SportMob – Top facts about Dennis Bergkamp, the Non-Flying Dutchman (2024)

Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp is a former player and professional football coach in the Netherlands. Bergkamp began his career as a wide midfielder before being switched to the main striker and then second striker, where he remained for the rest of his career. Bergkamp is widely recognized as one of the greatest players of his generation, dubbed the "Non-Flying Dutchman" by Arsenal fans due to his phobia of flying.

Bergkamp was selected for Euro 1992 with the Netherlands national team, where he performed admirably, scoring three goals as his side advanced to the semi-finals.

He scored a stunning winning goal in the final minute of the quarterfinal against Argentina at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, which is considered one of the best FIFA World Cup goals ever. Bergkamp broke Faas Wilkes' record in 1998, becoming the country's all-time leading scorer, a feat later surpassed by Patrick Kluivert, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, and Robin van Persie.

Rare information and top facts about Dennis Bergkamp, the Non-Flying Dutchman

He was the first and only Dutch player to be admitted into the English Football Hall of Fame, which he received in 2007. Bergkamp's 2002 strike against Newcastle United was named the best Premier League goal of all-time in the league's 25-year existence in 2017.

Dennis Bergkamp information

Here is a compilation of Dennis Bergkamp most fundamental facts, which is required reading for people who are unfamiliar with this fascinating personality.

Personal information

Dennis Bergkamp Transfermarkt

We are not sure how accurate his statistics on this website are since it seems to skip some of the early years of Dennis Bergkamp career but according to the website, he has received 51 yellow cards and 2 yellow cards which resulted in getting a red card afterward.

He has 3 red cards overall and managed to help a friend score a goal which is also called assist 118 times. Now. Let’s zoom out and take a look at his career in the next section of top facts about Dennis Bergkamp.

Dennis Bergkamp club career

Dennis made an immediate impact after making his debut in 1986, scoring his first professional goal for Ajax against HFC Haarlem in February 1987. Bergkamp scored 122 goals in 237 games, but it was time for a new challenge for the Dutchman, who aspired to be the finest player in the world.

Who better to join than Internazionale, a club formed with the goal of developing international players and boasting a Ballon d'Or winner in Lothar Matthaus.

Bergkamp's first six months at Inter were fantastic, with him finishing second and almost winning the Ballon d'Or, but his form quickly deteriorated, and he only managed to score 18 goals in his first season.

After leaving the mentioned club, Bergkamp arrived at a tumultuous Arsenal in 1995, but it was only after a few management changes and the hiring of Arsene Wenger in 1996 that Bergkamp became the icon he is today.

It wasn't long before Arsenal began to win trophies, and in 1997-98, they won an unbelievable Double, which was Bergkamp's greatest season in Arsenal colors, with 16 league goals and 11 assists. Bergkamp won the FA Cup for the second time in 2005 before retiring from the sport the following year.

His testimonial match was the first such encounter involving former Ajax players and former Arsenal colleagues at the Emirates Stadium.

Dennis Bergkamp childhood

Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on May 10th, 1969. Tonnie Bergkamp and Wim Bergkamp were his parents when he was born (an electrician). Bergkamp was the fourth son of Wim and Tonnie Bergkamp.

Dennis grew up in a working-class area in a family that aspired to be middle-class. His father, an electrician and lower-league footballer named him after Scottish scorer Denis Law. After the registrar refused to accept Bergkamp's first name, his father added an extra "n" to comply with Dutch-given name norms.

Bergkamp's family nurtured him as a Roman Catholic, and he attended church on a regular basis throughout his childhood. Bergkamp maintains his religion, although saying in later years that church visits did not appeal to him. Bergkamp's early football hero, according to him, was Glenn Hoddle, who he admired for his gentle, precise touch.

Dennis Bergkamp family

Dennis Bergkamp's footwork required the appropriate person to refuel his resolve early in his career, and it became clear that every great piece of his footwork required the appropriate person to refill his resolve.

His football skills were supplemented by a lovely and amazing girl. Henrieta Ruizendaal, a Dutch model, is the passion of his life. Bergkamp and Henrita Ruizendaal have been married since June 16, 1993.

A snapshot of their wedding may be found here. Estelle Deborah, Mitchel Dennis, Yasmin Naomi, and Saffron Rita are the couple's four children. Dennis Bergkamp's first and only child is seen below.

