With three first team stars, an assistant manager and head of goalkeeping, the Dutch influence at Liverpool is particularly strong.
On the playing side, the Reds are captained by Virgil van Dijk – the defensive lynchpin who also wears the armband for the Netherlands – while Cody Gakpo was the current Eredivisie Player of the Year and rising star of the Oranje national side when he arrived on Merseyside in January of last year.
Ryan Gravenberch is viewed as one of the most promising young stars in the national setup while assistant boss Pep Lijnders will begin a career in management later this year after establishing himself as a highly-regarded second-in-command during his years working with Jurgen Klopp.
Goalkeeping coach John Achterberg is affectionately referred to as a ‘maniac’ by Klopp for his obsessive poring over the latest players and trends in that area of the pitch.
But before the current influx of Dutch at Liverpool, though, Dirk Kuyt served with distinction for six years, scoring 71 goals and lifting the 2012 League Cup.
The ECHO sat down with Kuyt to get his expert view on the Netherlands contingent within Klopp’s squad and how they are viewed back in his homeland.
Virgil van Dijk
“Well first of all, I think it was a very big step for Virgil to take the armband. I think it was a huge honour for him but the way he took it and the way he is doing right now is really excellent.
“He is doing really well, really leading the team but also I think his performances have been spot on. It is true that there were some critics in Holland but nowadays every person in the world, if he is saying something about a certain player – especially a Liverpool player – then you can read it everywhere in the world. So sometimes I think the people who criticise him, I think, especially the fans and Virgil van Dijk, are not taking it too seriously.
“But there was also some criticism from Marco van Basten and some other former players, but you know, I watch Liverpool every game and I have seen Virgil playing every game with the way he came back from a very tough injury, it was good but it is not always easy to back after such an injury and be, in my opinion, the best defender in the world.
“You are getting judged really hard every time and people will judge him, so every little mistake he made, he found himself getting a lot of criticism from a lot of people. But in my opinion he didn’t do bad, especially after the bad injury but this season, for the first moment, he has been spot on and he is playing an amazing season I think.
“He is leading this team, wearing the armband but also having very good individual performances as well. You know Liverpool is still on top of the league, challenging for a lot of trophies and doing really well. I think a lot of that is down to him. The team is doing really well, pushing really hard and even seeing the circumstances of finding a lot of injuries they are still pushing and never giving up.”
“I think it is not easy to make this step from Eredivisie to the Premier League and it is even harder to do it during the winter break but I thought he did really well for the first six months and it seems like Cody is feeling comfortable now, getting more experienced and stepping up.
“There are a lot of players who can play up front and Cody is one of them but I am really happy he is there at Liverpool and so far, in my opinion, he is doing really well. The coming months will be even better, that is my feeling.”
Ryan Gravenberch
“I really think he has made a good impression, first of all, when he joined. A lot of fans like him as a player. At Ajax he was one of the big talents of the country and made an early step to Bayern Munich and unfortunately he didn’t get the playing time he wanted there but I think he can be a huge player for Liverpool.
