Dennis Bergkamp

Dennis Bergkamp
Bergkamp 2014
Personnel
Surname	Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp
birthday	May 10, 1969
place of birth	Amsterdam ,  Netherlands
size	183 cm
position	striker
Juniors
Years	station
until 1981	Wilskracht SNL
1981-1986	Ajax Amsterdam
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1986-1993	Ajax Amsterdam	185 (103)
1993-1995	Inter Milan	52 0(11)
1995-2006	Arsenal FC	315 0(87)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1990-2000	Netherlands	79 0(37)
Stations as a trainer
Years	station
2011-2017	Ajax Amsterdam (assistant coach)
1 Only league games are given.

Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp (born May 10, 1969 in Amsterdam , Netherlands ) is a former Dutch soccer player and current soccer coach . Known for his outstanding technical skills, he initially acted as a winger in midfield, later as a center forward and recently often as a lagging tip. He was trained in the renowned youth department of Ajax Amsterdam , where he won the European Cup Winners ' Cup in 1987 , the UEFA Cup in 1992 and the Dutch Cup twice ( 1987 , 1993 ) and the Dutch championship in 1990 . After two relatively disappointing years in Italy with Inter Milan - the biggest success there was winning the UEFA Cup in 1994 - he moved to England in 1995 with Arsenal FC in London. There he helped the club to numerous titles in a total of eleven years, including three English championships ( 1998 , 2002 , 2004 ) and FA Cup trophies ( 2002 , 2003 , 2005 ). His participation in the Champions League final in 2006 against FC Barcelona (1: 2) was also Bergkamp's last appearance as a professional footballer.

Bergkamp was a Dutch national player and took part in two world ( 1994 , 1998 ) and three European championships ( 1992 , 1996 , 2000 ). He scored 37 goals in 79 international matches, replacing Faas Wilkes as record scorer during his playing career - later he was surpassed by Patrick Kluivert himself .

He is currently an assistant coach at his home club Ajax Amsterdam .

Career

As a club player

Ajax Amsterdam (1981-1993)

Dennis Bergkamp as a young Ajax player (1989)

Dennis Bergkamp was born in Amsterdam and grew up as the youngest of four sons of the married couple Wim and Tonnie Bergkamp in a working class suburb. Father Wim, an electrician by trade and an amateur soccer player in the lower divisions, named his offspring after the Scottish striker Denis Law - after difficulties at the registry office a second "n" was added. Following in the footsteps of his namesake, Bergkamp showed himself to be a talented footballer at an early age and at the age of eleven he joined the youth department of Ajax Amsterdam . Under the then coach Johan Cruyff , he made his debut on December 14, 1986 against Roda Kerkrade in a professional game. The game ended with a 2-0 win and a good two months later he scored his first goal against HFC Haarlem (6-0) on February 22, 1987. He played a total of 23 competitive games in the 1986/87 season. This also included a celebrated debut in the European Cup Winners' Cup against Malmö FF and later his substitution in the final against 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig (1-0). He was also used in the Dutch Cup final in 1987 against FC Den Haag in the 78th minute for John van 't Schip when the score was 1: 2 against FC Den Haag; the game was won 4-2 with two goals from Marco van Basten in extra time.

In the following years, after van Basten's departure from AC Milan , Bergkamp became a fixture in the Ajax team and in the 1989/90 season he won his first and only Dutch championship title with the club - Ajax had last won the title in 1985 and thereafter only second place behind PSV Eindhoven . In the three years up to the end of the 1992/93 season, he was then the top scorer in the Dutch honorary division (in the 1990/91 season together with Eindhoven's Romário ) and in 1992 and 1993 he won the honorary division's footballer of the year award . In addition, after a final win against Torino Calcio, the UEFA Cup in 1992 and the Dutch Cup in his last year in Ajax , where he scored the goal in the meantime 5-1 in the 6-2 final win against SC Heerenveen . In total, he scored 122 goals in 239 competitive games for Ajax, including 103 goals in 185 league games.

