Stillness and Speed: My Story by Dennis Bergkamp Read Free Book Online Page B

to converge.’
    Finally, Beenhakker was lured back to Spain and Van Gaal got his chance with the first team. Dennis remembers: ‘Everything became more intense. We talked a lot about things like taking
positions, and every game was evaluated in detail afterwards. Louis always had his little notebook with him in which he wrote down all sorts of stuff. He constantly emphasised what was important,
what we needed to learn and practise. He brought structure to the way we worked and gave us clarity. At that point in my career I really liked that.’ The team became more Total, rarely
conceding possession and pressing with ever-greater energy. After the winter break, Ajax began to fly. In a 7-0 win over Twente, Dennis scored a sublime hat-trick and Louis van Gaal was moved to
tears by the beauty of his young team. In the league, a more conventional PSV side built around the singular genius of Romario was outpointing them. But all Europe began to notice Dennis’s
starring role in a series of dominating UEFA Cup performances, not least against Osvaldo Bagnoli’s Genoa. (We shall meet Bagnoli again shortly.)
    ‘You could really sense there was a new generation emerging. Van Gaal made us even more eager and ambitious. Our game was innovative, attractive to watch and enjoyable to play. If we
slipped up, we didn’t give up. We kept bouncing back because we stuck to his philosophy that the team is more important than any individual player. “If everyone adheres to the
agreements we make as a team, success will inevitably follow,” Louis said time and again. It gave us the stability we needed.’
    Van Gaal also encouraged Dennis to think critically and creatively about every aspect of the game. ‘We trained meticulously. Every detail, shooting, passing, everything had to improve. And
everything became more tactical. Where should you run and why? “Think, guys,” Van Gaal would say. “Consider every move you make.” He gave us pointers, but during matches you
had to do it yourself. He constantly hammered home that you had to be aware of everything you were doing. Every action had to have a purpose. I focused on what I was good at: being decisive. I
thought a lot about tactics, about the position of defenders and about finding the opponent’s weak spots. I began to choose more intelligent positions by communicating more with the players
around me. If a midfielder was marking me, I would play as far forward as possible, forcing my man to play between his defenders to make him uncomfortable. And if the player marking me was a
defender, I would drop back to the midfield so he would feel out of place. I really loved approaching football that way, analysing my position like that. I was completely obsessed with being
decisive. I was always watching my opponents, paying attention to details, observing the situation on the pitch. I constantly watched for opportunities to win the ball. All I needed was the
slightest chance and I would rush at it.’
    If this is beginning to sound like ‘Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship’, it shouldn’t. Football is not the movies. A rift was coming between coach
and star, and their second season would make it manifest. Part of the problem was Van Gaal’s sheer intensity. ‘We were young and keen to learn, but if we’d been together for five
years, I don’t think Van Gaal’s fanatical approach would have worked.’ And Dennis was beginning to assert his independence. ‘We discussed things, but ultimately I did what I
thought best. That might sound presumptuous, but even then I was more developed as a player than Van Gaal was as a manager. I just knew, instinctively, where I needed to be to be decisive.
Let’s say Van Gaal tells me: “Move ten yards back to be in a better defensive position, Dennis.” I’d say: “I’d prefer not to, Coach, because if we win the ball
I’ll have to make up those ten yards at a sprint, and that will cost me that