The Bergkamp derby.
1993 was a crazy year for Inter Milan. They had the brilliant Uruguayan magician Ruben Sosa, an Italian defence marshaled by Zenga, Bergomi and Paganin and a midfield boasting Nicola Berti and Wim Jonk. And they had Bergkamp, their star signing from Ajax - who was expected to do for the blue/black half of the city what Van Basten had done for the red/black half. After a pleasantly surprising second place the prior season, the addition of "The best No.10 in the world" was expected to propel Inter to the summit. Instead of challenging for the title they were almost relegated and yet in the midst of a turbulent season they somehow managed to win the Uefa Cup (back when doing so was at least as hard as the European Cup).
IDWM describe Bergkamp's time in Milan as the midst of a religious war and cover the troubling season as follows:
Bagnoli, the architect of Verona’s famous Scudetto in 1985, had achieved second place with what was the common tactical template in Italy at the time; sit deep and hit on the counter. He used the lightening pace of Ruben Sosa to great effect; the Uruguayan scored 20 goals in 1992-93.
The seeds of Inter’s abysmal 1993-94 season were sown as early as pre-season. Bagnoli makes the claim that Pellegrini never relayed any message about changing the system, and the new season commenced with a style of play that was unchanged from the previous campaign. Bergkamp became immediately isolated on the pitch with little support from Inter’s midfielders. ‘’I’d be up there with (Ruben) Sosa and every game we’re up against five defenders.’’
They began the season indifferently but were making strides in the UEFA Cup with Bergkamp seemingly an invigorated player in the tournament. He netted a hat trick (including a brilliant scissor kick) against Rapid Bucharest in the first round and put Norwich City’s European adventure to the sword with a goal in either leg in round three.
In the defensive quagmire of Serie A, Bergkamp and Inter were floundering in Bagnoli’s counter-attacking system and argues that he couldn’t have succeeded under the coach’s stringent tactics. ‘’I’d be up there with Sosa and let’s say two midfielders have joined the attack as well…I look back and my defenders and other midfielders are still deep in their own half! There’s a huge space between us and it’s dead space! It’s killing me, it’s killing the team.’’
To compound the issue, off the pitch he was struggling too, very much an introvert, he had a hard time integrating himself within the Inter locker room. Both interviewed for his book, Bergomi and Ferri were critical of his unwillingness to socialise with his teammates. Ferri was most vocal, ‘’we found him rather cold. Everyone in the team tried, but he was quite cold.’’ Bergomi was more diplomatic stating that ‘’Dennis could have done more to adapt, to become more Italian.’’
His partnership with Sosa, which wasn’t working on the pitch, became more complicated when the Uruguayan described Bergkamp as ‘’strange and solitary’’ and that he ‘’does not laugh, does not speak and I will not ever pass him the ball’’ to the Italian media.
If the diminutive Uruguayan’s explosive pace and head-down style of dribbling was perfectly suited to Bagnoli’s game plan, Bergkamp’s sublime vision wasn’t. If Bergkamp needed collaborators in order to shine, Sosa was undoubtedly a soloist; their partnership was always destined to fail.
Bagnoli was sacked after a 2-1 loss at home to Lazio in February 1994 and was replaced by Giampiero Marini, who proceeded to only win twice in the remaining twelve league games as they narrowly avoided relegation by a single point. Yet their season ended in glory as they beat Casino Salzburg over two legs to win the UEFA Cup with Bergkamp ending as top goalscorer with eight goals."
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BERGKAMP, INTER AND ITALIAN RELIGION
When you think of Dennis Bergkamp numerous superlatives instantly spring to mind; perfectionist, genius, artist, visionary.
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That Inter side showed in flashes what might have been - and certainly the interference with and sacking of Bagnoli undermined things but it was a perfect example of the sum being somehow less than the parts. Sosa, a great player, just wasn't a good fit for Bergkamp. Partnerships are as important as their component talents. Yet the problems went far beyond the strikers (Inter managed more goals that season than champions Milan). The Inter defence shipped 45 goals in the league, more than relegated Piacenza but that got overlooked in the narrative because Zenga, Bergomi and Paganin were local heroes. Bergkamp became a convenient scapegoat for half a city's disappointments.
He lasted one more unfulfilling year before regime change at the top of the club saw him sold.
Bergkamp's unhappy time at Inter reduced him from a world elite star, courted by Barcelona, Juventus, Milan and Inter when he decided to leave Ajax to an achievable signing for Arsenal, who were a Cup Winners Cup side, hardly one of the continental elite. It might have been really the only significant thing Bruce Rioch achieved in his short reign at the club and yet it set Arsenal on course for it's most successful era. Thierry Henry and Arsene Wenger usually get the attention when thinking of those great Arsenal sides (and "the Invicibles" are in this tournament too) but as a lifelong Arsenal fan I would always have Bergkamp as far and away the most important, most talented, irreplaceable player in club history.
The 1998 sides was Arsene Wenger's first full season at the club. Since the Bergkamp (and Platt) signings of 1995 he had added Bergkamp's Dutch teammate Marc Overmars, a muscular french midfielder from the Milan reserves called Patrick Vieira, Freddie Ljungberg- a young Swede winger and two of his Monaco stalwarts, Emanuel Petit and Giles Grimandi. Along with the George Graham-era defense and the aging maestro Ian Wright, the 1997/1998 Arsenal side would mark the club's centenary season with a league and cup double. Bergkamp won player of the year. Then that summer he went to the world cup and scored one of the greatest goals of all time.
The Bergkamp derby pits a side that failed miserably in its domestic competition (undoubtedly the best league in the world at the time) and still conquered Europe against a side that blew away the English Premier League (including a great Manchester United side) but lost to PAOK Salonika in the first round of the Uefa Cup. It's hard to call a favourite.
Arsenal 1997/1998 Inter 1993/1994
GK David Seaman GK Walter Zenga
FB Lee Dixon SW Sergio Battistini
CB Tony Adams CB Giueseppe Bergomi
CB Steve Bould CB Antonio Paganin
FB Nigel Winterburn FB Alessandro Bianchi
MF Marc Overmars FB Angelo Orlando
MF Patrick Vieira MF Nicola Berti
MF Emanuel Petit MF Wim Jonk
MF Freddie Ljungberg MF Antonio Manicone
CF Ian Wright CF Ruben Sosa
CF Dennis Bergkamp CF Dennis Bergkamp
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