Roy Collins talks to Arsenal striker Dennis Bergkamp,whose FA Cup dream turned into a personal nightmare on three occasions
It is just as well Dennis Bergkamp believes some football happenings are predestined, and not just at the behest of a Far Eastern betting ring. How else could the Dutch striker have come to terms with his FA Cup final hard-luck stories? Growing up in Holland, Bergkamp remembers it as the biggest day of the sporting calendar. Three times as an Arsenal player, however, it has proved a personal nightmare.
Four years ago Bergkamp's annus mirabilis inspired Arsenal to the double and ended with him clutching the footballer of the year trophy. But, when a hamstring injury ruled him out of the Wembley showpiece against Newcastle, it was a coronation without a king.
The fates seemed to be showing remorse in the following year's semi-final when he was given the chance to end Manchester United's treble dreams with that last-minute penalty in the replay at Villa Park. But his miss cost him another final opportunity and, when it arrived again last May, it was only to cast him as the victim of another nefarious plot.
Bergkamp (32), says: "I was fit and ready to play but I wasn't picked. I was disappointed but with 20 minutes to go and us leading Liverpool 1-0, I was thinking that I'd be coming on to enjoy it and that it would be a nice gesture from the manager.
"But I was waiting and waiting and, suddenly, Michael Owen scored to make it 1-1 and I was told to get stripped. Then, while I was standing on the touchline, Owen got a second goal. It was all so quick that I don't know what the boss had in his mind. I was angry because I thought I should have played longer, that I might have made a difference."
Being Bergkamp, of course, his frustration did not result in a hole kicked in the manager's door. Understanding everyone at the club shared that feeling, he says, he did not want to bother the Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger with his problems.
There is now a growing feeling at Arsenal, he says, that a celestial engraver has already used some fancy scroll to inlay their name on one or more of the three major trophies available to them, though if Liverpool again end Arsenal's FA Cup dream at Highbury tomorrow it will be the least disappointing to Bergkamp.
He says: "This year I do not think the FA Cup is as big as usual, not just because the Champions League is so important these days but because the league is so exciting. We believe we have a good chance in all the competitions but it could change in one week. Three bad games and you're out of everything."
Bergkamp's contract has another 16 months to run and, if his own checks on his mental and physical condition fail to satisfy him, he might walk away at the end of next season. He could, he says, decide with a month of the season to go.
Right now, however, he feels his experience can offer a lot to the Arsenal team and, if he long since surrendered the role of orchestra conductor, he can still do a fine job as leader. He says: "I see the game better than four or five years ago and that allows you to make better decisions.I am now happy to adjust my game to Thierry Henry, who has fantastic pace."
He is not happy he is often given only 20 minutes as a substitute to weave this magic. Although he expresses satisfaction at managing to reshape games in his image after coming on as a substitute, he says he still wants to start games.
He cannot, however, read Wenger's mind when it comes to the striking positions. "I was in the side and then, out of nowhere, Kanu came in and, to be fair to him, he did well. Now he is away and I'm getting a chance again."
Bergkamp now has a chance to make the position alongside Henry his own, at least until Kanu returns from the African Nations Cup when, once again, it will be in the lap of the Gods. Bergkamp accepts it can be no other way, though he must occasionally wonder why those with power over the FA Cup cannot demonstrate a little more compassion towards him.
ON TELEVISION: Arsenal v Liverpool (live on BBC1 tomorrow, kick-off 1.0 p.m.)
