Post by Salem6 on Oct 12, 2003 18:50:03 GMT
Name:.....Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp
-Date of Birth:.....10-May-69
-Country:.....Holland
-Height:.....183cm
-Weight:.....78Kg
-Position:.....Forward
-Club:.....Arsenal 95-96, 96-97, 97-98 --
-Previous Clubs:.....Ajax 86-93...Inter Milan 93-95
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Acheivements
Dutch League:.....1989-1990(Ajax)
Dutch Cup:.....1987, 1993(Ajax)
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.....1987(Ajax)
UEFA Cup:.....1992(Ajax)...1994(Inter)
English Premier League.....1997-1998(Arsenal)
English FA Cup.....1998(Arsenal)
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Personal Honors
--Holland's top international scorer of all-time.
--Top Scorer in Holland.....1991, 1992, 1993
--Dutch Footballer of the Year.....1992, 1993
--European Footballer of the Year-3rd place.....1993
--FIFA Player of the Year-3rd place.....1993, 1997
--English PFA Player of the Year.....1997
--English Writer's Player of the Year.....1997
--First player to win 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place of BBC's Match of the Day's Goal of the Month Compeptition...(Auguest 97)
Dennis Bergkamp was born on May 10th 1969 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He was named after the famous Manchester United's player Denis Law. For years, his parents would take him and his brothers to England on holiday, and his love for English football developed during his childhood years. His family were Manchester United fans, but Dennis admired Tottenham Hotspur's Glenn Hoddle the most. "Maybe I was . . . maybe I am, a little different from other players. They will tell you that Pele, Maradona, Cruyff are their idols and I will say Glenn Hoddle." Bergkamp said.
Dennis joined the Ajax youth team when he was 12. "The normal things for professional players now, I already did when I was 12 years old. I didn't have time to go out. If we had a game on Saturday, I would stay in on Friday night. I didn't smoke, I didn't drink. I stayed in on Saturday nights and Sunday to do my homework so I could train two or three times a week." He explained. But even the hard work was not enough to please the coaches at Ajax, they thought young Bergkamp was too lightweight, and not physically strong enough to be a soccer player. For years, he struggled in the youth team.
However when Johan Cryuff returned to Ajax as Manager, he discovered Bergkamp's talent and brought him into the first team. Bergkamp made his Ajax debut at the age of 17 and he soon secured his place. His position in Ajax was behind two forwards, he created chances for his teammates, but was also able to score himself. Bergkamp set a record in the Dutch league by scoring in ten consecutive matches. He won many medals with Ajax.
His success at the club earned him his first cap. Bergkamp made his first international appearance against Italy in September, 90, and two months later he scored his first goal for his country againt Greece. In 1992, Holland went to Sweden as a favorite to win the European Championship. Bergkamp played along side with his superstar teammates such as Gullit, van Basten, Rijkaard, and Koeman. Bergkamp played well and he scored 3 goals before Holland lost to Denmark in penalty shootout.
His excellent performance in Euro 92 attracted attention from some of the most famous clubs in Europe. In the summer of 1993, Dennis Bergkamp joined Inter Milan. Johan Cruyff disapproved it beacause he felt that Bergkamp would not play well in the denfesive style of Inter. But Bergkamp wanted a challenge, and he chose Inter over clubs like AC Milan and Bacelona, where football was played more similar to the attacking ajax system.
As Cryuff predicted, Bergkamp had a difficult time in Milan. The club promised a change of playing style but it didn't happen. Bergkamp's relationship with his teammates was also not good. He received much criticism in Milan.
During this unhappy time, Bergkamp still played well for Holland, and he helped the team to qualify for World Cup 94. Holland had many problems before going to America, Van Basten could not compete because of injury, Gullit left the team after an dispute with the coach, the players did not get along..., but the Dutch managed to reach the quarter-finals. They lost 3-2 to Brazil. Dennis Bergkamp scored 3 goals in 5 World Cup matches.
Bergkamp's fear of flying was also triggered in the US. A jornalist repored a false bomb threat on the plane which the Ducth team was on, and caused a panic. This incident reminded Bergkamp of an plane crash which killed many Surinamese-Dutch players when they flied to Surinam. After that Bergkamp decided not to fly again.
After the World Cup, Bergkamp returned to Milan for one more year. At the end of the 94-95 season, he realized things will not change at Inter, he decided to play in England and he joined Arsenal. When asked about his time in Serie A, Bergkamp simply said: "I learned a lot in Italy."
Bergkamp's move to Arsenal was one the biggest and most talked about transfers to the Premiership. Therefore, when he didn't score at the start of the season, he was highly criticised. Massimo Moratti, the president of Inter said: "Arsenal will be lucky if Bergkamp scores 10 goals this season." Others said Bergkamp was not aggresive enough. Those criticism were actually quite unfair. As Ruud Gullit pointed out, Bergkamp is neither a target man or creative midfielder. His strength is to be in the right place at the right time. He would create more golas than he would score. Statistic also showed that Bergkamp was involved in 75% of the Arsenal's goals at the beginning of the season. Finally, in Bergkamp's 8th premier league game, he silenced the critics with two stunning goals, his first two for Arsenal. Bergkamp adapted well into the team and he got support from his new teammates. He and his striker partner Ian Wright formed a strong attack combination in the league. The two also became very good friends off the field. Bergkamp had a good first season with Arseanl. In the following season, Arsenal continued to change its playing style under new manager Arsene Wenger. The gunners finished 3 rd in the league.
Dennis Bergkamp played his best soccer in the 97-98 season. He won the Player of the Month award in August and September, he also scored his first hattrick for Arsenal. He missed some games because of supensions and injuries, but his extrodinary performance won him many other awards. He was voted 3 place of the FIFA Player of the Year award by cocaches around the world. He was also voted the PFA Footballer of the Year, and Writer's Footballer of the year awards. He helped Arsenal to win the double in 98.
Dennis Bergkamp got injured at the end of the season, and was doubtful to start Holland's opening match against Belgium in the World Cup. But he was able to come off the bench and play during the last 15 minutes of that game. Bergkamp started in the second match against South Korea. He took some time to rediscover his touch, but he didn't disappoint the fans. He displayed some of his great skills and scored a beautiful goal. As the best player of the team, Dennis Bergkamp carries Holland's hope and expectations in the World Cup.
