Originally a wide midfielder , Bergkamp was moved to main striker while still a teenager and then to second striker , where he remained throughout his playing career.
He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, [ 4 ] one of the greatest forwards in Premier League history [ 5 ] and amongst Ajax 's and Arsenal 's greatest ever players. Bergkamp was born in Amsterdam and played as an amateur in the lower leagues. He was spotted by Ajax at age 11 and made his professional debut in Prolific form led to an international call-up with the Netherlands in , attracting the attention of several European clubs.
Bergkamp signed for Italian club Inter Milan in , where he had two underwhelming seasons. Despite noting a desire to not go into coaching, Bergkamp served as an assistant at Ajax between and With the Netherlands national team, Bergkamp was selected for Euro , where he impressed, scoring three goals as his country reached the semi-finals.
Bergkamp has been described by Jan Mulder as having "the finest technique" of any Dutch international [ 9 ] and a "dream for a striker" by teammate Thierry Henry. In , he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame , the first and only Dutch player ever to receive the honour. Bergkamp was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in In , Bergkamp's goal against Newcastle United in was voted as the best Premier League goal of all time in the league's year history, involving a flick around Newcastle defender Nikos Dabizas before calmly tapping the ball into the net.
Bergkamp was brought up through Ajax 's youth system, joining the club at age In later seasons, Bergkamp established himself as a first-team player for Ajax.
