been chosen as the best Dutch international player from 1990 to 2015. The statue will join those of the eleven of the century, erected in 1999, alongside statues of Johan Cruyff, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten, amongst others. Coaching career Upon retiring, Bergkamp insisted he would not move into coaching. He turned down an offer to scout for Arsenal and instead concentrated on travelling and spending time with his family. However, in April 2008, he began a fast-track coaching diploma for former Dutch international footballers and undertook a trainee role at Ajax. Having completed the Coach Betaald Voetbal course by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), Bergkamp was appointed assistant to Johan Neeskens for the newly formed Netherlands B team on 26 October 2008. For the 2008–09 season, Bergkamp returned to Ajax in a formal coaching position with responsibility for the D2 (U12) youth team. Following the promotion of Frank de Boer as manager of Ajax in December 2010, Bergkamp was appointed assistant manager to Fred Grim, dealing with Ajax' flagship A1 (U19) youth team. In August 2011, Bergkamp was named De Boer's assistant at Ajax. However, after the arrival of Peter Bosz as the new head coach at Ajax, Bergkamp's role at Ajax slightly changed. He no longer sat on the bench during first-team matches, but instead focused more on field training and on helping youth players reach the first team. He and fellow assistant Hennie Spijkerman were sacked from their roles in December 2017. Personal life Bergkamp has been married to Henrita Ruizendaal since 16 June 1993. The couple have four children: Estelle Deborah, Mitchel Dennis, Yasmin Naomi and Saffron Rita. His son Mitchel joined Watford U23 in February 2021. His daughter Estelle is the partner of Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek, the couple's first daughter having been born on 9 April 2022. His nephew, Roland Bergkamp is also a former professional footballer. He speaks fluent Dutch (his mother tongue), English and Italian. Aviophobia Bergkamp's nickname is the "Non-Flying Dutchman" due to his fear of flying. Contemporary sources believed that this stemmed from incidents with the Netherlands national team at the 1994 World Cup where the engine of the plane cut out during a flight, and when a flight was delayed because a journalist made a joke about having a bomb in his bag. In his 2013 autobiography, Bergkamp stated that his phobia