Bergkamp, Dennis (1969- )

Dutch footballer. A prolific goalscorer at club and international level, he was probably his country's most technically gifted footballer since Johan Cruyff. In 1998 Bergkamp was voted player of the year in England by both the Professional Footballers' Association and the Football Writers' Association. He retired from international football after the Netherlands were knocked out in the semi-finals of the 2000 European Championships, having made 79 international appearances in which he scored 36 goals.

He made his Dutch league debut in 1986 and his full international debut in 1990. In 1993 he joined Inter Milan from Ajax but he failed to settle in Italy, and in 1995 was transferred to English team Arsenal for a fee of £7.5 million, establishing himself as one of the FA Premiership's star players. Bergkamp missed Arsenal's 2-0 victory over Newcastle United in the FA Cup final in May 1998 through injury; however, he still received a winner's medal. In 2002 he helped the club to its third, and his second, League and FA Cup double. With his winning goal in the World Cup quarter-final match against Argentina in Marseilles on 4 July 1998, he surpassed Faas Wilkes as Holland's leading scorer in international football.