Fdwin van rler Sar
THE LAST YEARS
STAR TRIBUTE
Edwin van der Sar witnessed the last part of Dennis Bergkamp's career.
They met each other at Ajax in 1991 and after 15 years once again, full circle,
in the Premier League. This time, however, as rivals.
"We are more or less of the same
age but when we met at Ajax
Dennis was already a big name in
Dutch football while my career had
still to take-off. Looking back on
that period, especially the
combination between him and Wim
Jonk, is for me still unforgettable.
Excellent skill and wonderful
finishing by two players.
Off the pitch I always really
appreciated Dennis' attitude. He
has always remained the same. An
easy going guy with whom I share a
lot of nice memories.
One of them has to do with one of
Dennis' bad experiences. On the
day we had to play the UEFA Cup
Final against Torino, Dennis got a
terrible flu. It was impossible for
him to play. But after we won the
cup we decided to go with the
whole team with the players' bus
from the stadium to his house. In
the middle of
the night we
handed over
our trophy in
his bedroom!
A very
special
moment.
Through the
years we saw
each other
also
regularly off
the pitch.
Every once in
a while I
would bump into Dennis when he
was shopping in Harrods. Our wives
still keep in touch. Therefore the
good thing about Dennis finishing
his career is that we can finally go
out for dinner! For years we've
promised to do so, but every time
one of us was too busy or had to
play a game. Now he can finally
adjust to my agenda!"
"WE'VE GOT DENNIS BERGKAMP. WE'VE GOT DENNIS BERGKAMP."
"inthe
middle of the
night we
handed over
our trophy
in his
bedroom! M
