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Image courtesy of Arsenal FC |
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Dennis Bergkamp
| Category: | Male Player |
| Year Inducted: | 2007 |
Profile by Robert Galvin, the author of The Football Hall of Fame, the official book of the National Football Museum Hall of Fame:
At the end of Arsenal's double-winning season in 1997-98, Ars è ne Wenger was asked by a journalist to comment on Dennis Bergkamp, the Arsenal number 10: ‘Can you not say he is the best player in the world right now?' Wenger asked, rhetorically: ‘If there is a better one, then I have not seen him.'
The football writers and his fellow professionals obviously thought the same: they both voted Bergkamp player of the year in their respective polls that season.
The evidence in his favour was compelling: 16 goals in 28 games and at least as many ‘assists'. There was also an unprecedented first, second and third place in one Goal of the Month competition on Match of the Day, including that season's eventual winning score: a stunning juggle using both feet and instant side-foot finish against Leicester City. As Wenger once said: ‘Dennis only scores best-sellers.'
When Bergkamp arrived at Highbury in 1995, it marked a turning point for English football: never before had an established international star with his best years still ahead of him committed his future to the Premiership.
Eleven years later, the blond Dutchman bowed out with a testimonial against his former club, Ajax – the first official match to be played at the Emirates Stadium.
‘He enables the team to live and breathe,' Patrick Vieira, the Arsenal midfielder, once said. ‘There is a fluidity about his game that's unique.'
As a youngster, Dennis was taken by his father, a lifelong admirer of English football, to watch games at Highbury and White Hart Lane, where the future Arsenal star admired the skills of Glenn Hoddle, in particular.
A prodigy at Ajax, Bergkamp inevitably attracted the attention of the major Italian clubs. But the quiet, introverted Dutchman endured a miserable time at Internazionale, scoring a meagre 11 goals in 52 appearances as an out-and-out striker. When Arsenal put in a bid of £7.5 million, the Milan club was only too happy to sell him on at a loss. One distant observer, however, had not lost faith in him: Wenger, then managing in Japan, strongly recommended Bergkamp to the board at Highbury.
Describing his number 10 as ‘super-talented', the Gunners manager utilised Bergkamp in ‘the hole' behind the strikers. ‘His ability to deliver the final-ball makes him indispensable,' Wenger said.
Gradually, as his career began to wind down, Bergkamp increasingly took on the role of ‘impact player', coming off the bench. Invariably, before he'd even kicked a ball, the Highbury crowd gave him a standing ovation.
As a glorious swansong, Bergkamp helped Arsenal reach the final of the Champions League in his last season before retirement – at the age of 37. As a gesture of appreciation of his long and distinguished service, Arsenal designated one of the club's last league games at Highbury as ‘Bergkamp Day', to the delight of Gunners fans.
Looking back over his career, those same supporters would no doubt recall one goal above all: the incredible turn and shot against Newcastle United on a bright March day at St James' Park in 2002. ‘For me it was the quickest way to the goal,' Bergkamp said later, as matter-of-fact as ever. ‘The whole move was inch-perfect, but of course it could have gone completely wrong.'
That sublime piece of improvisation was voted Goal of the Season, too. ‘This wasn't just a great goal, it was genius,' Gary Lineker, the programme host, said. Sir Bobby Robson, the Newcastle United manager, watched it all unfold from the sidelines. ‘It's hard to think of any other player in the world who would have imagined that such a move was possible, let alone execute it perfectly,' Sir Bobby said.
Summing up the Dutchman's ability and contribution over the years, Wenger said: ‘A great player is one who makes his team win. Anything else is just talk. Dennis is a great player.'