It was in Rotterdam in November 1990 that Dennis Bergkamp made his full international debut. The 21-year-old Ajax striker justified his selection for the 1992 European Championship qualifier against Greece when he scored the first goal in a 2-0 win.

Bergkamp would settle for his last match in the famous orange shirt being staged in the same city come the first weekend in July. It would mean that he had fulfilled his aim - after a decade of top-level football in which he has already played in two World Cups and two European Championships - of reaching a championship final for the first time with Holland.

'It would be fantastic to be involved in that,' said the Arsenal striker, who is quitting before the qualifying games for the next World Cup in Japan and South Korea as he would not wish to fly to the finals. 'It would be the perfect end if we won it. With the players we have had over the years, we should have achieved more. That is why to win Euro 2000 would mean so much to me and the country.'

No one has ever doubted that Holland have been able to tap a huge depth of talent. Ironically, Bergkamp's club manager, Arsene Wenger, believes they may have too many good players at their disposal.

'You know, there may be something in that,' said Bergkamp. 'As a nation, we are strong-minded and everyone has their own opinion. Everyone wants to say something. That can create some disharmony.'

Holland seem destined to be remembered as the great under-achievers of international football because of their history of internal dissent at crucial times.

The most recent was during Euro 96 when a racism row clearly affected the spirit within the squad.

Edgar Davids, one of the black players in the squad, was furious after being left out of Holland's opening 0-0 draw against Scotland and used only as a substitute for the last 11 minutes of the subsequent 2-0 win over Switzerland. He launched a tirade of abuse at coach Guus Hiddink and was then sent home after refusing to apologise.

'We learned a lot from that but perhaps we learned it too late,' said Bergkamp. 'No sooner had we had a long talk to sort out the problems than we lost 4-1 to England in our next game. Things went well during the World Cup two years ago when we reached the semi-finals. But, to tell the truth, we acted in a way that wasn't really us. All that linking arms during penalty shoot-outs, that is not us.

'Dutch players don't go in for all that jumping and shouting on the bench. It is not in our nature. The truth is that if you are a striker sitting on the bench and the striker playing in your place scores, you applaud but inside you are thinking it should be you out there.

'That is the Dutch make-up - strong individuals with minds of their own. Don't misunderstand me - we all want the team to win. We are just not, by nature, the same as other teams.'

But as he goes into Euro 2000 as Holland's top scorer with 37 goals from 73 games, Bergkamp prefers to concentrate on the positive. He said: 'It has been a fantastic time for me and I honestly believe I have never let Holland down when I have played. It means an awful lot to me to play for Holland and I have every shirt that I have worn in my international career.

'To win this tournament now would be the perfect end to my career. The only thing missing is a winners' medal from one of the major championships and, hopefully, I will put that right with my last game for my country.

'I have a medal from the last World Cup when we took fourth, but when we played Croatia in that third-placed play-off, we were finished after the defeat against Brazil in the semi-final. To end as a winner, that would be marvellous.

But even without that prized possession, Bergkamp's international career has been illuminated with some memorable moments - and some less memorable.

The lowest point? 'That had to be the 4-1 defeat by England in Euro 96,' he said.

'That was a very poor performance by our standards. Before the game we had a lot of problems within the squad.

'We had a big meeting and thought it had all been sorted out, but it must have still had an effect. It is the only time I can recall in my 10 years with Holland that we have lost a match by three goals.

'We were 4-0 down at one stage and if it had finished like that it would have been even worse because we would have gone out. But we scored a late goal and that put us in the quarter-finals where we lost on penalties to France.

'That defeat against England has to go down and my worst memory.'

The best? 'That has to be Argentina in the last World Cup in Marseille. It was the quarter-final and they had just knocked out England and for Holland there were memories of 1978 when we lost to them in the final.

'That game in France was tremendous for us and my goal that day was definitely the best I have scored for my country. It was a great result for us at the end of what had been a good season for me.'

Holland went on to be eliminated by Brazil in the semi-final - a result that had echoes of the US four years earlier.

'It is always hard when you play Brazil. It is like a home game for them and an away game for the opposition. Decisions from linesmen seem to go their way and we felt a bit hard done by after the 3-2 defeat in the US.'

Bergkamp's first experience in the final of a major tournament was in Sweden in 1992 when Holland were beaten by Denmark - the eventual surprise winners - in the semi-final. 'We should have won that game,' he said. 'By the end, four of their team had cramp. But we just couldn't get the winning goal.'

But neither Denmark nor Brazil provided the most difficult opponent that Bergkamp has encountered. That honour belongs to Jurgen Kohler of Germany.

'He was very tough to play against,' said Bergkamp. 'He had this presence. He organised and made some fantastic tackles. Germany were always stronger when he was in their team at the back.

'I couldn't single out one player to be the best I have come across because there have been so many... Bebeto, Romario, Ronaldo of Brazil, Jurgen Klinsmann of Germany... too many. But Kohler was the hardest opponent.'

Bergkamp has conceded that Holland could and should have achieved more in his time. But he also knows that massive compensation would come in Rotterdam - the place where it all started for him - should Holland win the first major title of the new millennium. Then he would be able to retire from the international stage with peace of mind.