Ruud Boymans: The Poor Man's Kuyt is Departing

We have all heard of Dirk Kuyt, the Dutch forward/winger, currently active for Liverpool FC. Fortuna Sittard, my favourite club-side, have a player whose style is similar to that of Kuyt's.

His name is Ruud Boymans and because of his impending transfer to rivals VVV-Venlo, I decided to write an article to express my feelings regarding this poor man's Kuyt.

In an effort to explain why Boymans means so much to me, I will first break down Kuyt's style of play. Dirk is known neither for his technical skills nor his goalscoring record, but for his superb work ethos and excellent stamina.

In a way, he reminds me of a dockworker. Not a modern day dockworker, but one from the 1900’s, way before there were unions. Working all day long, never complaining, always getting the job done. That’s what Dirk Kuyt is about, for me anyway.

Currently, Ruud Boymans is playing for one of the worst teams in Dutch professional football. This means he has quite a few defensive duties as well. Playing all-out attacking football in which the attackers don’t have to defend is a luxury teams near the bottom cannot permit themselves.

Boymans is probably one of the few forwards in our team that actually understands what this means. Whenever he starts running, clutter and grass jumps up from the soil and a hard shot, powerful header, or a flying tackle is bound to follow.

It’s this donkey-like workman-ethos that makes a player like Boymans popular with many of our fans. They can identify with the lad. He works hard, has a no-nonsense style of play and isn’t afraid to take one for the team.

His running, working, slugging is important for Fortuna’s (limited) successes this season. He’s like one of those bunnies from Energizer battery commercials. He just keeps on going, never giving up, and chasing after balls that are deemed lost causes by all his team-mates.

Quite a few goals were scored because Boymans managed to chase such a ball down and either put it away himself or gave an assist. It’s this energetic style of play, combined with a modest character that makes Boymans such a popular player, our very own “poor man's Kuyt.”

It may not be pretty to look at, but the team as a whole functions better when he’s out there and we can rest assured, that after a match is over, Boymans has given 200% for the cause. Boymans shares many of these qualities with Kuyt, albeit on a much lower level.

Seeing players like Boymans and Kuyt work and run all over the place, chasing after lost causes, fills my heart with joy. It’s good to see professional footballers who actually work for their money and earn their exorbitant salaries.

This is what makes him a player I can identify myself with, which is why I never quite understand the discussion about such a player being regarded as a (potentially) bad signing. He is living proof that football is not just about talent but about mentality as well.

Yes, Boymans is rather limited in his technical abilities and yes, his goal-scoring record is far from impressive, but I don't care. I like the lad and the way he plays the game. He's one of the few players I just can't seem to get mad at, not even when he misses a sitter.

I really do hope he will succeed at his next club. If he doesn't, it won't have been because he didn't put in the right amount of effort.