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Bergkamp Testimonial

From Arsenal.com:



Match Report

Bergkamp Testimonial

Bergkamp Testimonial

Emirates Stadium



Saturday, July 22, 2006, 4.15pm *



Arsenal

Arsenal

2





Ajax

Ajax

1





By Richard Clarke at Emirates Stadium



It was the end of an era and the start of another.



Arsenal Football Club played their first game at their new home on Saturday but, alas, it was a farewell testimonial for Dennis Bergkamp



After 11 years, 423 games, 120 goals and millions of wonderful memories, it was time for this exceptionally talented footballer to hang up his boots. Only something massive and memorable would be good enough to rightly reflect his impact on Arsenal Football Club and fortunately this occasion fitted the bill perfectly. The ground, the atmosphere and the legendary level of the players involved were just right.



Emirates Stadium was limited to 54,000, around 6,000 below capacity, but the demand for tickets had been incredible. Specially-made T-shirts were left on the seats as they had been for the final game at Highbury so the ground was a sea of red, white and orange when the stadium was formally opened with a small ceremony 45 minutes before kick-off.



At the start of the game, the current squads of Ajax and Arsenal came out and formed a guard of honour for Bergkamp, along with his family, to walk out and wave their hello’s. The goodbyes would be for later.



Dennis’ father Wim ceremonially kicked off the match and the first few flicks were exchanged by three generations of Bergkamps with 10-year-old Mitchell playing a role.



This would be a proper game of two halves. The first 45 minutes was current Arsenal v current Ajax. The second 45 minutes would be Arsenal Legends v Ajax Legends. In truth no one would care about the result as long as Bergkamp got a goal.



The current Arsenal was shorn of the vast majority of its World Cup players. Alex Hleb, Mathieu Flamini and Pascal Cygan provided the bulk of the experience. The visitors, backed by a few thousand fans in the south-east corner of the ground, captured the early initiative.



In the ninth minute Klaas Jan Huntelaar unleashed a shot that Manuel Almunia fisted wide from the corner, Hedwiges Maduro steered a header around the post.



On the quarter-hour Arsenal got their first chance. Armand Traore had already produced a couple of thumping challenges. The left back impressed further when he got to the by-line and cut the ball back for Jeremie Aliadiere to swivel on the six-yard box and fire off a shot that Maarten Stekelenburg held high above his head.



A few minutes later Hleb’s pull-back allowed Bergkamp to go for one of his famous chips. For once it drifted just over the bar.



The game did not really match the occasion after that with neither side creating much in front of goal. Eight minutes before the break, Edgar Manucharyan found some space on the left and cross the near post where the leaping Hunterlaar volley past Mart Poom. A minute later the Estonian keeper did just enough to stop the unmarked Manucharyan adding a second.



At the break ex-Arsenal keeper Bob Wilson announced the Legends team for the second half. Ajax included Frank Rijkaard, Jan Wouters, Wim Jonk, the De Boer brothers, Edgar Davids and Edwin van der Sar in their side. Johan Cryuff was their manager. Arsenal included Thierry Henry, David Seaman, Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn, Patrick Vieira, Ian Wright, Steve Bould, Marc Overmars, Edu, Ray Parlour, Kanu and Emmanuel Petit. The stars truly had come out to honour Bergkamp.



Eight minutes in the second half, Arsenal equalised. Bergkamp fed Dixon on the right, who floated a cross to the near post as he had throughout the ‘90s at Highbury. Henry latched on to it, held off his marker and side-footed a shot past Van der Sar from close range.



Arsenal now had the upperhand. Gilles Grimandi sprayed a perfect long ball to Overmars and the little winger cut inside to thump a drive into Van der Sar’s chest.



Just past the hour, Davids burst through and flicked the ball past Seaman. All he had to do was tap the ball into the net but Grimandi raced up and brought him down. Given that the ex-Tottenham midfielder had been getting so playful stick from the crowd ever since he came on, this was a very popular move. However justice was not served when Ronald de Boer hoofed the penalty over the bar.



With 10 minutes left, the crowd was sprung two surprises. Ajax brought on two players from whom the word ‘legend’ is not good enough — Johan Cryuff and Marco van Basten.



The latter showed his class almost immediately, flicking the ball over the head of Bould at the near post and forcing a fine one-handed save out of Alex Manninger.



Ian Wright hit the sidenetting then, in the final minute, Kanu darted inside and saw his shot deflect off Jaap Stam and beat keeper Stanley Menzo at the near post for the winning goal.



All we needed now was a Bergkamp goal. It almost came with the last kick of the match but Menzo saved with his legs.



