The former Liverpool forward, now 36, shows no sign of stopping and is the driving force behind the team who take on United in the Europa League

“I feel good. I feel ready for Manchester United. Fifteen points from five games and now this cracker. Let it be a beautiful night.” And with that, the talisman of Feyenoord had issued his proclamation. Dirk Kuyt, the Dutch dynamo, the boundless blond, the man you might have assumed must surely have retired by now, is ready for José Mourinho.

When United arrive in the port city of Rotterdam for their Europa League encounter, they will find a Feyenoord side on good form. Now managed by the former Arsenal and Rangers full-back Giovanni van Bronckhorst, they are unbeaten, on top of the Eredivisie and averaging three goals a game. And at the heart of the team is Kuyt, the manager’s representative on the pitch and then some.

Kuyt will always be remembered by fans of English football as the man who was not quite a striker and not quite a winger yet was indispensable for Liverpool during his six years. Signed in 2006 for £9m from the club he now represents again, where he had spent three years, he was recruited as a striker but did not score many goals. He got 12 in his first Premier League season (though he also scored in the 2007 Champions League final against Milan, perhaps a better indicator of his qualities).

A tactical adjustment from Rafael Benítez saw Kuyt move during his second season from a central position to that of an inside-right and his goal tally reduced further, to three. But the following year Liverpool pushed Manchester United all the way for the title and suddenly it was not Kuyt’s absence of goals but his indefatigable running that everyone wanted to talk about.

He won the League Cup under Kenny Dalglish in 2012 and there were individual successes, too, a hat-trick against Manchester United and derby winners among them. But when Kuyt left for Fenerbahce in 2012 it was his determination that had made him an Anfield hero. Four years later, at the age of 36, that endeavour has hardly diminished.

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“He’s the embodiment of the club and the city; he’s a demigod,” says the Dutch journalist Michiel Jongsma of Kuyt. “He immediately became captain on his arrival at the club and insists on giving a post-match interview after every game. He enjoys being in the limelight. There were jokes last season that he should become the club driver too. He’s basically the alpha and omega of Feyenoord.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dirk Kuyt scores for Liverpool in a 2-0 victory against a Chelsea team managed by José Mourinho in January 2007. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Kuyt is generally held by his fellow Dutchmen to be one of the five best talents the country has produced in the past 15 years. Alongside him are Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart. That Kuyt should be considered in such company by a country that venerates technical ability shows how highly his commitment and adaptability are regarded by his compatriot. Such qualities were never better showcased than in the 2014 World Cup when Kuyt gave sterling performances at left wing-back for Louis van Gaal. He retired from international football after that tournament only for Danny Blind to approach him about a return the following summer. Kuyt declined.

The return to Rotterdam last year brought 19 goals in 32 appearances (a figure inflated somewhat by penalties) and Kuyt has five in five this season. He has also adapted his position again, playing as a No10 but tweaking the role to make late runs into the box. According to Jongsma, his real value, though, is the belief he gives to the team. “Kuyt is there to bring stability,” Jongsma says. “He’s there to stick up for the young kids in the side, to stick up for his manager. He appeals to the crowd so much that he is to an extent undroppable.”

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He may have notched up 872 games for club and country but Kuyt shows no intention of succumbing to the will of Father Time. He says he intends to continue playing until he is 40 and can be visibly peeved when Van Bronckhorst brings him off to save his ageing yet still ridiculously powerful legs. Not that Kuyt will have a shortage of things to fill his time with when he finally clears out his locker. He is already famous for his charity work in the Netherlands (as is his wife, who has taken work in an old people’s home) and the Dirk Kuyt foundation celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

For now, however, there is Manchester United and his old Champions League adversary Mourinho. Kuyt has been putting his mind to the challenge. “I was with Wesley [Sneijder] last week and we talked about it,” Kuyt told the Dutch press at the weekend. “When I said that I thought they would come with a glorified second team, he said something that struck me. It is a prize that Mourinho has never won and Mourinho knows that, so it’s a prize he wants to win. In that case they’ll probably be coming here strong.” It is a convincing rationale, undermined only slightly by the fact Mourinho won the Uefa Cup with Porto in 2003. But whatever the quality of the off-field analysis, Kuyt’s input on the pitch will be as reliable as ever.