5 players who made the best of their limited abilities on the pitch

Dirk Kuyt

Liverpool fans often called Dirk Kuyt their Duracell bunny because the Dutchman simply refused to stop running. Kuyt didn’t possess the flair one would usually associate with a Dutch player.

He was different from everyone else in the squad and that’s probably why he was a regular in a Dutch squad blessed with talented players, because he offered the managers a different avenue.

A perfect example of Kuyt’s hard work, energy and determination can be seen from his last international tournament. Kuyt has played almost his entire career as a forward. But, when Louis van Gaal was in need of a player to step into the wing back role against Mexico in the first knockout stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the forward stepped up without any hesitation and put in an unbelievable shift.

He played as the left wing back in the first half with the sun beating down on his side and in the second half he played as the right back with the sun again on his side. When the need arose, he moved forward to help his team take the lead before moving back to a defensive role.

That particular game was also his 100^th for the Oranje and that put him in an elite bracket along with the likes of Van der Sar, Sneijder, De Boer, Van der Vaart, Van Bronckhorst and Philllip Cocu. This is a huge achievement for a player like Kuyt.

Kuyt is also exceptionally fit and he only missed five games between 1999 and 2006. Aged 35, Kuyt’s fitness levels are as good as they were before and he has scored 18 league goals this season and just needs 2 more go to the top of the chart.