Kuyt scored a hat-trick against Man United and was 'nearly killed' by Crouch

Not for Dirk Kuyt.

For Kuyt, it was one of the proudest moments of his career.

"You know I played for six years for Liverpool, it was the best time of my life," the then-Feyenoord ace said after Steven Gerrard left Liverpool in 2016.

"And last week we played against Manchester United… one thing happened during the game.

"The 60,000 supporters shouted against me and they shouted, 'You Scouse b******!' Normally when the rivals shout at you it's not the best thing that can happen to you, but actually it made me proud. I felt proud to be an adopted Scouser.

"Because for me, Scousers are good people. Hard-working people, committed people, people who never give up."

It's not often a genuine workhorse comes around in the Premier League, but from 2006-2012, Kuyt epitomised the term.

The Dutchman was probably one of the hardest workers the top-flight has seen, leaving no ball unchased every time he set foot on the pitch.

That's why he became in invaluable member of Rafael Benitez's Liverpool side who looked establish themselves as one of England's elite clubs again.

Whilst flashy wingers of the modern Premier League era like Eden Hazard and Mohamed Salah may be more pleasing on the eye, the unorthodox Kuyt was unique in his own way.

A winger without the natural attributes of one, he proved to be mightily effective for the Reds after signing from Feyenoord for £7million in 2006, particularly in the big games.

He had no deadly finish like Salah and no ability to beat three or four players like Hazard, but still managed to record a more-than-reasonable strike rate of a goal every four games.

His hat-trick against Man United in 2011 - probably the worst treble ever scored with a cumulative distance of less than six yards - will forever give him iconic status with the Anfield faithful.

Aided by the genius of Luis Suarez, who had signed for the club five weeks previously, the Dutchman struck twice in the first half and once more after the interval to become the first Red to net a treble against Man United since Peter Beardsley's feat in 1990.

Kuyt was like Superman for Liverpool in the big games, scoring five times against Everton, four against Arsenal, four against Manchester United and three times against Chelsea at a time when the Reds' rivalry against the Londoners was one of the biggest in England.

And he echoed his on-pitch heroics off it, too, as he dressed up as the legendary hero once in his down time.

With just a League Cup to his name at Anfield, Kuyt might be pushing his luck to call himself a Liverpool legend.

One thing he can lay claim too, however, is almost being killed by Peter Crouch before Liverpool's Champions League final defeat to AC Milan in 2007.

In an interview with Four Four Two in 2017, Crouchy incredibly revealed he almost made Kuyt miss the Athens showpiece, which Milan won 2-1.

"I think it was before the Champions League final… I think we were in Portugal, we had a week before the game and we went go-karting," the former England striker recalled.

"Went out, obviously going around the track and I've come in, I've flew into the pit obviously where we stop.

"I thought right I'll just brake now. No brakes whatsoever… so I've seen [Xabi] Alonso and I've seen Kuyt and I thought who's more valuable?

"So I've swerved into Kuyt and fair play to him he literally jumped with his legs like that and I've gone straight through him.

"…God's honest truth it was quite dangerous."

Kuyt will forever go down as an icon with Liverpool fans, and just like he did so often in the famous red shirt, they'll be hoping of of their players can turn up when it matters at Old Trafford this weekend.

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