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Kuyt: “Everyone Knows How Much Fenerbahce and Liverpool Mean to Me”
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- Kuyt: “Everyone Knows How Much Fenerbahce and Liverpool Mean to Me”
Liverpool's league phase Champions League tie against Fenerbahce on Wednesday is a chance for the Reds to push to a perfect 4-0 in Europe's premier cup competition. And it's a chance to maybe work out a few of their frustrations following Sunday's referee-assisted 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
It's also a reunion with a cult legend at the club, with Dirk Kuyt having recently taken over as interim manager following the recent dismissal of İsmail Kartal.
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Kuyt played 130 games for the Turkish club after the forward joined them from Liverpool in 2012 after six seasons and 285 games in Red, and after moving into management with spells at clubs in Holland and Belgium, he signed on to be Kartal's assistant at Fenerbahce back in June. Now, he's coming up against Liverpool.
"First of all, it's a really special achievement to be in the Champions League for the first time in 18 years with Fenerbahce," Kuyt said today at his pre-match press conference when asked about coming up against the club he played more games for as a player than any other.
"That was something really exciting and you always know you're going to play against exciting teams. But as soon as the draw came up, I was really excited because everyone knows how much Fenerbahce and Liverpool mean to me. From that moment, I knew it was going be a special occasion for me.
"But at the stage we are, I'm not important person—it's the club. The fans deserve much more, they deserve a good performance. We have good players but we need to show up with good energy, with passion, and to play—and then I think it can be a very special night."
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Special, though, doesn't mean he's hoping for any result other than a win for his side, who currently sit sixth in the Turkish Super Lig—but 31st out of the 36 sides in the Champions League with just two points to show for their opening four league phase matches and their knockout hopes now quickly fading.
"Liverpool are an amazing team but so are Fenerbahce," Kuyt added. "If the fans will show up, too, I think Europe will see how big this club is."
