The PFA Player of the Year might never have made the grade as a professional at all if Holland's greatest-ever player hadn't spotted something in him as a skinny young lad.

DENNIS BERGKAMP'S football dream almost ended in a flood of schoolboy tears. The man who was voted PFA Player of the Year this season and guided Arsenal to The Double with his almost robotic goalscoring precision, has revealed for the first time how a succession of set-backs almost put paid to any hope of making it as a professional footballer - and how the most celebrated player in his country's history saved his career. Bergkamp, then a fragile youngster, failed to convince coaches at Ajax that he could make it in the game and was heading for the exit door until Dutch legend Johan Cruyff intervened.

"When I joined Ajax as a 12-year-old, I struggled for a long time to convince them that I could make it as a footballer," admitted Bergkamp. "As I got older, things didn't change. I didn't make it into the highest level of the youth teams because they thought I was too lightweight and were worried I didn't have the build to deal with the physical side of the game."

His plight became increasingly frustrating and he wasn't helped by pessimistic parents who felt young Dennis should concentrate on his education and kick football into touch altogether. "It was far more important for me to do well at school and get a proper education, he said. My parents wouldn't tolerate me sitting around dreaming about becoming a footballer instead of working hard at my studies. I had three older brothers who were all very skilful at football, but they decided to concentrate on their education - and they've done extremely well. One is an accountant, the second one has a science degree and the third works for Shell."

But although Bergkamp studied hard at school, he refused to let his football dream die. And his big break arrived when Cruyff returned to Ajax as manager. "He was the man who really discovered me and helped me through the most difficult years of my career, admitted the Arsenal hero. I owe a great deal to him. He told the youth team coaches that they'd made a big mistake by not playing me, and it was because of his influence that I eventually overcame the doubts they had about me. When I eventually broke through, I never looked back. I got into the first team almost straight away, even though I was still at school and I never lost my place in the side again."