Remembering the time Bergkamp made a commentator lose his mind

We never need too much convincing to go back and watch some of the best moments of Dennis Bergkamp’s glittering career.

The Flying Dutchman enjoyed great success with Ajax, Inter Milan and Arsenal, his stint with the Netherlands on the international stage wasn’t too bad either. He scored 37 goals in 79 appearances for the Oranje, making him the fourth-top scorer in the national team’s history.

The magic of Dennis Bergkamp

The one goal most remember above all the others, though, took place on July 4, 1998 in Marseille.

Argentina and the Netherlands had played out an intense chess match with the score locked at 1-1 heading into the 90th minute. Then, with everything on the line, Bergkamp sent this commentator into an absolute frenzy.

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He took the ball down from a long cross, touched it past his marker and lifted it into the roof of Argentina’s net.

The chaotic shouting of “DENNIS BERGKAMP!” goes some way in capturing the excitement that would have swept the nation at the time.

Very much the polar opposite of Peter Drury’s poetic approach to commentary, but effective all the same.

It was a goal that helped the Netherlands progress from the quarter-finals to the semi-finals where they were eventually knocked out on penalties by Brazil.

Alas, even though the tournament didn’t end with Bergkamp lifting the trophy up high, he certainly wrote his name into the record books with one of the greatest World Cup goals of all time.

Bergkamp went on to play for his country until 2000 before retiring, and at that point, he was their record goalscorer before Patrick Kluivert overtook him in 2003.

In addition to playing a role in Daniel Ek’s proposed takeover of Arsenal, Bergkamp was recently confirmed as one of the latest entries into the Premier League Hall of Fame.

Featured image credit: Getty