BERGKAMP

The loss was a bitter one, the disappointment magnified by a goal for Brazil that appeared to have been offside.

Dennis Bergkamp, whose international career was then just starting to soar, was devastated by his team’s 3-2 defeat in the quarterfinals of the 1994 World Cup and took no consolation from having scored the Netherlands’ first goal.

“This is something I’ll never get over,” he said.

Four years later and infinitely wiser, the 29-year-old striker has a new perspective.

After scoring the brilliant last-minute goal against Argentina that launched the Netherlands into the semifinals for the first time since 1978--and set up a rematch with Brazil here today at the Stade Velodrome--he was happy but typically subdued and soft-spoken.

“You win and you move on,” he said. “You don’t think about losing.”

Because Bergkamp is reaching peak form, losing is far from the Dutch players’ minds.

Bergkamp began the tournament under a cloud of doubt because of a hamstring pull that had idled him for six weeks and left him unable to finish his second season with his English club, Arsenal.

That was the lone blot on a fine season, during which he’d scored 22 goals and was voted England’s Footballer of the Year for his production and the new assertiveness he displayed in helping the Gunners win the English double--the Premier League title and Football Assn. Cup.

Still hobbled when the World Cup began, he was a substitute in the Netherlands’ opener against Belgium, a scoreless draw that didn’t bode well for Dutch prospects. But when teammate Patrick Kluivert was suspended for two games for elbowing a Belgian defender, Bergkamp was restored to the lineup, ready or not.

He was ready. The brilliant first touch was back. So were the quickness, surprising strength and superb skills that distinguish him as one of the best finishers in soccer.

Able to make the most of little space, even when being tightly guarded, he scored against South Korea in the Netherlands’ second game, against Yugoslavia in its round-of-16 match and then set up the first goal by Kluivert and scored the second in the Netherlands’ spectacular 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Argentina last Saturday.

That left the Netherlands undefeated at 3-0-2 and with 11 goals second only to the 13 scored by Brazil.

“I like to play with Dennis Bergkamp because he’s good at finding the gaps in the opponent’s defense and he knows where I want him to put the ball,” said Kluivert, who finished off Bergkamp’s headed pass Saturday with a roller past goalkeeper Carlos Roa. “There are few players who have this quality.”

Bergkamp’s goal maximized his assets. He used his right foot to snare a long pass from defender Frank de Boer and put the ball around defender Roberto Ayala before flicking it into the upper-left corner of the net.

“It’s a little bit about luck as well as finishing,” said Bergkamp, whose goal was his 36th in international competition, a Dutch record. “You’ve got to have those moments. I had two fine moments in the game, and very important moments. It’s a pretty good feeling. . . .

“It was difficult playing in the heat against such a good opponent. Brazil will be more difficult than Argentina. We’re just happy to be there.”

But merely being in the semifinals won’t be enough for a country whose team became known as the best never to win the World Cup after its losses in the 1974 and 1978 finals. After their 1994 loss to Brazil and their failure at the 1996 European championships amid allegations of racism against Coach Guus Hiddink, the Dutch have matured and forged a reasonably strong bond.

“It’s up to us to show what we have in our stomach and in our heads,” Bergkamp told the French newspaper L’Equipe. “Dutch teams have always had mental problems. Players were divided among themselves or angry with the coach.

“Here, we’ve been together six weeks and, sure, it’s a little more tense than in the first game, but at training or at the hotel, there have been no big problems.”

The biggest remaining problem is Brazil, and Bergkamp’s performance will in large part determine whether it can be solved.

“We want to go all the way,” Bergkamp said. “We’ve tasted a bit of success and we want more.”