The KNVB announced on Saturday that former Ajax and Arsenal striker Dennis Bergkamp has been voted the best Dutch international of the past 25-years.
- By Michael Bell
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Bergkamp was nominated for the award along with Ronald Koeman, Frank de Boer, Phillip Cocu, and Giovanni van Bronkhorst, but in a ceremony on Saturday it was announced the striker had won a public vote.
The 45-year-old, who is now a coach with Ajax, will now be inducted into the Dutch football hall of fame, and have a statue built in Netherlands. It will be his second statue to be commissioned with one already sitting outside Arsenal’s Emirate’s stadium.
KNVB president Michael van Praag stated, “All five of the ex-internationals nominated were based on their merit for the Netherlands.”
“Bergkamp was a footballer with a fabulous technique, always had an eye for the through ball and was the master of the final pass. The Dutch public has enjoyed many of his matches in Orange. He therefore fits excellently with the other ex-internationals already in the Orange Hall of Fame.”
Bergkamp earned 79 caps for Netherlands national team, scoring 37 times including the unforgettable strike against Argentina during the 1998 World cup quarter final.
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