Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp was born in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam on the 10th of May, 1969. Last born son of Tonnie & Wim Bergkamp, who both came from working class backgrounds. Despite this, his parents aspired to reach middle-class status for the betterment of their four sons.
Interestingly, Dennis is named after legendary Manchester United striker Denis Law, but his mother insisted they add an extra “n” to comply with Dutch tradition.
Raised as a Roman Catholic, Bergkamp often attended church throughout his youth. Wim believed that religious faith was pivotal in living a happy and healthy life, and insisted on passing that belief to his sons.
Although Dennis’s attendance at church became less frequent as he grew, he remains extremely faithful, and often attributes his discipline and self-belief to his strong faith.
A Career Is Born; Bergkamp at Ajax
“Most of the time I was by myself, just kicking the ball against the wall, seeing how it bounces, how it comes back, just controlling it. I found that so interesting”
Denis was plucked up by Ajax Amsterdam at the age of eleven after playing against them with his local football club.
An academy renowned for producing some of the Netherlands greatest players along with its revolutionary methods of training, it would prove a perfect environment for young Dennis to hone his craft.
During his early years in the Ajax youth system Dennis was purposely played in every position, including defense; standard practice at youth level. This was a method to help him and other young players better anticipate their opponent’s positions, and ultimately better predict their actions.
On December 14th ,1986, Bergkamp was handed his debut in a 2-0 win against Roda JC Kerkrade by legendary player-turned-manager, Johan Cruyff. He would score his first senior goal just over a month later in a
comfortable 6-0 victory over HFC Haarlem on February 22nd.
Dennis went on to make 23 appearances in his debut season, helping Ajax secure the European Cup Winners Cup. He continued to blossom over the following few seasons as did his reputation throughout Europe. But it
was during the 1989/90 season that Bergkamp cemented himself among Europe’s elite.
Scoring 29 goals in 36 games, while playing a pivotal part in Ajax collecting their first Eredivisie title in five years, Dennis would finish joint top scorer, sharing the podium with future Brazilian icon Romário of PSV Eindhoven.
In 1992 Ajax once again revelled in glory, winning both the domestic cup and the prestigious UEFA Cup with Dennis at the centre of the team’s success.
Bergkamp would collect his second consecutive Eredivisie player of
the year award at the closing of what would be his final campaign with his hometown side, scoring an impressive 122 goals in 239 games overall.
No Italian Fairytale; The Inter Milan Years
Following his success with Ajax, he aspired to move on to attempted to prove himself on the big stage. After attracting a lot of attention from most of Europe’s top sides, Dennis committed his future to Serie A-side
Inter Milan. The move had the blessing of Johan Cruyff as his only request was that Dennis did not choose Real Madrid.
Upon his arrival in Lombardy, Dennis struggled to settle as the media and fans found his introverted personality hard to connect with.
Labelled “indifferent” by Italian news outlets, this was a surprise to many as Dennis was a player renowned for being creative, expressive and inspiring.
“Maybe I am a little different from other players. They will tell you that Pelé, Maradona, Cruyff are their idols and I will say Glenn Hoddle.”
Bergkamp first played under the bright lights of the famous San Siro on August 29th, 1993 in a 2-1 victory over AC Reggiana 1919. Dennis’s struggles continued throughout the 1993/94 campaign, however.
A fair amount of blame was placed on manager Osvaldo Bagnoli for his negative approach which was depriving Bergkamp of the freedom he required to truly flourish.
Inter went on to finish the season in 13th place just one point above the relegation zone. Sadly, the following season was a similar tail of poor form, negative tactics and the misuse of Bergkamp.
At the closing of the 1994/95 campaign, the club was purchased by Massimo Moratti, an Italian businessman and supposed fan.
Moratti had promised to heavily invest in the squad in an attempted to turn the tide in the club’s recent decline. He stuck true to his word by immediately sanctioning the purchase of highly-rated Atalanta striker
Maurizio Ganz, a signing that Dennis very much felt was a direct replacement for him.
After discussions were held about the club’s vision for the future, Dennis was unsatisfied with the lack of willingness to change its defensive style of play and requested to leave.
