Dennis Berkcamp

Published: 12 December, 2013
by STEVE BARNETT

IF you’re still searching for the ideal Christmas present for that special football fan in your life then the long-awaited memoir of Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp will come to the rescue.

Stillness and Speed: My Story offers a rare chance to get up close and personal with one of the true greats of the modern game, a genius who transformed the way Arsenal played football.

Produced with the help of excellent football writer David Winner, the autobiography takes on a unique Q&A formula which is ideal in a time when smartphones and tablets have all but forced us to surrender what little attention spans we have left.

Bergkamp’s views and memories are presented like an in-depth interview, a style of writing that has made football magazines such as FourFourTwo so popular.

A simple series of conversations in which Winner gives Bergkamp and his former managers and team-mates the chance to explain the highs and lows of life in professional football.

Winner has clearly studied Bergkamp’s career and knows it inside out.

Even better he manages to tackle those killer topics that will keep the reader interested, like what it was like to miss that penalty against Manchester United in the 1999 FA Cup semi-final.

There’s also a very open discussion on Bergkamp’s unsuccessful time at Inter Milan, a riveting chapter in which you see a footballer who refuses to compromise his perfect vision.

In a time when over-elaborate haircuts, sparkling ear-rings and flashy fast cars seem to define way too many footballers, it’s refreshing to remember a player whose only goal is to make the game beautiful.

• Stillness and Speed: My Story is published by Simon and Schuster at £20.