After the final whistle, Bergkamp received a special presentation from the chairman of Arsenal and the board of Ajax. He said a few words to the crowd, did a lap of honour and was lifted on to the shoulders of the Legends.



With that, and a fanfare of fireworks, Bergkamp’s career ended.



Some players elicit admiration, some provide inspiration, a precious few can do both. But this man was one of them. His cast-iron technique was forged on the youth team training ground at Ajax and his steely character developed at Inter but his best years will always belong to Arsenal.



And we were so, so lucky to have him.



Arsenal goalscorers: Henry 55, Kanu 80



Ajax goalscorers: Huntelaar 37



First-half Arsenal: Manuel Almunia, Justin Hoyte, Pascal Cygan, Matthew Connolly, Armand Traore; Alex Hleb, Alex Song, Mathieu Flamini, Ryan Smith; Dennis Bergkamp, Jeremie Aliadiere

Subs: Mart Poom, Sebastian Larsson, Nicklas Bendtner, Fabrice Muamba, Joe O’Cearuill, Mark Randall, Vincent Van den Berg, Arturo Lupoli, Anthony Stokes.



Second-half Arsenal squad: David Seaman, Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn, Steve Bould, Gilles Grimandi, Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit, Edu, Ray Parlour; Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Ian Wright, Oleg Luzhny, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Alex Manninger, Patrick Vieira, Glenn Helder, Kanu.



First-half Ajax: Maarten Stekelenburg, Zdenek Grygera, John Heitinga, Jaap Stam, Thomas Vermaelen, Hedwiges Maduro, Kenneth Perez, Wesley Sneijder, Jan Vertonghen, Tom de Mul, Klaas Jan Huntelaar

Subs: Olaf Lindenbergh, Urby Emanuelson, George Ogararu, Ryan Babel, Edgar Manucharyan, Robbert Schilder, Markus Rosenberg.



Second-half Ajax squad: Edwin Van der Sar, Stanley Menzo, Danny Blind, Wim Jonk, Frank de Boer, Marciano Vink, Aron Winter, Ronald de Boer, Edgar Davids, Jan Wouters, Stefan Pettersson, Bryan Roy, Johan Cruyff, Frank Rijkaard, Marco Van Basten.



and From BBC's Report of the Bergkamp Testimonial :





Bergkamp given rousing farewell

Dennis Bergkamp cradles daughter Yasmin

It was a family day for Bergkamp as he said his footballing farewells

Dennis Bergkamp bowed out of football on a entertaining, celebratory opening day at Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium.



A sell-out crowd revelled in seeing some of the club's greats play in a second-half Legends match against Bergkamp's first club, Dutch side Ajax.



Ian Wright, Emmanuel Petit, Patrick Vieira and Marc Overmars were some of the names to return for the Gunners.



And 59-year-old Johan Cruyff and Holland manager Marco van Basten came on for Ajax in the last 10 minutes.



Ajax's Dutch international striker Klass-Jan Huntelaar had the honour of scoring the first goal at the 60,000 capacity stadium in a first half in which the clubs sent out a host of youngsters for a regulation pre-season run-out.



Huntelaar went close on a couple of occasions before turning in Edgar Manucharyan's low, flat cross from the left.



After the break the girths were a little wider and the legs, in some cases, a bit slower than in their heyday as a new match began between two teams of legends.



But it was Arsenal's only present day player on show who gave the hosts the lead.





It's difficult to say goodbye



Dennis Bergkamp



Thierry Henry, having chartered a private jet to fly back from a family holiday in the USA for the match, converted Lee Dixon's cross to the delight of the home fans.



And after Ronald De Boer blazed a penalty over following Gilles Grimandi's foul on Tottenham's Edgar Davids - the day's pantomime villain, Kanu's deflected shot made it two to Arsenal.



He may not have scored, despite being put through one-on-one on the right in the closing minutes, but the day was all about one man and Bergkamp was given a rousing send off.



"If I was to have a testimonial it was always going to be against Ajax and their fans have put in a lot of effort to come here," he said in an emotional speech after the final whistle when he gave thanks to one and all.



"My mum and dad were always there from the beginning and have probably seen every game.



"And my wife has been amazing over the years. You can't do a career like this alone and if it wasn't for her I would not be here.



"It's difficult to say goodbye. I've had a fantastic time over the last 11 years and a big part were the fans and how they treated me - they have been fantastic."



Bergkamp was carried shoulder high during a lap of honour by Vieira and Henry - Arsenal captains past and present.



It was applauded long and loud by the legends on the pitch as well as the crowd who have marvelled at his Arsenal displays for the last 11 years during which he has scored 120 goals in 423 games.





And look at BBC remembers Bergkamp the Footballer

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