Inter Milan (1993-1995)

In 1993, Bergkamp and his club colleague Wim Jonk moved to the Italian Serie A at Inter Milan - the transfer fee for this deal was estimated in the media at 15.5 million US dollars. Bergkamp's decision for Inter was primarily the choice of what he saw as the world's best football league at the time, which he also opposed the (unspoken) advice of his Ajax coach Cruyff, who suggested the more offensive style of FC Barcelona . Since he had excluded AC Milan due to the formerly active compatriots Ruud Gullit , Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard , the decision between Juventus Turin and Inter Milan had been made in favor of the latter club. Concerns about the defensive style of play at Inter responded by the local sports management with the promise to orientate themselves more aggressively in the future. However, this was only adhered to at the beginning and Inter quickly fell into the old defensive tactics. Everyday life in the league turned out to be dreary for Bergkamp in the 1993/94 season. He contributed just eight league goals and Inter barely avoided a possible relegation to the second division via a disappointing thirteenth place. Bergkamp often found himself “isolated” from a large number of opposing defenders and little support came from his strike partner Rubén Sosa , with whom he did not harmonize on the pitch. He set the few highlights in the UEFA Cup . There he scored eight goals in his first year and helped the club to cup success ( Jonk provided the only goal to win the 1-0 final against SV Austria Salzburg ).

His reserved manner did not ensure that he integrated better in Milan in his second year. Large parts of the Italian press and fellow players criticized him massively and the signs were quickly goodbye. In October 1994, Bayern Munich tried to break Bergkamp out of Italy. After another disappointing Inter season in 1994/95 and only three league goals, Arsenal FC in London won the contract. The "Gunners" paid a transfer fee of £ 7.5 million in early July 1995.

Arsenal FC (1995-2006)

Dennis Bergkamp in the jersey of Arsenal FC (2001)

For Bergkamp, ​​the choice in favor of Arsenal was primarily a decision for English football. Bergkamp's childhood idol was Glenn Hoddle , but that made him no more a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur than his father of Manchester United - due to his ties to Denis Law. Rather, Bergkamp's agent, Arsenal's board member, knew David Dein well after they handled Glenn Helder's transfer in February 1995 . The coach Bruce Rioch and Dein finally convinced Bergkamp, ​​who was skeptical after the Inter experience, of the club's new offensive style of play. Arsenal had only recently been known for their defensive skills, but they also had players like Ian Wright and other regulars in their ranks who stood for stability.

The start of the first 1995/96 season was initially difficult. The first six league games without a goal already called the first critics on the scene, but with the first two goals against FC Southampton (4-2) Bergkamp made a start. From then on, he convinced with his shooting technique and the overall above-average technical skills, which the club had not seen in its own ranks since Liam Brady . He scored 16 competitive goals in his first year (many of which were considered particularly "beautiful") and was not even used as a front-line striker. Rather, he was a withdrawn leader behind Ian Wright and more than in previous years playmaker. This also benefited David Platt and Paul Merson , whom he repeatedly staged through targeted allusions. Bergkamp thus became a representative of the “new arsenal”. His goal in the 2-1 final against Bolton Wanderers also ensured that the club qualified for the UEFA Cup. Since coach Rioch was sacked anyway, Bergkamp worried briefly about the previous club commitments in view of his experience in Italy. However, when Arsène Wenger, a proven representative of the offensive school, emerged as his successor, this provided further development spurts in the Dutchman's career. First, the French assigned him a role as the second striker alongside Wright. Thanks to this new storm duo, Arsenal were serious contenders for winning the Premier League title until the end of April 1997 .