Bergkamp had made 52 appearances but scored a mere 11 goals during a period which could be considered unfulfilling for all parties involved. The club granted Dennis his wish and informed him that he would be allowed to leave on the condition they recoup the £7m they invested in him.
The Iceman Cometh; Bergkamp & Arsenal
“Other clubs never came into my thoughts once I knew Arsenal wanted to sign me.”
In June, 1995, Dennis Bergkamp made the move from Inter to Arsenal Football Club for a fee of £7.5m. He was the first signing of new manager Bruce Rioch.
Once again, Dennis struggled to adapt, failing to score in his first six
league appearances following his debut against Middlesbrough.
On September 23rd, however, Bergkamp netted his first Arsenal goal in a clash with Southampton at Highbury. Many claim that it looked like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders that day, and that you could see a dramatic change to his game.
Bergkamp would finish the season with 11 goals in 33 appearances, most importantly scoring on the final day of season to earn Arsenal a place in Europe the following season.
The appointment of Arsene Wenger as Arsenal manager is widely considered a turning point in Bergkamp’s career. The pair shared appreciation for an attack-based approach that was more commonly seen in mainland Europe.
Wenger implemented a cultural change within the club which saw players become much more disciplined and regimented with their diets, with increased training regimens and buffed tactical knowledge of the game. Dennis emerged as the poster-boy of the new era at Highbury.
During the 1997/98 season, Dennis scored what is one of the greatest hat-tricks in Premier League history against Leicester City at Filbert Street. The third goal admittedly being his favorite he scored for the club.
During this campaign, the Gunners had slipped away during the Christmas period. Seemingly, Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United were in the driving seat in the race, with a gap that many considered almost impossible to close.
But Arsenal went on a fantastic run winning 12 consecutive games and closed the gap on United, ultimately lifting the league title with Bergkamp as the driving force in attack.
Bergkamp & Henry, Invincible, and the Twilight Years
On August 3rd, 1999, Arsenal secured the services of French striker Thierry Henry, a move which would prove pivotal in the club’s future success. The chemistry that developed between Bergkamp and Henry, however was
unpredictably magical.
This was most evident during the 2003/04 season when Arsenal astonishingly went through an entire season undefeated, being dubbed “the Invincibles.”
It was considered to be one of the greatest teams the sport has seen, but Dennis’s introverted characteristics remained as he was so often the unsung hero.
Providing the likes of Henry, Pires, and Ljungberg with opportunities others would struggle to create. Arsenal unsurprisingly collected the league title and firmly cemented themselves in the history books.
Following Arsenal’s FA Cup final victory over rivals Manchester United in 2005, Dennis put pen to paper on what would be his final year as a professional footballer. At the age of 36 Dennis had felt himself slipping down the pecking order and announced that it would be his final season.
“When you start supporting a football club, you don’t support it because of the trophies, or a player, or history, you support it because you found yourself somewhere there; found a place where you belong.”
Whilst Arsenals season was underwhelming, it didn’t stop the club giving Bergkamp a memorable send off.
After much campaigning by fans, the club approved the request to dub the clash with West Bromwich Albion on April 15th “Bergkamp Day.” The Highbury stands were filled with fans sporting orange in honour of Dennis’s native country. Chants of “one more year!” were sung loudly.
Bergkamp came on and, in customary fashion, set up the winning goal which was tucked away be Robert Pires.
Following the move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium, Bergkamp’s testimonial was selected as the official curtain raiser for the impressive new ground. Fittingly the opponents were none other than Dennis’s boyhood club Ajax.
The match was kicked off by Dennis, his father Wim and his son Mitchell and resulted in Arsenal winning 2-1 with Henry becoming the first Arsenal player to hit the back of the net in their new home.
Dennis left the field to a roar of applause, to which he later admitted that playing in the new stadium made him question his desire to retire.
Bergkamp is widely considered to be the signing that changed the fortunes of an Arsenal-side who were struggling prior to his arrival. A revolutionary, a scorer of beautiful goals and a man that, to this day, remains a fan favorite.
Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp is immortalized at Arsenal with his statue standing tall atop the famous Emirates steps; a permanent reminder of
how lucky we were to have one of footballs most gifted-ever players grace North London. The perfect representation of what Arsenal Football Club could achieve.