Anatomy of a Goal – Bergkamp vs Leverkusen

In this new series, I’m going to take a look at a few of my favourite goals, and try to break down what is happening, why it’s happening and how it’s happening. There are many, many small decisions and moments that make up any goal, and you generally need a lot of things to fall into place to score a goal. The thing that makes the great goals truly great is that they are a series of optimal decisions, executed to perfection. This may sound cold and calculated, like completing an equation in maths class. And the truth is that they are. They are cold, calculated decisions that give 100% chance of success. That’s what makes the players who execute these goals geniuses.

That being said, I see no better place to start than with an Arsenal legend, who’s very nickname suggests ruthlessness and a killer instinct that belies the genius that he undoubtedly is. Ladies and (most probably exclusively) gentlemen, I give you Dennis Bergkamp vs Bayer Leverksuen.

7 Seconds that Bergkamp’s life led up to

Dennis Bergkamp famously said “Behind every action there must be a thought”. Watch his goal against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup quarter final against Argentina. In a sumptuous seven seconds, thoughts that separate Bergkamp from mere mortals are given a live dénouement. As the Dutch assistant manager David Endt said at the time, “The seconds of the greats last longer than those of normal people.”