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Former Liverpool star turned manager Dirk Kuyt has bolstered his coaching credentials after helping his current club win promotion after just three months in charge.
The 43-year-old joined Liverpool from Dutch side Feyenoord in 2006 and remained with the team for six years until his move to Fenerbahce in 2012.
Former striker Kuyt began his managerial career at his boyhood amateur team Quick Boys and served as under-19 head coach at Feyenoord and ADO Den Haag until his move to Belgian second division side Beerschot in December 2023.
But the coach got to work and, despite signing a contract until the end of the season, has already helped them secure a place in the Belgian Pro League for the 2024-25 campaign.
The Antwerp club, which is the sister club of Sheffield United, was relegated in 2021 and was forced to look for a new manager after its then manager Andras Wieland was recruited by Austrian side LASK.
Former Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt (centre) won promotion with Belgian side Beerschot
The 43-year-old has been leading the Challenger Pro League since December
Despite only needing a point from two games to clinch the title, Beerschot did so in style thanks to a 2-1 victory with a goal from D’Margio Wright-Phillips.
Second when Kuyt was appointed, in Sunday’s game Beerschot sealed a 2-1 victory against Oostende and clinched the division title with one game left.
Goals from former Stoke winger Thibaud Verlinden and D’Margio Wright-Phillips, son of former Chelsea and Manchester City player Shaun and grandson of Arsenal legend Ian Wright, help cap their rise.
The former Netherlands international, who is believed to be offered a contract extension following his success, said his team had “enormous” potential.
‘I will look to the future. I want to develop as a coach, but that could be with Beerschot,” Kuyt said after the final whistle, according to Sun.
‘The potential here is enormous. There is still a way to go, but the club is once again at the top.
‘It has been a difficult challenge. The climb was essential, there was no plan B, but no one expected us to climb.
“Everyone at the club has exceeded their goals: players, staff and managers. I am proud to be part of this.”
Kuyt recently took to the Anfield pitch as one of the Liverpool Legends against the Ajax Legends.
Liverpool were unable to appoint another former Bayer Leverkusen player, Xabi Alonso, as coach
Liverpool are unlikely to consider Kuyt as a candidate at this stage of his managerial career, but the club have been thwarted in their search for a player-turned-manager who played alongside him at Anfield: Xabi Alonso.
The Bayer Leverkusen manager is enjoying a season of unprecedented success, with his Bundesliga side unbeaten in all competitions and on course to end Bayern Munich’s stranglehold on the league title.
But the Merseyside club’s favorite to replace outgoing manager Jurgen Klopp has disappointed both Liverpool and Bayern with the announcement that he will honor his contract and remain at Bayer Leverkusen next season.
Alonso is reportedly being considered to replace the coach of another of his former clubs, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.