Dirk Kuyt sat patiently on the fringes, waiting for his chance. Stuck on 98 caps, he watched from the sidelines against Spain and Australia, wondering if he would ever join the 100 club.
The list of Oranje centurions is an impressive one. On Sunday, Kuyt became the seventh to reach triple figures, alongside such illustrious company as Edwin van der Sar and Frank de Boer.
He started his 100th game at left-wing-back and moved to right-back. When Holland needed to score, he moved to centre-forward. Towards the end, he was right-back again.
No one from outside the Holland camp thought he would reach a century in such unfamiliar territory, but Louis van Gaal had been plotting his new defensive role for five weeks. Away from the glare of the cameras, Kuyt had been prepped for it in training games since the squad convened in mid-May.
The milestone was made all the more poignant because it fell on the anniversary of his father’s death. When Klaas-Jan Huntelaar sent the ball past Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa, Kuyt sank to his knees and pointed to the sky. It was a touching moment – a victory the Fenerbahce player deserved to revel in.
Little wonder Robin van Persie singled him out in the dressing room at full-time. “We have given Dirk a very nice gift for his 100th international game. I had a little speech for him. I told him I am so proud of him and that he is an example for young and old,” Van Persie said. “There are only seven players who have reached this number of internationals in Oranje. He stayed a long time stabbing away on 98. It is fantastic, if anyone deserves this, it’s him.’’
The heat was so stifling in Fortaleza many of those in the stands moved into shaded seating. The mercury hit 38C at one point in the first half. Kuyt was playing on the left, the sun beating down. The second half should have given him some slight respite on the shaded section of the pitch. Instead, he was switched to the right.
While those around him wilted, Kuyt was red-faced but kept going. Rafael Benítez christened him Mr Duracell at Liverpool in 2009, when he was in his prime. Now 33, his work rate remains as extraordinarily high, his dedication never questioned.
If Van Gaal’s self-praise seemed a tad overbearing – “Did you see what I did?” the coach asked during his press conference, in case the change of formation went over the heads of some – he owed much to Kuyt.
Van Gaal’s relaying of instructions during the 75th-minute water break was akin to a basketball coach staging a time-out in the dying embers of the fourth quarter. All Van Gaal was missing was a whiteboard and marker.
Arjen Robben’s move to the right was credited as the key to their comeback, but Kuyt was as influential. He won the corner in the lead up to Wesley Sneijder’s equaliser and provided crucial support and cover behind Robben.
Sneijder made his 100th appearance against Spain, when Kuyt’s role was on the bench, but Van Gaal knew he could depend on him when called on.
Even Johan Cruyff, notoriously hard to impress, was effusive in his praise: “You’re blessed as a team when you have someone like him walking around. With Kuyt, you can, at a tactical level, go in all directions.”
There have been murmurs about Kuyt joining Van Gaal at Old Trafford. Initially, that sounded unlikely but his performance against Mexico proved he still has something to offer at the highest level.