After a successful career as a player, Dirk Kuijt has been the head coach of ADO Den Haag since this season. After his career, the born Katwijker became assistant coach at Quick Boys and head coach at Feyenoord Under 19, but in an interview with the General Newspaper indicated that he had to step out of football for a while before he would continue his coaching career. “I noticed that distance from football was necessary to be able to embrace the sport again.”
In addition to his work as an analyst, the Feyenoord legend had to let go of football. “I loved that. In corona time there was little that was possible and I was forced to think about life. And furthermore, I mainly sought peace and relaxation, with the people around me. I regularly went on walks of five or ten kilometers. with friends. I was ready for that life in the lee. It was necessary to reset myself.” In the 2021-22 season, Kuijt will be ready for a job as head coach, but a club that appeals to him will not come. With the last trainer diploma in the bag, Kuijt is forced to take a period of extra rest. But that it turned out that way has been good for me as a person.”
In the all-deciding match for the championship of the Eredivisie in 2017, Kuijt makes a hat-trick. “I ended my career with that last game against Heracles in an absolute high, which you immediately want to build on as a trainer. That is why I immediately became an assistant coach at Quick Boys and then trainer of Feyenoord Under 19. But I noticed that distance from football was necessary to be able to embrace the sport again. I had to recover from a tough football life, process the years of my career and be able to put football into perspective.”
At ADO Den Haag, Kuijt ends up at a club that has had difficulties in administrative and sporting terms. “I know that this club has come a long way and is undergoing reconstruction. But I have calmed down so much in the past period that I am bursting with energy to help this club further in the coming years and to succeed here as a trainer. I ride every “I went to the club on the day with a smile on my face. If I hadn’t taken a rest, it might have been different. Taking distance from football was good for me.”
Personal
In addition to his football life, Kuijt has had a hard time with attacks on his person in recent years. His divorce is widely reported in the media, he gets a lot of jokes on his face and when it comes out that he gambles in the past via an illegal site, he gets a lot of criticism. “As a top athlete, I was always able to handle criticism well, but when it gets personal, I find that a lot more difficult, because it is nobody’s business. I was bothered by that at the time. I think it is a shame that the respect for this kind of things are sometimes hard to find.”
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