| Dennis Bergkamp joined Ajax at the age of 14. Few of the Ajax coaches expected him to reach the
levels of success that he did. After 6 prolific seasons at Ajax where he scored a hundred goals in just
185 games. He was now a regular in the Dutch squad, and was similarly prolific at international
level. He had outstanding games in 1993 against England. He scored two goals at Wembley, as
Holland qualified for World Cup 94.
He replaced Klinsmann at Inter and struggled in a similar way, as he played a lone stiker role in a
very defensive formation. He managed 10 goals in his first season. In Europe he was outstanding,
he scored in both legs againstNorwich City who had eliminated Bayern Munich from the competition.
He led Inter to the UEFA cup that year. By the conclusion of USA 94 Bergkamp had scored over 20
goals in less than 40 games for Holland. During the world cup Bergkamp struck against Brazil and
Ireland.
The 94-95 season was not the best season that Bergkamp had, Inter were eliminated early in Europe
by Aston Villa and Bergkamp struggled to cope with the incessant attention from the Italian media.
The following season he joined Arsenal for what seemed to be a ludicrous £7.5 million after turning
down Spurs' offer. He struggled for some time in the Premier league until he fired a hat-trick against
Southampton. He scored 11 goals that season but couldn't recapture the form he had shown for Ajax.
At Euro 96 Bergkamp disappointed along with the entire Dutch team.
The following season saw Bergkamp back to his best as he scored 12 goals including two amazing
goals against Sunderland he also came 4th in the World player of the year awards. The start of the
97-98 season saw Bergkamp at his irresistible best as he carried Arsenal for the first half of the
season. His form slumped during the middle of the season but he like his team mates were
scintillating as Arsenal won the title and the FA Cup. An injury before the World cup finals in France
hampered his performances but he scored important goals against South Korea, Yugoslavia and
Argentina. His strike against a weary Argentina won goal of the tournament.
Aaron Lohan
In 2000 Bergkamp announced his retirement from international football following a disappointing
European Championships. Bergkamp's outstanding partnership with Thierry Henry fired Arsenal
to a league and cup double in the 2001-2002 season but despite magnificent performances against
Juventus and Leverkusen in the Champions League Bergkamp's failure to travel (due to a fear of
flying) continued to severely compromised Arsenal's chances in the competition. |
Netherlands