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Stillness and Speed
SIMON SCHUSTER
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2 Reddit comments about Stillness and Speed:

u/jMz23 · 11 pointsr/Gunners

From 'Stillness and Speed', Bergkamp's Autobiography:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stillness-Speed-Story-Dennis-Bergkamp/dp/1471129535

>IAN WRIGHT: ‘THE touch! The turn! They should slow that goal down with some classical music and put it in a museum. Yeah! And make people see that it’s a real bit of poetry in motion.’ Thierry Henry: ‘You’re talking about a great goal, but talking won’t do it justice, so just watch it.’ The two most prolific strikers in Arsenal’s history are talking about the goal voted by fans as the club’s best-ever, the one scored in a league match at Newcastle in March 2002. To recall the essentials: receiving a low, driven pass with his back to goal, Dennis Bergkamp conjures a neverpreviously-imagined turn to beat defender Nikos Dabizas, flicking the ball right, spinning himself left and meeting the ball goal-side before calmly opening his body to side-foot past the advancing goalkeeper, Shay Given. Arsenal officials hoped to immortalise the moment in bronze when they commissioned a statue of Dennis for the Emirates Stadium. Sadly, this proved technically impossible. As film-maker Paul Tickell observes: ‘It would need Boccioni back from the dead to sculpt that goal.’ ‘That goal at Newcastle is a genius moment, so people have to cast doubt on it,’ says Ian Wright. ‘But I’ve seen Dennis do stuff like that in training so when people ask: “Did he mean it?” I say: “Of course he fucking meant it!” He’s an architect of space, so I reckon he’s done the drawings, measured everything and built it all in a split-second. And if someone says: “But he couldn’t have done that flick on purpose,” I say it makes no difference ’cos the speed of thought was such that he was able to readjust and finish with aplomb.’ Thierry Henry rebukes doubters in a slightly different fashion. ‘When people ask me about that goal I just go: “Dennis Bergkamp.” And they say: ‘Yeah, but did he mean it . . .? Do you think . . .?” So I say it again: “Dennis Bergkamp.” That’s my answer. I didn’t play in that game. I was watching at home and my first thought was “What!?” But you have players like that in history. Like Cantona was Cantona and Zizou was Zizou and Maradona was Maradona. You don’t have to comment on everything. Sometimes you just have to witness. Only Dennis can tell you what happened and I will believe him. Most of his goals he thought about before he received the ball. That’s Dennis Bergkamp.’

>BUT HOW DID Dennis do it? And why do people still wonder if he ‘meant’ his masterpiece? Dennis: ‘The whole question is strange. What do they mean by what did I mean? Which part do they think I didn’t mean? Do I see it all in advance? Do I think: “I’ll put it there, turn this way, then push?” Of course not. The situation creates the move. A few years ago I asked myself: “How can you describe a good footballer?” and my answer was: “The best players are the players who adjust to the situation they’re given in the best way.” The question is always: “how do you adjust?” I want the pass from Pires to my feet, but it comes behind me. It’s not what I expect, so I think: “I need another idea here.” It’s like when Messi sets off on a run. The first defender moves that way, so he goes this way. Did he “mean” it before? Did he plan it? No, he’s responding, inventing. “There’s a defender here, so I go there. Oh, there’s another one there, so I drop my shoulder . . .” If people ask: “Did you mean the goal?” I say: “No, when I got on the coach to Newcastle I didn’t mean to score a goal like that.” The ball came in a certain way, so I turned and twisted and did this and that.’ When your left foot goes to the ball, surely the idea is to flick the ball one way and spin yourself the other? Your foot goes to touch the ball to the right but the rest of your body is already spinning left. ‘Of course. The pass is coming like this, but I want to go that way so the creativity in my brain goes: “OK I’m going to try this . . .” It’s the all-or-nothing part of my game. I could have gone for the safe way, control the ball and knock it back. Or maybe turn. But I know the defender is stepping in and the pace of the ball can help me. With a small touch the pace will still be there, so I can spin the ball and keep it within reach.’ Tony Adams thought you must have tried this kind of turn before. Was it a move you’d imagined ahead of time and practised, then executed when you got the opportunity? ‘No, no. It was nothing like that. If my first thought is: “I want to control the ball,” then I would never make that turn. But my first thought was: “I want to go to the goal and I’m going to do whatever it takes to go to the goal, no matter how the ball comes to me.” Ten yards before the ball arrived I made my decision: “I’m going to turn him.”’ Did you calculate Dabizas’s reaction? ‘Not that. But you know where the defender will be and that his knees will be bent a little, and that he will be standing a little wide, so he can’t turn. And he won’t expect it. The thought was: “I’ll just flick the ball and see what happens. Maybe the defender blocks it, or the flick is not wide enough, or he anticipates and gets two yards ahead. But maybe he’ll be surprised and I’ll be one or two yards in front of him.” As it happened, I still wasn’t in front of him, so I had to push him off. So you need some luck as well.’ So it’s a foul? ‘Never! You end up with the ball somewhere in the middle and you have to decide. Maybe you choose safety. Take it with your right and you open up the goal for yourself. Maybe the left is your weaker foot. It would have to be more of a good hit. You can’t really place it. But with your right foot . . . at the last moment I can go low, or high [he is pointing to the four corners of the goal]. And then you just open it and take the far corner.’ So you’re calculating at incredible speed? ‘It is more instinctive because you know from training sessions and from other games. You know how the ball will bounce, and how the defender will turn. You know when you push him where the ball will end up, and where the goalkeeper is. It’s not like you’ve done that for the first time, that shot and that push. You know from previous times.’ Thierry Henry observes: ‘You know my favourite thing about that goal? The way Dennis puts his body in front of Dabizas. Dennis makes the turn and then blocks the defender, and that’s what gives him all the time in the world to finish. Usually when you do something amazing you get carried away. How many times did you see a guy do a great control and then rush the finish? Dennis did something amazing but then he stayed composed. That’s the difference between great players and normal players. A normal striker would be so happy to have made the turn he would try to blast it in. No! Calm down. Calm down! You did the most difficult thing. Now relax. Watch Dennis. The way he put his body between Dabizas and the ball was just amazing.’

u/bodysnatcer · 5 pointsr/Gunners

Dennis Bergkamp’s bio Stillness And Speed
is worth the read.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stillness-Speed-Story-Dennis-Bergkamp/dp/1471129535