An Ode to the Dutch Master: Dennis Bergkamp

Dennis Bergkamp Chart
Originally uploaded by Bergkamp13.

Dennis Bergkamp will dazzle us for the last time Saturday as he plays in his last ever game, a game organized in his honor. The testimonial, which will feature the original Dutch master himself, Johann Cruyff, will be played in Arsenal’s brand new stadium, unfortunately named after an airline: Emirates Stadium.

Below you can watch what I consider to be one of Berg amp’s greatest goals. There have been many great goals. Bergkamp never really did ugly goals. Twice, 1998 and 2002, British journalists voted a Bergkamp goal as the goal of the season. The 2002 offering coming against Nicolas Dabizaz and Newcastle. Bergkamp knocked the ball to Dabisaz’s left, spun right and somehow met the ball perfectly behind the stunned Greek defender and calmly slotted the ball home.

But it’s wasn’t just his goals. Maybe even more important was his passing. One commentator used the term “majestical” to describe a Bergkamp pass. His vision and use of space was incredible. It was as if he could see a few seconds into the future and know exactly where a teammate would arrive and place the directly at their feet. He could split defenses with ease. It was all down to his inherit Dutchness, they would say. The Dutch knew how to use space, having reclaimed large parts of their country from the sea, and that translated well onto the pitches of Europe. Words cannot accurately describe a Bergkamp pass. I know that must sound odd, praising a man for his passing. But see the chart above, taken from the BBC’s website, which shows how much his passing accounted for Arsenal’s goals, let alone the goals themselves. Sure, as he got older and injuries imposed themselves on his skills, his influence waned. But the beauty and intelligence and icy calmness in front of goal remained.

Bergkamp’s arrival at Arsenal in 1998, coming from two unhappy years spent at Inter Milan, presaged Arsenal’s almost meteoric rise from “Boring, boring Arsenal” to one of the most fluent attacking sides in Europe. He was originally bought not by current manager Arsene Wenger but by Bruce Rioch, whom Wenger replaced. One could be mistaken for thinking Bergkamp was a Wenger signing as he possessed all the fluency, craft and technical ability Wenger would make synonymous with Arsenal.

Over the years we Arsenal supporters have often heard the tag the “next Bergkamp” applied to many players associated with Arsenal. Such has been his affect on the team and its fans. All my Arsenal jerseys bare his name. But there will never be a player quite like him. Not for Arsenal. And not for Holland, either.

Arsenal’s last home game against Wigan in May: Wenger brings on Bergkamp, a slightly peripheral figure for most of the year due to injuries and youth, into a game Arsenal lead 1 -0. The crowd in decked out in Bergkamp memorial jerseys. A lapse of concentration and with 15 minutes to go, and seconds after Bergkamp has come on, Wigan tie the game. Bergkamp’s swan song to Highbury and the faithful maybe upstaged, along with Arsenal’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.

Bergkamp takes a ball that was on the verge of going out of play, knocks it over to Pires who then hits in his own rebound to restore the league. Moments later Bergkamp gets the ball at the top of the box. And time seems to freeze. Similar moments from the past cycle through every Arsenal fans head as Bergkamp angles his body for the shot. And it’s a typical Bergkamp shot, if there is anything typical about Bergkamp, a curling shot to the far corner. Out of the reach of the keepers outstretched hands. Bergkamp’s last shot in anger for Arsenal. A quintessential Bergkamp moment. Just one of hundreds the great man has provided for us.

Note: If you can still find it, I believe it was Nike or Adidas who made these promos for the 1998 World Cup. It featured how player’s lives may have turned out if they had not taken up soccer. Bergkamp’s shows him working happily all day in a cheese factory. It’s quite humourous.