Not just Alonso: Another Liverpool idol from the 2000s will soon be plotting against the Reds
Xabi Alonso won’t be the only former Liverpool player plotting a route to victory over the Reds in the coming days.
The 2005 Champions League winner will be back at Anfield tonight as he takes his Chelsea side to L4 for their fourth-round Carabao Cup tie, having also been in the away dugout with Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid over the past two years.
Another former occupant of the number 14 shirt at Liverpool will line out for the Blues in Jordan Henderson, and a one-time LFC teammate of both men will soon come up against the Merseysiders.
Dirk Kuyt confirmed as interim head coach of Fenerbahce
On Wednesday, it was confirmed (via BBC Sport) that Dirk Kuyt has been appointed as interim head coach of Fenerbahce after the resignation of Ismail Kartal, under whom the Dutchman had served as assistant for the past four months.
The latter stepped down after defeat to arch-rivals Galatasaray on Monday, and one of the ex-Liverpool striker’s first games in his new role will be against the Reds in the Champions League next Wednesday.
Kuyt faces big early test against Liverpool
Kuyt has previously held three head coach roles in senior football, with ADO Den Haag (June-November 2022), Beerschot (December 2023-June 2025) and FC Dordrecht (June 2025-June 2026).
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Scored | Conceded | Win ratio | |
| Den Haag | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 22 | 28 | 29.4% |
| Beerschot | 53 | 14 | 12 | 27 | 64 | 92 | 26.4% |
| Dordrecht | 39 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 48 | 63 | 30.8% |
| TOTAL | 109 | 31 | 27 | 51 | 134 | 183 | 28.4% |
The 46-year-old’s results at his three previous clubs don’t make for great reading at first sight, although he did achieve promotion with Beerschot in 2024, only for them to drop back down to the second tier in the following season.
Coming up against Liverpool will pose a major test of the Dutchman’s coaching credentials so early in his interim tenure with Fenerbahce, where fans’ patience will be in short supply after losing the Istanbul derby and being thumped 6-0 by Aston Villa over the past two weeks.
However, we’ve often seem teams enjoy a resurgence immediately after a change in the dugout, and much like Alonso tonight, Kuyt – who’d been open to joining Arne Slot’s backroom staff at Anfield in 2024 – will be especially motivated when facing his former club, for whom he played between 2006 and 2012.
We wish him the very best at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium – just not when the Reds are in town next Wednesday!
