Edgar Davids

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Edgar Davids
Edgar Davids (© Paul Blank)
Personal information
Full name Edgar Steven Davids
Date of birth March 13, 1973 (1973-03-13) (age 35)
Place of birth    Paramaribo, Suriname
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6+12 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1991–1996
1996–1997
1997–2004
2004
2004–2005
2005–2007
2007–2008
Ajax
A.C. Milan
Juventus
FC Barcelona (loan)
Internazionale
Tottenham Hotspur
Ajax
106 (20)
019 0(1)
159 (10)
019 0(1)
014 0(0)
040 0(1)
027 0(1)   
National team2
1994–2005 Netherlands 074 0(6)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of April 20, 2008.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of August 19, 2007.
* Appearances (Goals)

Edgar Steven Davids (born March 13, 1973 in Paramaribo, Suriname) is a Dutch professional football player. He plays in the defensive midfield position and is known for his hard work ethic. He has played for AFC Ajax, A.C. Milan, Juventus FC, FC Barcelona, Internazionale, Tottenham Hotspur and again for AFC Ajax.

Davids suffers from glaucoma, which requires him to wear protective goggles during football matches. His dreadlocked hair and distinctive goggles make Davids one of the most recognisable footballers of his generation.[1][2]

Contents

[edit] Club career

He started his career at Ajax in 1991, making his debut on September 6 in a 5-1 home win over RKC Waalwijk. At his best, the Surinam-born Dutch international Edgar Davids is almost the complete midfield player, combining technique and tenacity with a surprisingly subtle touch. He helped the Amsterdam club to three domestic Eredivisie titles, as well as international success with the 1992 UEFA Cup and the 1995 Champions League. While at Ajax, he was nicknamed "the Pit bull" by Ajax manager Louis van Gaal, due to his fierce style of play and bite in the midfield.

He moved to Italy in 1996, to play for A.C. Milan. He didn't see much playing time at Milan, and moved on to league rivals Juventus FC in December 1997. Six successful years in Turin followed, with Davids helping the side to the Serie A title in 1998, 2002 and 2003.Also Juve manager Marcello Lippi once described him as "my one-man engine room".On May 17, 2001, Davids was suspended by FIFA when he tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid, nandrolone.[3]He was often inspirational in Europe, too, playing 15 times as the club made it all the way to the UEFA Champions League 2002-03 final before losing to AC Milan on penalties.

Davids joined Barcelona on loan in January 2004 as the Spanish club enjoyed a successful resurgence of form, finishing second to Valencia in the league.Then he permanently moved on to Italian club Internazionale on a three-year contract.[4] When Internazionale terminated the remaining years of his contract in August 2005, he moved to England on a free transfer to play for Tottenham Hotspur. He is revered amongst Spurs fans for his commitment and honesty during his short yet productive Spurs career and has already stated his ambition to be part of the club in some way in the future[5]

He signed once more for Ajax on 28 January 2007[6] and played his first match against Ajax's rivals Feyenoord on February 4.[7] After the mid-season switch, Davids proved his value for the Ajax team again. He was one of the key midfielders in the run for the Dutch championship, that was lost on one single goal to PSV Eindhoven on the final day of the league. He also played a major role in Ajax' cup campaign. He secured the KNVB Cup for Ajax by scoring the final penalty in a thrilling penalty shoot out against AZ.

Prior to the start of the 2007-08 season he suffered a broken leg in a pre-season friendly against Go Ahead Eagles, sidelining him for around 3 months. [8].

In May 2008 Davids left Ajax and is now a free agent, it has been said by many that he may return to England and play under Keven Keegan at Newcastle United.

[edit] International career

Davids was an integral part of the Dutch national team, since his debut in April 1994, though he has not won any major tournaments in the orange jersey.

During Euro 96, he was sent home by then manager Guus Hiddink for saying in a radio interview: "Hiddink must take his head out of players' asses, so he can see better."

Nonetheless, Davids remained appreciated by Hiddink, who included him in the Dutch squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. Davids' most notable performance for the national team came in the 1998 FIFA World Cup second round game against FR Yugoslavia. He scored the winning goal in the last minute of the game, and ensured that the Dutch team went through to the next round to meet Argentina. The Dutch national team eventually finished 4th overall, and Davids was named for the official FIFA "Team of the Tournament".

He played in Euro 2000 when he was named for the UEFA "Team of the Tournament".Holland team reached the semi-finals and played versus Italy in a thrilling game that ended up on penalties.

UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying Davids scored the Netherlands' first qualifying goal in their opening 3-0 victory against Belarus and subsequently bossed the midfield in five of the remaining seven Group 3 fixtures and both legs of the play-off defeat of Scotland.

After Euro 2004, new national team coach Marco van Basten appointed Davids as captain of the team. However, lack of first team football for his club Internazionale meant Davids also lost his place in the national team in October 2004, thus losing the captain's armband in the process. At the latter stages of the qualifying series for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in October 2005, he was re-called back into the national team, though not as captain. He fell out of the picture again shortly after, thereby missing out on the Dutch squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

[edit] Honours

Domestic
European

[edit] Career statistics

Club Performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Netherlands League KNVB Cup Europe Total
1991-92 Ajax Eredivisie 13 2 - - 13 2
1992-93 28 4 - - 28 4
1993-94 15 2 1 0 - 16 2
1994-95 22 5 2 0 - 24 5
1995-96 28 7 6 0 11 1 45 8
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
1996-97 Milan Serie A 15 0 - 4 1 19 1
1997-98 4 0 6 1 - 10 1
1997-98 Juventus Serie A 20 1 9 1 5 0 34 2
1998-99 27 2 6 1 9 0 42 3
1999-00 27 1 11 2 4 0 42 3
2000-01 26 1 4 0 5 0 35 1
2001-02 28 2 2 0 9 0 39 2
2002-03 26 1 - 15 1 41 2
2003-04 5 0 - 5 0 10 0
Spain League Copa del Rey Europe Total
2003-04 Barcelona La Liga 18 1 - - 18 1
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
2004-05 Internazionale Milano Serie A 14 0 - 5 0 19 0
England League FA Cup Europe Total
2005-06 Tottenham Hotspur Premier League 31 1 - - 31 1
2006-07 9 0 - 1 0 10 0
Netherlands League KNVB Cup Europe Total
2006-07 Ajax Eredivisie
2007-08
Total Netherlands 106 20 9 0 11 1 126 21
Italy 192 8 38 5 56 2 286 15
Spain 18 1 - - 18 1
England 40 1 - 1 0 41 1
Career Total 356 30 47 5 68 3 471 38

[edit] References

  1. ^ Goggles are Davids' most glaring feature Soccertimes.com, 2003; Accessed December 2006
  2. ^ Edgar Davids World Soccer News, Accessed December 2006 "Instantly recognizable with his swishing dreadlocks and coloured glasses"
  3. ^ Edgar Davids
  4. ^ inter.it, Edgar Davids joins Inter, 11 July 2004
  5. ^ Inter.it, Davids signs for Spurs, 3 August 2005
  6. ^ nos.nl, Davids signs for Ajax. 28 January 2007
  7. ^ Tactical Formation. Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved on February 7, 2007.
  8. ^ [1], "Ajax midfielder Davids breaks leg, 22 July 2007"

[edit] External links

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