Dennis Bergkamp's kid is a gifted player, but he appears to be following a different path into the game than his father, who joined Ajax at the age of 12. Mitchel chose to begin his career in Dutch football's second tier. He is on the verge of breaking into the elite tiers of football.

Dennis Bergkamp personal life

What is going on in his family life? Let us find out in this part of top facts about Dennis Bergkamp.

Dennis is a sensible, grounded individual who enjoys reaping the benefits of his labor. He has a strong desire to be surrounded by love and beauty, which he receives from his family and admirers.

Dennis is tactile and sensuous, and his senses of touch and taste are the most essential to him. He is willing to persevere and stick to his decisions until he is satisfied with them. Because of his dream of flying, Bergkamp is known as the "Non-Flying Dutchman."

According to contemporary sources, this came from instances involving the Netherlands national team during the 1994 World Cup, when the plane's engine failed during a trip and a flight was delayed when a journalist joked about carrying a bomb in his suitcase.

Bergkamp said in his 2013 book that his anxiety was triggered by his time at Inter Milan when he routinely flew to away games in tiny planes.

After the 1994 World Cup, Bergkamp declared he would never fly again, though he did explore getting psychological therapy in 1996: I've got this problem and I have to live with it. I can't do anything about it, it is a psychological thing and I can't explain it.

I have not flown on a plane for two years. The Dutch FA has been sympathetic, so has Arsenal, so far. I am considering psychiatric help. I can't fly. I just freeze. I get panicky. It starts the day before when I can't sleep.

His ability to participate in away matches in European championships and travel with the national team was severely hampered by his ailment.

He would go overland by vehicle or rail in certain circ*mstances, but the practicalities of certain matches prevented him from doing so. Wenger expressed his concerns concerning Bergkamp traveling by train and automobile in the build-up to Arsenal's Champions League match against Lyon in February 2001, citing the exertions required.

Dennis Bergkamp after football

Let us take a look at his life after football in the next chunk of top facts about Dennis Bergkamp. In 2006, he retired, and the following year, he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame. He was the first Dutch player to be voted in, thus it was a huge honor.

He declined an invitation to scout for Arsenal, preferring instead to travel and spend time with his family. In April 2008, he began a fast-track coaching certificate for former Dutch international footballers while also working as a trainee at Ajax.

Bergkamp was hired De Boer's assistant at Ajax in August 2011 after completing the Coach Betaald Voetbal program and holding many coaching jobs.

Dennis Bergkamp quotes

“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.”

Indeed, Dennis indeed. That’s the reason that a fan will never let go of his beloved club. It’s like leaving your own home and trying to find somewhere else to live, which is quite impossible.

We are going to read a quote that is representative of Dennis Bergkamp's love and dedication to Arsenal: “Other clubs never came into my thoughts once I knew Arsenal wanted to sign me.”

“It got so bad I would look up at the sky during away games to see what the weather was like. Were there any clouds coming? Sometimes I was preoccupied with the flight home while I was playing football. It was hell.” As mentioned before, he had a phobia which is quite common among people.

Most of you will remember his marvelous goal against Newcastle. Regarding this goal he said “Ten yards before the ball arrived, I made my decision: I’m going to turn him. I knew where Dabizas was. The thought was, ‘just flick the ball and see what happens. Maybe he’ll block it, or the flick won’t be wide enough, or he’ll anticipate and get two yards ahead.

Or maybe he’ll be surprised and I’ll be one or two yards in front of him. As it happened, I still wasn’t in front of him, so I had to push him off. So, you need some luck as well…”. It is always interesting to know what such legends were thinking before performing an amazing move.

“People can say the money doesn’t really matter but it does show you how much a club respects you.” He was never a man of wealth, but let’s say he was never a selfless man either.

Dennis Bergkamp social media

Dennis Bergkamp has been active on Instagram by the name of officialdennisbergkamp with a blue mark indicating that this is indeed his official page. He currently has over 700 thousand followers on the mentioned platform and mostly posts pictures of his family and his football career.

We also did a little research to find his accounts on the other platforms but were unable to find any verified accounts on the other platforms.

Dennis Bergkamp net worth

Let find out how much many he has amassed in this section of top facts about Dennis Bergkamp.

The only known sportswear giant that he was associated with was Reebok, and he even appeared in a commercial for them. After taking into account all of these factors, our calculations tell us that he is worth around 25 million Euros.

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source: SportMob