Found this over at Goal.com, thought some of you lot would appriciate it.
I found it a good read.
I found it a good read.
http://www.goal.com/en/articolo.aspx?contenutoId=99062Dennis Bergkamp: A Dutch Maestro
Blond, conventionally good-looking, wearing the Arsenal kit like he grew up in it, playing some of the most exciting football in England over the last eleven years.
When interviewed, speaking excellent English - observing the rules and almost always applying the correct tenses.
Not Oxford English, obviously.
But language good enough to show an intelligence that impresses coaches, players, journalists and fans alike - much like he did with Italian during his stint at Inter Milan.
The successful, linguistically talented Dutch footballer abroad is more common in Europe than any other footballer abroad, except, perhaps, for the travelling Brazilian or Argentine.
Most of these footballers return to Holland to complete their careers.
Some do it at their old clubs, and it can be marvellous to watch.
Wily old hands teaching young guns new tricks.
Others do it at whatever clubs will take them, and it can be sad to behold.
Washed-up hacks trading on past glories at second-rate outfits.
Not, however, Dennis Bergkamp.
He is a striker who has achieved demigod status in England - a footballer who has honed his skills at Ajax and Inter, and polished them to perfection at Arsenal.
Now it is all over.
Last Saturday Bergkamp played his last game for the club before 54,000 adoring fans at their brand new Emirates Stadium.
An Arsenal side which included David Seaman, Patrick Vieira and Ian Wright, beat an Ajax outfit that counted Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten and Frank Rijkaard among its ranks 2-1, with goals from Thierry Henry and Nwankwo Kanu.
The retiring Dutchman almost scored a third but for a reflex save from Ajax goalkeeper Stanley Menzo in the final stages of the encounter.
English football had been a passion of Bergkamp’s from childhood.
Family holidays were in England because his father liked to go and watch Manchester United play at Old Trafford.
He was not a fan of the team or the ground, but it was at United that Bergkamp first saw Tottenham Hotspur and, more importantly, Glenn Hoddle.
"I’m a little different to other players," he has said. "They will tell you that Pelé, Maradona and Cruyff are their idols, and I will say Glenn Hoddle."
This is a little peculiar because Cruyff gave him his first break as a 17-year-old in the Ajax senior team.
What Bergkamp would do with this opportunity was never an issue.
He would take it with both hands and make a name for himself in Holland with Ajax, and Italy with Inter.
Then something happened.
He moved to Bruce Rioch’s Arsenal in 1995 and set himself on the path to super-stardom.
But before that, something else would happen, too.
Word would filter across from Italy that his ex-president at Inter, Massimo Moratti, wanted him to fail at Highbury.
Bergkamp took these words personally and was unimpressive in his first seven games for the club, lacking confidence, failing to create opportunities for his team mates and, crucially, being unable to score himself.
It was not until the eight game of that season that he got his groove back, and it was with two breathtaking goals.
Coach Rioch’s faith in him was rewarded, and president Moratti was made to eat his words.
Bergkamp had arrived.
The next thing he knew, he had developed a sympathy and an understanding with his fellow striker, Ian Wright.
And all was well.
Most of the time, matches were deadly serious occasions for him, and the more confident he became in England, the more pronounced his reactions were to his hits and misses.
Balls in the back of the net brought a steely glint to his eyes.
And balls sprayed wide had him curse and berate himself.
Once he did express obvious pleasure at a goal.
That was in 1998, when his strike knocked Argentina out of the World Cup.
What had happened?
Had he suddenly, somehow, appropriated a little Latin passion and liked how it made him feel?
Or was there a warm-blooded bloke beneath the glacial exterior who actually enjoyed his football?
Probably a little bit of both at the time.
But this joy he expressed would later prove to be an aberration.
Over his next eleven glorious seasons, he would start regularly in the first eleven, get runs off the bench, watch from the sideline with injuries, and catch action from the stands when serving suspensions.
And not once would he smile.
But when he did play, he would make those around him light up with joy.
In 423 appearances for the north London club, he found the back of the net 120 times.
And when he was not scoring, he was displaying exquisite touch and vision to set-up opportunities for his team mates.
That is why his decision to leave the game for good at 37 years of age makes perfect sense.
He will be remembered as a top player with a top club.
A little too serious for his own good at times.
But still a magician who played with the ball as if it were on his own invisible leash.
David Bongiorno.
