fenerbahce, one of Türkiye’s leading football clubs, had been waiting for President Aziz Yildirim’s decision on the team’s new head coach. Following a board meeting, the club announced that Ismail Kartal would lead the side.
Cihan Kamer, one of Fenerbahce’s football branch officials, said on FBTV that Kuyt had agreed to join the coaching team after talks held the previous day. He said Kuyt would work as Kartal’s first assistant and was very excited about coming back to the club.
Kamer also relayed Kuyt’s message, saying the former player had told the club: “I left as a champion and I am very happy to meet with Ismail Kartal and a team that will become champion.”
Kuyt began his career in the Quick Boys academy before moving to Utrecht in 1998. After making his name there, he joined Feyenoord in 2003 and later became one of the standout players in Dutch football.
He won the Dutch top scorer title in the 2004-05 season and was named footballer of the year in the Netherlands in 2006. That same year, Liverpool signed him for 18 million euros.
At Liverpool, Kuyt won the Community Shield and the League Cup. He made 285 appearances for the English club, scoring 71 goals and providing 41 assists.
Kuyt joined Fenerbahce at the start of the 2012-13 season and became a popular figure among supporters because of his work rate and important goals. He was part of the squad that won the 2013-14 league title.
During his time with the yellow-and-navy club, he played 130 matches, scored 37 goals and made 28 assists before leaving in 2015.
After Fenerbahce, Kuyt returned to Feyenoord, where he later won the league title in the 2016-17 season. He had also been part of the team that won the Dutch Cup in the 2015-16 season.
Across his two spells with Feyenoord, Kuyt played 195 matches, scoring 118 goals and making 57 assists. He announced his retirement at the end of the 2016-17 season, before briefly returning to Quick Boys in April 2018 and then ending his playing career.
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