Fenerbahce parts ways with Dirk Kuyt a week after his Liverpool win as interim coach

Exit announced on Wednesday

Fenerbahce said on social media on Wednesday morning, 11 November 2026, that Dirk Kuyt has left the club with immediate effect. The 46-year-old former Netherlands forward will not be part of the technical staff of the new head coach, Emre Belözoğlu. Kuyt had returned to the Istanbul club as assistant coach over the summer, having played there from 2012 to 2015, when he also won the 2014 Süper Lig title, the last league championship of the 28-time Turkish champions.

The club thanked him in its post.

“We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all that you have contributed to these colors.”

Two matches in charge

After Ismail Kartal resigned in October, Kuyt took temporary charge for two matches. His first game ended in a 1-2 home defeat to Göztepe in the Süper Lig. His second was a 3-2 Champions League win over Liverpool, his former club, in Istanbul on 4 November, the first Champions League victory for Fenerbahce since April 2008. Speaking after that win, Kuyt said he would stay on as assistant if the club wanted him to.

“As long as the chairman wants me to stay here, and Emre agrees with that, I will stay here.”

Kuyt had moved to Fenerbahce from FC Dordrecht over the summer to become assistant coach. Before that, he had worked at Quick Boys as an assistant from 2017/2018, followed by spells at Feyenoord, ADO Den Haag and Beerschot VA, according to Portuguese reporting.

Belözoğlu takes over

Emre Belözoğlu, a former club captain, had already agreed a deal to take over before Kuyt left, according to AP. He won his first match in charge 5-0 at Çorum FK on Sunday, 8 November. Kuyt and Belözoğlu had been teammates at Fenerbahce in the past. The club now sits sixth in the Süper Lig with 19 points, nine behind leader and rival Galatasaray.

Next Champions League match

Fenerbahce's next Champions League game is against Shakhtar Donetsk in London on 25 November, AP reports. The team currently ranks 19th in the 36-team Champions League standings. Kuyt's departure leaves Belözoğlu with the first Champions League fixture of his tenure.