Dirk Kuyt accepts he's had to fight for recognition in football. And he knows another sterling Champions League campaign will not only enhance his status at Liverpool, it will help him reclaim his place in the Holland team.
In the countdown to Tuesday's trip to Marseille Kuyt said: "Training and playing with players like Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres has made me much stronger.
"Before the European Championship people wrote me off completely for the national team. But who was back in the starting line-up for the first two big matches against Italy and France?
"Of course that felt like a big victory for me. I fought my way back in the team and I will do so now.
With my willpower and spirit I always come back at the top of the mountain.
"It has been like that in my whole career. I have enough belief in my own qualities."
Kuyt now hopes he can clinch a new contract at Anfield. His current deal expires in 2010 and he wants to stay in England for the rest of his career.
"I hope we can reach an agreement soon," said Kuyt. "I'm really happy here and I want to stay for a long, long time."
Kuyt actually feels that Liverpool rate him more highly than the Dutch national team. In his home country he has lost his place to Klaas Jan Huntelaar of Ajax. He's frustrated that he is degraded to the substitutes' bench on international duty.
In the countdown to Tuesday's trip to Marseille Kuyt said: "Training and playing with players like Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres has made me much stronger.
"Before the European Championship people wrote me off completely for the national team. But who was back in the starting line-up for the first two big matches against Italy and France?
"Of course that felt like a big victory for me. I fought my way back in the team and I will do so now.
With my willpower and spirit I always come back at the top of the mountain.
"It has been like that in my whole career. I have enough belief in my own qualities."
Kuyt now hopes he can clinch a new contract at Anfield. His current deal expires in 2010 and he wants to stay in England for the rest of his career.
"I hope we can reach an agreement soon," said Kuyt. "I'm really happy here and I want to stay for a long, long time."
Kuyt actually feels that Liverpool rate him more highly than the Dutch national team. In his home country he has lost his place to Klaas Jan Huntelaar of Ajax. He's frustrated that he is degraded to the substitutes' bench on international duty.
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