Kuipers fittingly wore the number 287 on his shirt, the number of appearances he made for the South Coast side.
Kuipers recieved a great reception
Kuipers, a former Dutch marine, recieved a hero's welcome from the Albion faithful. The Dutch stopper saved well from Pavel Pogrebnyak around the 10th minute mark, before being replaced by Tomasz Kuszczak to a standing ovation from the 8,107 crowd.
The Dutchman first joined the Seasiders from Bristol Rovers in 2000 and soon established himself as a fans favorite from the word go.
8,107 people attended the Testimonial.
A character, he controls his area with marine like commands. 'Kuips' as he's known, was substituted on his debut after a horror 45 minutes at Southend, but he bounced back. 10 years later he left a legend, making key saves and leaving a great impression off the pitch. '
FourFourTwo awarded him "Brighton's greatest ever foreigner' in May this year and not many can complain with the accomplishment that Kuipers has achieved at Albion.
He is rare and one of a kind, a decade of hard-work, great performances and selfless attitude was rewarded tonight. It will be a very rare sight the next time we see a legend stay at a club for 10 years or more.
Early days
"Thoroughly nice guy" as he's described by many on the south coast, Kuipers moved up the road to Sussex rivals Crawley Town and guided them to a promotion in his first season as their number one goalkeeper, including an outing at Old Trafford.
A goalkeeping coaching role may now be on the agenda but the Amsterdam born goalkeeper could still play a key playing role at the Red Devils.
The 38-year-old was withdrawn from tonight's (07-08-12) friendly after reportingly having a slight knock before kick-off.
Kuipers in action at Old Trafford
Brighton took the lead through Vicente's penalty after 33 minutes but Premier League side Reading equalized in the last minute thanks to a Hal Robson-Kanu header.
The result unimportant, Kuipers was honoured like a hero and deservedly so, his career with BHAFC lasted a decade and will always be remembered as Brighton's greatest ever keeper.
Full Time: Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Reading. Albion Man of the Decade: Michel Kuipers.