The third Arsenal season in 1997/98 was very successful for Bergkamp. In the end, the club won the "double" from the English championship and the FA Cup . Bergkamp had played such a central role in this that, in the end, both the English journalists and colleagues from the PFA players' union recognized him as England's Footballer of the Year . With a total of 40 appearances in the starting XI, he scored 22 goals and almost every offensive action ran over him. In addition to his own goals (often with long-range shots), he impressed with his passing skills, a good overview of the game and the talent to control long offensive balls with head or foot. Unfortunately, after a training injury, he missed the crucial phase of the FA Cup from the semi-finals after scoring three goals in the competition. His good performance at the subsequent World Cup in France took a little toll at the beginning of the following 1998/99 season and with back problems he missed some games of the first half of the season. After his return, he was in good shape , especially in interaction with new strike partner Nicolas Anelka . He showed his ability to score goals with four assists in the 5-0 win against Leicester City . However, he made an unfortunate figure in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United when he missed a penalty with a 1-1 draw shortly before the end of regular time in the replay - the game was then lost 2-1 in overtime. The next highlight in 2000 was reaching the final of the UEFA Cup . While Bergkamp missed some games in the championship due to minor injuries, but later founded a new successful storm partnership with Anelka's successor Thierry Henry , he scored the goal of a 1-0 victory in the semi-final first leg against RC Lens . He later lost with his team in the final against Galatasaray Istanbul on penalties, where he had been substituted for Nwankwo Kanu after just 75 minutes . His ongoing injury concerns and up-and-coming strikers Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord ensured that Bergkamp only started 19 league games in the 2000/01 season. He showed his best performances in the Champions League . Although he was often unavailable for away games - due to his fear of flying he refused to board a plane since 1994 - he was particularly present in his native Highbury . He prepared both Freddie Ljungberg's goals against Lazio Rome (2-0) and saved Arsenal a point with a goal of his own against Olympique Lyon (1-1).

Four years after winning the first English championship, Bergkamp repeated this success with Arsenal in the 2001/02 season. In addition, there was another victory in the FA Cup , whereby Bergkamp could now also be in the final, which was won 2-0 against Chelsea FC (he played 72 minutes before he was substituted for Edu when the score was 1-0 ) . Remarkable incidents in a year in which he often "rotated" with competing strikers and consequently had to take a seat on the bench, were next to the red card in the cup game against Liverpool (1-0) - his foul with both feet ahead against Jamie Carragher , who then also had to leave the field, led to a three-game suspension - to be found in the performances in the final phase. He played in nine of the last ten league games and harmonized well with Ljungberg. Bergkamp defended the FA Cup with Arsenal the following year . He was also in the starting line-up of the final against FC Southampton (1-0) and was replaced by Wenger again about a quarter of an hour before the end. In the same competition he had previously scored his 100th competitive goal for Arsenal in the third round against Oxford United . The defense of the title in the Premier League failed, although the team was still the clear leader in March 2003 and Bergkamp had mostly shown good performances as hanging tip behind Henry.

The two following years up to 2005 brought Bergkamp's last major successes with Arsenal by winning the third English championship ( 2004 ) and the FA Cup trophy ( 2005 ). In the 2003/04 season he was part of a team that remained completely undefeated in the league. Although he no longer had the goal scoring of earlier days, as a preparer he continued to show high quality despite the advanced age of the footballer. Personal highlights for him were the 1-0 winner against Blackburn Rovers and his two assists in the last game of the season against Leicester City , which helped convert a possible defeat into a 2-1. When he won the 2005 Cup final against Manchester United , he was then in the starting line-up, but was substituted for Ljungberg after 65 minutes, which meant that he could no longer take part in the successful penalty shoot-out after 120 minutes without a goal .

