Dennis Bergkamp, ready to coach!

The players of Hadley Rangers in England need to find a new coach. Their current coach will move abroad to advance his career. And not only that, one of his top players is going with him: Mitchell Bergkamp.

It’s probably the only transfer of Dennis Bergkamp without a media frenzy. The former superstar has been coaching in youth football for some time. “It just happened. I started watching my son play, but before I knew it I was bombarded as their coach.”

Dennis will be in the last coaching class of one year (with Cocu, Reiziger and Kluivert, among others) since the KNVB will change the program to two years. “Yeah, that sort of made me enlist in this one. I do have to see what I think of all this, although I do want to become a coach. Not a manager like Arsene Wenger. That’s too much. He is at the club 24/7, that’s a tad too much for me. I want to be on the pitch, coaching and training.

He will relocate back to Holland soon. “Yes, I will return to Holland. I’m longer in England that I expected to be. I really thought I would end my career at Ajax, when I first signed for Arsenal but…it just went by in a rush.”

The Arsenal fans adored him for ten years and he received the status of God at Highbury. Didn’t Wenger persuade him to stay on in some sort of role? “The question was put to me some times, yes. Youth coaching, scouting…those sorts of things. But it was too soon. I have been breathing and living football since I was 12 and made the move to Ajax. I’ve been active as a player for 25 years! That’s a long time. I needed time off.”

Bergkamp was more than a player in the last years at Arsenal though. “Wenger discussed a lot with me. Specific things. Tactics, roles, tasks on the pitch. About decisions he’d need to make. He really saw me as an experienced players and the last years I was able to think as a coach. When you’re young, so look at the pitch as if you’re looking at a tunnel, you know. I wanted to see the goal of the opponent. Nothing more. Last years, my view broadened. First on the pitch but later also off-pitch stuff. Preparation, nutrition, quality of grass, different shoes and material… I became more allround I suppose. When I was young I was focused at my own game. I didn’t need to defend and I was only interested in how I played. Later on that changes, you look what your team mates do and why they do it and how… And I learned to plan my peak performances and plan my preparation and all that.”

In those latter days, young guns like Robin van Persie went to Bergkamp for advice. “Robin said he’d appreciate it if I wanted to support with the specific training of the forwards. I thought that was cool. Whenever I said anything, he’d listen. He is a perfect example. He soaks it all up. Things on an off the pitch. So, I realized I could actually share my ideas and vision with other players.”

“See, now Robin isn’t top fit. I think I would be able to help him. When is the right moment to start with the ball, or with pressure like a direct opponent? He came back too soon some times this season and got injured again. You don’t want those situations. Experience can help in these events.”

,Bergkamp is impressed with Oranje’s current squad. “Oranje has a great team. There’s so much football in this group. I am not worried about the basic qualities. But to win a tournament, you’ve got to grow into it and you don’t have time to mistakes. And, this is a young group. Sometimes they great football for 20 minutes and than it’s 70 minutes with nothing. Or a good half versus a bad one. It’s never all good or all bad with these current players.”

After the summer, Marco van Basten will be Dennis’ mentor. The Menace will do an apprenticeship with Ajax. It’s a nice bunch together there: Marco van Basten, John van ‘t Schip, Rob Witschge, Frank de Boer, Danny Blind and Dennis Bergkamp.