Dave van den Bergh (; born 7 May 1976) is a Dutch

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and former player who played as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Career

Europe

A product of the famed AFC Ajax youth program, Van den Bergh played for

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

from 1995 to 1997, winning one league title during that time and reaching the semifinals of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

. Between 1997 and 2000, he played for

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Lig ...

in Spain, helping the team get promoted to the Primera División, and earning their first

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

qualification. Between 2000 and 2006, he played for

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

in the Netherlands, contributing 29 league goals over that span and helped the team earn five straight

appearances. He was a member of the Utrecht squad that won the

Dutch Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

in 2003 (4–1 against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

) and 2004 (1–0 against

FC Twente Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese Bo ...

), scoring the only goal in the 2004 final. Also in 2004, he won the

Dutch Super Cup The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footba ...

(4–2 against

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

), ranking him among the most successful Utrecht players.

United States

In June 2006, Van den Bergh (who is married to an American) was signed by the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

, for whom he scored three goals in thirteen appearances . Prior to the 2007 MLS season, he was traded to

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

in exchange for a third-round

draft pick A draft is a process used in some countries (especially in North America) and sports (especially in closed leagues) to allocate certain players to teams. In a draft, teams take turns selecting from a pool of eligible players. When a team selec ...

in the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft.MLSnet.com, 11 January 200

Retrieved on 14 July 2007. During the 2007 season, Van den Bergh obtained a United States Permanent Resident Card, U.S. Green Card, meaning that he was now considered a domestic player instead of a senior international. He quickly established himself as the team's starting left winger, and also moved to the left back position. He ended his first season with the club appearing in 29 league matches, including 26 starts. He tallied two goals and led the club with eight assists. In 2008 Van den Bergh continued his fine play with New York appearing in 26 league matches recording seven goals and five assists. He scored the most important goal in club history in the Western Conference Final leading New York to a 1–0 victory over

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

and a berth in the 2008

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

. New York traded Van den Bergh to

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

on 12 January 2009, for forward

Dominic Oduro Dominic Oduro (born 13 August 1985) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a forward. Early career and education Oduro started his playing career in Ghana, playing for both Prempeh College and the University of Ghana before trans ...

and FC Dallas's second-round pick (selection #18) in the

2009 MLS SuperDraft The 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the tenth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, the SuperDraft wa ...

. As part of the trade, the two teams also exchanged

first-round picks; New York received FC Dallas's #11 selection while FC Dallas took New York's slot at #14. In 2009 Van den Bergh had another impressive season appearing in all 30 regular season matches for Dallas recording three goals and 11 assists. The 2010 MLS season showed Van den Bergh to be a man without a team. In spite of what many would argue was a career campaign in 2009 for the crafty veteran left winger,

waived Van den Bergh prior to the start of the 2010 season after he reportedly questioned coach

Schellas Hyndman Schellas Hyndman (born November 4, 1951) is a retired soccer coach. He was previously head coach of FC Dallas in Major League Soccer. Despite having a limited career as a professional athlete, Hyndman is one of the most successful college socc ...

's coaching style. However FC Dallas maintained his rights in MLS and apparently the club made it very difficult for Van den Bergh to move to a new team. “I have not talked with anyone (from the Red Bulls) or an MLS team. I’m unemployed. I’m open to playing for certain teams, not any team”.

International

Van den Bergh was capped by the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

on two occasions, both coming in 2004 when he was with Utrecht. He made his international debut on 18 October of that year in a 2–2 draw against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. He also represented his country at the

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...

Coaching career

Van der Bergh has coached at various youth levels in the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

system.

Honors

Ajax *

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

: 1995–96 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...

runner-up: 1995-96 Utrecht *

KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...

: 2002–03, 2003–04 *

Johan Cruijff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

: 2004 New York Red Bulls *

MLS Western Conference The Western Conference is one of Major League Soccer's two conferences, along with the Eastern Conference. As of 2023, the Western Conference contains fourteen teams. The conference has produced eleven Supporters' Shield champions and seve ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Statistics

References

External links

MLS player profile

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergh, Dave van den 1976 births Living people Footballers from Amsterdam Men's association football wingers Dutch footballers Dutch football managers Netherlands men's youth international footballers Netherlands men's international footballers AFC Ajax players Rayo Vallecano players FC Utrecht players Sporting Kansas City players New York Red Bulls players FC Dallas players Eredivisie players La Liga players Major League Soccer players Dutch expatriate footballers Dutch expatriate football managers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate soccer players in the United States Dutch expatriate sportspeople in the United States New England Revolution non-playing staff