In his last year as a professional, Bergkamp finished fourth in the Premier League with Arsenal . In the Champions League he scored the 2-1 winning goal in stoppage time against FC Thun on the first day of the group. The trip ended in the "premier class" for Arsenal only in the final, with Bergkamp sitting on the bench in the 1: 2 defeat against FC Barcelona . Previously, the club had proclaimed "Bergkamp Day" on the occasion of the home game against West Bromwich Albion and distributed orange jerseys with the inscription "DB10" (based on his initials and the preferred shirt number) to the local supporters. Bergkamp came on as a substitute in the second half, prepared the 2-1 opening goal for Robert Pirès after the interim equalization and scored the goal for the 3-1 final score himself shortly before the end - this was also the last Arsenal goal in his career.

Bergkamp officially left Arsenal FC on July 22, 2006 with a farewell game on the occasion of the opening of the Emirates Stadium . Arsenal FC met Ajax Amsterdam and the participants included various companions, including Frank Rijkaard, Johan Cruyff, Emmanuel Petit , David Seaman , Marc Overmars and Thierry Henry.

In February 2014, a bronze statue was unveiled in front of the Emirates Stadium , showing Bergkamp receiving the ball in front of his goal at the 1998 World Cup in the quarter-finals against Argentina.

In the national team

Dennis Bergkamp as a Dutch international (1996).

After Bergkamp was not considered at the 1990 World Cup in Italy , he made his debut shortly after the tournament on September 26, 1990 against Italy in Palermo on the occasion of a friendly match. The game was lost 1-0, but from then on he was an integral part of the Dutch senior team . He played seven qualifying games for the upcoming Euro 1992 in Sweden and scored the first international goal in the game against Greece (2-0) just two months after his debut. At the final tournament itself he developed into one of the new "stars" in European football. He played all four games in the defending champion's team and scored three goals - initially the only goal in the first game against Scotland , then against reigning world champions Germany to make it 3-1 and finally in the semi-finals against eventual title winners Denmark , who lost on penalties went (Bergkamp was one of the successful shooters). Bergkamp was elected to the All-Star-Team of the EM after the tournament.

Bergkamp also scored three goals at the following World Cup finals in 1994 in the USA , the first goal against Morocco (2: 1) in the group stage and in the round of 16 against Ireland as well as the 1: 2 connecting goal in the round of the last eight against the later world champion Brazil (final score 2: 3). The 1996 Euro in England was disappointing. Bergkamp was in the starting line-up in all four of Oranje's games, but with the exception of one goal against Switzerland (2-0), the entire team fell short of expectations. In an environment of disagreement, the last group game against hosts England (1: 4) turned into a disaster and in the dreary quarter-final against France on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes, Bergkamp had only been on the field for an hour.

Bergkamp probably made the greatest impression on the international stage at the 1998 World Cup in France . He had previously achieved the first (and only) international hat-trick of his career in qualifying against Wales (7-1). Like four years before, he also scored three goals in France, one in the preliminary round against South Korea (5-0) and then in the last sixteen and quarter-finals against Yugoslavia (2-1) and Argentina (2-1). His goal shortly before the end of the game against Argentina to make it 2-1 is considered to be one of the most beautiful goals in World Cup history and is also seen by Bergkamp as the best goal of his career. He controlled a diagonal pass from his own half by Frank de Boer in the opponent's penalty area, spitting the ball through the legs of opponent Roberto Ayala and overcoming the Argentine goalkeeper Carlos Roa from a tight angle with the right outside foot. With this 36th international goal, he also surpassed the former Dutch top scorer Faas Wilkes . In the semifinals, Bergkamp and his men again lost to Brazil. The game went to penalties and although Bergkamp had once again converted his penalty, the game ended after misses by Phillip Cocu and Ronald de Boer .

At Euro 2000 , co-hosts, the Netherlands, were considered tournament favorites. Bergkamp failed to score his own goal in five appearances and in the semifinals it was again over on penalties. Opponent was Italy and Bergkamp was unable to influence the decisive phase after being substituted in the 86th minute. Bergkamp then announced his resignation after a total of 79 international matches and 37 goals, primarily with the aim of concentrating on his club career in England from now on.

