With every inch of the pitch spinning and lifting heavy weights, and based on that, not many players can easily do this. Those performances, in laziness, revealed a hint of cynicism, pleased the audience and embellished a beautiful game. But behind the dreams that everyone aspires to is an innumerable amount of dedication, perseverance, inner determination, and strict self-discipline.
To be a true star requires countless qualities that blend together perfectly and harmoniously. Of course, God has created a performing artist who is naturally integrated with football, allowing him to manipulate the ball under his feet with ease. But the most important of these qualities is his fiery enthusiasm.
In the years of growing up, Dennis Bergkamp, like countless boys and girls, has a pure heart with dreams. He loves football and is interested in it, using a remote control in the living room of his home to switch between footballs in the Netherlands, England and Germany.
For him, as long as he can play football, there are courts everywhere. And a vision of the twilight was undoubtedly incubated in his mind — to emulate the stars and catch up with the heroes who had accompanied him in the living room for countless hours. With this passion for football, he strives to get close to this dream. Luckily, he became one of the most outstanding stars of all time.
Obviously, his entry into professional football is no coincidence, but this does not prevent him from becoming a football angel in the eyes of many people, spreading the gospel of truth in football.
Through his brilliant career, he spread his childlike and innocent football soul. This soul is condensed in the back garden of his childhood, in the muddy streets, condensed in the cramped corridors of his own home. Admiring his football is like seeing a child dressed in adult skin, through his colorful and energetic prism, playing on the court - returning to be a teenager. The wind is light, but with a little laziness, he shows the best of himself in the most dreamy way.
Outside the Emirates stadium stands a statue of Bergkamp, and the gesture is his most famous stop-ball action. This fully shows that the mark of Dutch elegance as part of the club's culture has been engraved in the hearts of Arsenal fans, embedded in their 60,000 seats. The striker's performances of the past remind them of the passionate moments when the nets fluttered, warmly reminding them of the rich goalscoring wealth in their football bank accounts.
Now, the controversial Arsene Wenger has been repeatedly questioned over the course of several seasons as to why the North London club has been unable to find a reliable, elegant and ruthless striker. In fact, since the mid-1990s, people have associated the club with a trendy, dazzling style of football. It was a successful attempt to combine beautiful football with lasting success.
In short, this quest for idealized perfectionism has blinded too many people — both the team's supporters and a neutral audience. It seemed that Wenger was blinded by the magic he had cast himself, after all he had the most ideal example here. In fact, it is not necessarily his single-cell football philosophy that causes all this, but his arrogance. Because, there is a key premise that no longer exists.
Whatever the football side of the spectrum, Wenger relies heavily on a striker with the right style – Bergkamp is a match made in heaven. It is no exaggeration to say that after he hung up his boots, this problem lingered over the team for a long time.
His ghost lingered in the hearts of every old and new gunner, because, honestly, Bergkamp had never been replaced in their hearts. When the "flyless Dutchman (Bergkamp has a fear of flying)" finally left the team, it was found that filling his vacancy was no easy task. If there is cloning technology that can replicate him when he was young, they are afraid that the monkey will rush to the tree.
Rehash. This unfathomable, surreal replica manufacturing project is certainly expensive. For this Arsenal we are talking about, we can only hehe... Imagine that in the poor alley next to Highbury, they might be haggling with cunning molecular scientists and holding out another Bentner.
Returning to reality and replacing him was never a realistic idea. He was such a different player, an extraordinary genius, a prestigious totem that it was hard to find another material to water the red and white mold he had created. He was radiant, but presented to the world in a cold and humble way.
On the green field, he shines with a divine light, always able to complete those wonderful touch balls at the most appropriate time. While fans will regret his occasionally perverse nature – not being able to play away games in Europe because of flyphobia – his sublimation of the team's offensive end has long since made up for it.
