Arsenal great Bergkamp: Why Cruyff crucial to my playing development

Tribal Football

·30 September 2020

Arsenal great Bergkamp: Why Cruyff crucial to my playing development

Arsenal great Dennis Bergkamp says Johan Cruyff was the biggest influence on his playing career.

Bergkamp played for Cruyff while a youngster at Ajax.

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"Cruyff made great demands on me, he made me tougher and now I think it is important to teach this. Most people look at football players and think, 'What a great technique', but it's so much more than that," he told BBC Sport.

"In Ajax, we understand that a player consists of four parts: a tactical, technical, physical and mental. If you want to become a professional, all four of them need to work at a high level.

"Cruyff's idea was to make me tougher. When I was a teenager, he sent me to an older team in Ajax to provoke me. He put me in situations that pushed me as a player."