The Gist

An insight into Dennis’s early development, his career, his mind and philosophy. Built around interviews and easy to read and dip into. 

What’s Good

An insight into his mastery of dimension, movement, touch. A superb athlete but unusual in his superb spatial awareness. 

Insights

Bergkamp’s brothers insist he was an autodidact – he is completely self-taught- with his powers of observation being exceptional. A great pictorial memory and he could describe to his brothers every situation in every match once he’d watched them play. 

Something to Try

If you are a coach of young players can you recreate some of the conditions of street football? Bergkamp describes in loving detail how he learned his trade on the streets outside his childhood home. The irregularity of unbalanced sides, spaces which changed depending on parked cars, different goals, unusual targets and an awkward surface.