In his Premier League home and away games, he calmly delighted londoners. As a time lord, Bergkamp often used a light and graceful dance to cast a fixation spell on the players who were staring at him and let the ball pass over the goalkeeper. The defenders who came to make up the position always wanted to stop his dance, but they faced the "dangerous mage Dennis". He can always take a juggling pace, looking for gaps in the opponent's defense; often a surprise, he and his cunning teammates pry open the seemingly tight line of defense.
His astonishing masterpiece against Newcastle has taken root in people's hearts, a beauty that overrides football, a pure beauty that drives everyone to admire him, even if you are separated from the football by a wall. At that moment, Bergkamp was like a gentle and skilled gymnast, and it seemed to be transformed into a philosopher with quick thinking and foresight.
You'll go and watch it, over and over again, as if hypnotized. Its ingenuity, technical principles, and jaw-dropping absurdity are almost irresistible. Never before has a goal reached such heights. The uniqueness of this goal was that he received Robert Piré's tricky diagonal pass, grasped the strength and speed, seemingly inadvertently flicked, and drifted past the defenders. Bergkamp has lightly deceived Dabisas and the goalkeeper, which is the most brilliant football and the most instinctive side of football. Swimming like water, reacting like the wind, the agile football Huigen has created this divine stroke.
The goal hit the world, melted the ball of law and suffocated us. It's one of the most stunning goals ever scored, but the most amazing thing is that it's perhaps not the most fascinating piece in his goals collection.
The wonderful goal against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup is also deeply imprinted in our minds. In fact, like the goal against the Magpies, it was indescribable, exhaustive, and made the audience doubt their eyes. His goal record of 37 in 79 games for the Dutch national team is just the tip of the iceberg of his role as a totem, because with his help, his country's football has been elevated to a high level of demeanor, which is far from what pale numbers can tell.
He's not just a marksman. Yes, his beautiful goals are unforgettable, but he also knows how to string together his teammates in the most magical way. In short, he was a magician and an auxiliary. It is this all-round ability that makes him regarded as a legend by the world and admired by all, not just by the diehards of the arsenal. 94 Premier League assists and 120 top-flight goals cemented his position, making him one of the most creative geniuses the uk has ever witnessed.
On the pitch, he often retreated from the focal point of the team's attack line, playing the role of the core of the organization, threading the needle and delivering shells to his teammates. His comprehensiveness, his dedication to his passion for the cause, has led the team time and time again. Admire the Dutch giant's sharp dribbling, feel his swift movements and the most brilliant scalpel, and every match day is a feast. In those days, it was rare to be able to balance the duties of scoring and assisting so perfectly.
His selflessness on the pitch is even more telling, as it reminds us of how he struggled to fit in and adapt to the team in the face of unexpected variables. Bergkamp was brought to the team by Bruce Riozzi, whose arrival was supposed to disrupt his long-term plans, but he tirelessly proved to the French connoisseur that he was the most suitable of this conciliation system that still needed to verify practical value. Moreover, he also reassured people and achieved a soft landing from Inter Milan to British lands.
To talk about the symbolism of Bergkamp is to talk about what makes football moving and gripping, and to put it more broadly, to explore what gives beauty to the sport itself. His well-proportioned movements, his ingenious and precise passes, the exquisite arc and angle of the ball before entering the net – all of these elements helped him build his own football monument.
The concept of a legendary player as an artist is outdated, and it seems unfair to him to let Bergkamp fall into that trap as well.
Yes, he created his art of football, but given his humility and natural, innocent attitude towards football rooted in childhood, we should not think of it as art and poetry of mannerism. Bergkamp has played a master role on the field from beginning to end, knowing all the right movements, understanding all the perfect fits, and having a pair of "heavenly eyes" that can see every corner of the stadium.
Watching him play football, there is always a feeling of overlooking the mountains. His football achievements are another realm.
Note: The original work is published on the thesefootballtimes website, written by Trevor Muarry and translated by Xiao Ku