As a trainer

In the 2008/09 season Bergkamp gained his first experience as a coach as Johan Neeskens' assistant in the Dutch B national team. With the beginning of the 2009/10 season he worked as a youth coach at his former club Ajax. On February 17, 2010, he received his coaching diploma. In the 2011/12 season he became Frank de Boer's assistant coach . Since his departure before the 2016/17 season, he has been an assistant coach on Peter Bosz's staff. Peter Bosz left Ajax in 2017 and took over training from Borussia Dortmund .

Title or awards

With his clubs

• European Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1987
• Dutch Cup (2): 1987 , 1993
• Dutch Championship (1): 1990
• UEFA Cup (2): 1992 , 1994
• English Championship (3): 1998 , 2002 , 2004
• English Cup (3): 2002 , 2003 , 2005
• FA Charity / Community Shield (3): 1998, 2002, 2004

Personal honors

• Football talent of the year in the Netherlands (1): 1990
• Top scorer in the honor division (3): 1991, 1992, 1993
• Footballer of the Year in the Honor Division (2): 1992, 1993
• Top scorer at a European Championship (1): 1992 (together with 3 other players)
• UEFA Cup top scorer (1): 1994
• Third in the FIFA World Player of the Year poll : 1993 and 1997
• England's Footballer of the Year (1): 1998 (journalist and player poll)
• England's Player of the Month (4): August 1997, September 1997, March 2002, February 2004
• PFA Team of the Year (1): 1997/98
• Induction into the English Football Hall of Fame : 2007
• European Championship All-Star Team : 1992

Season statistics

society	league	season	league		Nat. Cup		European Cup		League Cup		total
			Games	Gates	Games	Gates	Games	Gates	Games	Gates	Games	Gates
Ajax Amsterdam	Eredivisie	1986/87	14th	2	5	0	4th	0	-	-	23	2
		1987/88	25th	5	1	0	6th	1	-	-	32	6th
		1988/89	30th	13	3	3	1	0	-	-	34	16
		1989/90	25th	8th	2	1	1	0	-	-	28	9
		1990/91	33	25th	3	1	-	-	-	-	36	26th
		1991/92	30th	24	3	0	11	6th	-	-	44	30th
		1992/93	28	26th	4th	4th	8th	3	-	-	40	33
total			185	103	21st	9	31	10	-	-	237	122
Inter Milan	Series A	1993/94	31	8th	13	9	11	8th	-	-	55	25th
		1994/95	21st	3	3	1	2	1	-	-	26th	5
total			52	11	16	10	13	9	-	-	81	30th
Arsenal FC	Premier League	1995/96	33	11	1	0	-	-	7th	5	41	16
		1996/97	29	12	2	1	1	0	2	1	34	14th
		1997/98	28	16	7th	3	1	1	4th	2	40	22nd
		1998/99	29	12	6th	3	3	1	1	0	39	16
		1999/00	28	6th	-	-	11	4th	-	-	39	10
		2000/01	25th	3	5	1	5	1	-	-	35	5
		2001/02	33	9	6th	3	6th	2	1	0	46	14th
		2002/03	29	4th	4th	2	7th	1	1	0	41	7th
		2003/04	28	4th	3	1	6th	0	1	0	38	5
		2004/05	29	8th	4th	0	4th	0	1	0	38	8th
		2005/06	24	2	1	0	4th	1	1	0	30th	3
total			315	87	39	14th	48	11	19th	8th	421	120
Career total			552	201	76	33	92	30th	19th	8th	739	272

Private

Dennis Bergkamp has been married to Henrita Ruizendaal since 1993 and the couple have four children: Estelle Deborah, Mitchel Dennis, Yasmin Naomi and Saffron Rita. His nephew Roland Bergkamp is also a footballer, he plays in the Dutch Eredivisie for Sparta Rotterdam . He is very close friends with Marc Overmars - his former colleague in the Dutch national team as well as at Ajax Amsterdam and Arsenal FC.

