Mitchell van Bergen – Heerenveen’s dazzling winger
Mitchell van Bergen is Vitesse Arnhem’s youngest debutant as he hails from Willem II’s talent factory which has aided in the development of Frenkie De Jong, Sam Lammers and Jurgen Locadia. The tricky winger was allowed to join Heerenveen as Vitesse sought a more experienced presence on the flank as that decision looks ill-advised as van Bergen has become integral to Heerenveen. The 19-year-old has shown enough pace, skill and trickery to be the most exciting winger since Luciano Narsingh’s 20 assist season for the Frisian club.
Van Bergen had to earn his way into the starting line-up as a brace against Willem II convinced Jan Olde-Riekerink that he would be vital to steering Heerenveen away from the relegation places. In the Frisian’s side 2019 opener against Ajax, van Bergen and fellow winger, Arber Zeneli, were tasked with tucking in to mark Lasse Schone and De Jong in the defensive phase before pushing out wide in the attacking phase. Mitchell Vlap, Lammers and van Bergen put together neat little combinations to threaten Ajax as the winger would drop deep off his flank to receive passes from his fullback, Lucas Woudenberg before working moves in the centre.
The prospect of going up against van Bergen proved a nightmare for former Heerenveen youth product, Daley Sinkgraven as the winger possesses beguiling close control and the ability to contort his body to twist and turn out of tight areas. Lammers took on a pass and played a perfectly weighted and curled through ball past Sinkgraven to van Bergen who cut inside his fullback before cutting back outside Sinkgraven to create space for a one-on-one with Kostas Lamprou and applying a calm finish to level the score at 3-3.
Van Bergen’s brand of heart-stopping close control manoeuvring makes him one of the cleverest one-on-one operators in the Eredivisie as he mesmerises when embarrassing defenders. In a game against AZ Alkmaar, he had a moment of genius to beat Thomas Ouwejan and have a cross blocked. The winger played closer to striker Lammers as he sometimes fulfilled the striker role when his forward moved out wide. In a tussle against PSV Eindhoven and one of the Eredivisie’s sturdiest and most attacking fullbacks, Angelino, the 19-year-old winger continued to spark more moments of genius.
Van Bergen covered for his fullback, Jizz Hornkamp with tigerish intent while also driving at Angelino with pace and trickery. He received possession on his right flank before cutting past the Spaniard, driving into the box and having a shot deflect past Jeroen Zoet off a PSV defender. Van Bergen also had a Nemanja Mihajlovic cross deflected into his path before blasting over the bar. Although, the teenager has managed to accumulate 6 goals this season, Van Bergen will need to improve his finishing as against Feyenoord, he took on a through ball from Ben Rienstra to chip the ball wide over Kenneth Vermeer.
The former Vitesse youth product, thrives in build-up with his knack for engaging in quick combinations as against Groningen, he played deeper, moving the ball vertically while making intelligent runs into space. Van Bergen dropped so deep that he was almost playing as wing-back while Rienstra moved above him into the half space. One of his finer and more exhilarating performances was against Heracles and German U21 international, Lennart Czyborra. Van Bergen showed a penchant for torture as he teased and toiled with the German throughout the game.
Van Bergen started with stinging the palms of Janis Blaswich with a strike from range before Lammers played a ball out wide to him as he beat his man and played a cross that the striker failed to control. The two linked up again as Van Bergen was picked out by his striker to then beat Czyborra and his winger before being brought down by the fullback in the box for a penalty that Lammers despatched. Van Bergen also had an assist disallowed when he played a perfectly weighted cross to Pelle Van Amersfoort who nudged over his marker and volleyed into the goal before it was disallowed for a foul. Heerenveen discovered their advantage on the right flank with van Bergen as Kik Pierie was constantly pinging diagonals onto the flank to pit the winger against his struggling fullback.
In the second-half, van Bergen was hemmed against the by-line by Czyborra and his winger to cleverly roll the ball back and flick the ball in between them before bursting past the duo as if they were ghosts, to drive into the box and have his shot blocked. The tempting van Bergen eventually drew Czyborra out wide before weaving past him with some hypnotic close control and cutting back for a teammate for Blaswich to make a crucial intervention. The 19-year-old played another cross to the back post for Morten Thorsby to send his header wide. The game was yet another industrious performance in a consistent set since the end of last year where the winger earned his way into the first team after a brace against Willem II.
Van Bergen has left a trail of humiliated fullbacks behind as he continued his fine run of form against VVV Venlo when he nutmegged another hapless victim, to cut in and have a shot saved. Van Bergen proved impossible to defend in 1v1s as he burst past the turnstile masquerading as a fullback to work a cross for Lammers who was on hand to divert it off the leg of Lars Unnerstall. Later in the second-half, Van Bergen would find the crucial delivery as he was played in by Rienstra before cutting in and lifting a cross onto the head of Michel Vlap to divert past Unnerstall for the 19-year-old’s first assist of the season. The youngster will need to find more deliveries of that fashion to fully fulfil his potential at a club which will be stripped of some of its key assets in the summer.
" He is very good at his job," says trainer Jan Olde Riekerink to the Leeuwarder Courant in March. “Mitchell is very funny but knows exactly when he should be serious. He is a footballer with speed, a good individual action, team spirit and is task-oriented. An excellent boy.”
Despite his tender age, van Bergen is known as an ‘atmosphere creator’ at Heerenveen for his ability to be enlightening in the dressing room with his sense of humour while also enlightening fans on matchdays with his immense talents and ability. Vitesse could rue the day they allowed him to leave for a meagre fee as he quickly found his feet in Friesland and began to establish himself as one of the best young wingers in the Eredivisie. This summer will be one of change for Heerenveen as their 19-year-old phenom will have more responsibility on his shoulders next season.