Bergkamp suffers from a fear of flying . The disease broke out after an incident during the 1994 World Cup in the USA and resulted in Bergkamp refusing to board a plane afterwards. He then only traveled to away games for his teams by car or alone in the team bus, which was particularly difficult when playing in European club competitions or with the Dutch national team. If the journey was too far, he stayed at home.

literature

• Jaap Visser, David Winner: Dennis Bergkamp. De biography. Rotterdam 2013, ISBN 978-94-915-5511-4

Web links

Commons : Dennis Bergkamp  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• www.bergkamp10.net , official homepage of Dennis Bergkamp (English)
• Dennis Bergkamp in the database of fussballdaten.de
• Dennis Bergkamp in the weltfussball.de database

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Tony Matthews: Who's Who of Arsenal . Mainstream Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-1-84596-232-6 , pp. 33 f .
2. ↑ ^{a b} In Arsenal's FA Cup victory in 1998, Bergkamp was absent due to injury as well as in the 1999 successful Charity Shield game, the English Supercup.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Dennis Bergkamp: The Iceman Website - Biography ( Memento from March 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (Official Homepage of Dennis Bergkamp)
4. ↑ ^{a b} "Football: Bergkamp signing blocked" (The Independent)
5. ^ "Unraveling the enigma that is Dennis Bergkamp" (The Independent)
6. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1996-97 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1996, ISBN 1-85291-571-4 , pp. 29 .
7. ^ "Bergkamp sends Arsenal into Europe" (The Independent)
8. ↑ "Dennis Bergkamp: One-on-One" (FourFourTwo)
9. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1997-98 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1997, ISBN 1-85291-581-1 , pp. 31 f .
10. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1998-99 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1998, ISBN 1-85291-588-9 , pp. 33 .
11. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 1999-2000 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 1999, ISBN 1-85291-607-9 , pp. 34 .
12. ↑ "Schmeichel takes flight as Giggs strips Arsenal bare" (The Guardian)
13. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 2000-2001 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2000, ISBN 1-85291-626-5 , pp. 35 .
14. ↑ During the soccer World Cup in 1994, an airplane used by the Dutch national team got into turmoil . Afterwards it was no longer possible for Bergkamp to prepare for soccer games without stress, which is why he decided to take the far-reaching step of not boarding a plane. This fact also earned him the nickname The non-flying Dutchman (The non-flying Dutchman).
15. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The 2001-2002 Official PFA Footballers Factfile . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2001, ISBN 0-946531-34-X , pp. 31 f .
16. ↑ "Ljungberg has will to win" (The Telegraph)
17. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2002/2003 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2002, ISBN 1-85291-648-6 , pp. 42 .
18. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2003/2004 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2003, ISBN 1-85291-651-6 , pp. 46 .
19. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2004/2005 . Lennard Queen Anne Press, 2004, ISBN 1-85291-660-5 , pp. 42 f .
20. ↑ Barry J. Hugman (Ed.): The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2006-07 . Mainstream Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1-84596-111-0 , pp. 44 .
21. ↑ SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg Germany: Legendary Bergkamp Gate: Two touches for eternity - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Sport. Retrieved March 2, 2017 . 
22. ↑ RP ONLINE: English Premier League: Arsenal FC unveils Dennis Bergkamp's statue. Retrieved March 2, 2017 . 
23. ↑ "Dennis Bergkamp - Goals in International Matches" (RSSSF)
24. ↑ "Dennis Bergkamp factfile" (The Guardian)
25. ^ "Bergkamp admits to flying phobia" (The Independent)
26. ↑ “No chips, no beer, take the bus! - Dennis Bergkamp in portrait " (spox.com)

predecessor	Office	successor
Jan Wouters	Netherlands Footballer of the Year 1990/91 , 1991/92	Jari Litmanen