Edgar Davids

Edgar Davids
Edgar Davids (© Paul Blank)
Personal information
Full name Edgar Steven Davids
Date of birth 13 March 1973 (1973-03-13) (age 37)
Place of birth Paramaribo, Suriname
(at the time part of the Netherlands)
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position Defensive Midfielder
Club information
Current club Crystal Palace
Number 20
Youth career
Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1992–1996 Ajax 106 (20)
1996–1997 Milan 19 (2)
1997–2004 Juventus 159 (8)
2004 → Barcelona (loan) 18 (1)
2004–2005 Internazionale 14 (2)
2005–2007 Tottenham Hotspur 40 (1)
2007–2008 Ajax 30 (1)
2010– Crystal Palace 1 (0)
Total 387 (29)
National team‡
1994–2005 Netherlands 74 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 November 2009.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 November 2009

Edgar Steven Davids (born 13 March 1973) is a Dutch professional footballer currently playing for Crystal Palace. After beginning his professional career with Ajax, he played for Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Internazionale and Tottenham Hotspur before returning to the Amsterdam club. After two years out of competitive football, Davids signed for English side Crystal Palace in 2010.

Davids has glaucoma, which requires him to wear protective goggles during football matches. His dreadlocked hair and his protective eye wear made Davids one of the most recognizable footballers of his generation.[1][2] Davids was one of the players chosen by Pelé to be featured in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living footballers.

He is a cousin of current NEC midfielder Lorenzo Davids.

Contents

Club career

Davids started his career at Ajax in 1991, making his debut on 6 September in a 5–1 home win over RKC Waalwijk. 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. In the 1996 UEFA Champions League Final, he missed Ajax's first penalty in the shootout, which they ultimately lost to Juventus. While at Ajax, he was nicknamed "The Pitbull" by Ajax manager Louis van Gaal due to his fierce style of play and bite in the midfield.

At the start of the 1996-97 season Davids moved to Italy to play for Milan. After an unsuccessful spell where he failed to establish himself in the first team he moved on to league rivals Juventus in December 1997 for a £5.3 million transfer fee.[3] Six successful years in Turin followed, with Davids helping the side to the Serie A title in 1998, 2002 and 2003. Juventus manager Marcello Lippi once described him as "my one-man engine room." On 17 May 2001, Davids was suspended by FIFA when he tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid, nandrolone.[4] He was often inspirational in Europe, playing 15 times as the club made it all the way to the UEFA Champions League 2002-03 final before losing to Milan on penalties.

Davids joined Barcelona on loan in January 2004 from Juventus. Joining midway through a season where the club was struggling in midtable and recently appointed manager Frank Rijkaard was under considerable pressure, Davids led Barça's successful resurgence of form which saw them finishing second to Valencia in the league.[5] Davids' arrival has been cited as the catalyst for the Catalan club's dominance of Spanish and European football during the mid to late 00s, with Rijkaard winning La Liga the following season (after five years without winning the league title) and a La Liga and Champions League double in 2005-06.[6]

In the summer of 2004, he permanently moved on to Italian club Internazionale on a three-year contract.[7] When Inter terminated the remaining years of his contract in August 2005, he moved to England on a free transfer to play for Tottenham Hotspur.[8] He had a successful stay at Tottenham and instantly became a fans favourite. His first and only goal was in a 2–1 away win against Wigan Athletic.[9] Davids played for Tottenham in the 2005–06 and the 2006–07 seasons, both in which Tottenham finished in 5th position.

Davids during his second period at Ajax, with Thomas Vermaelen and Gregory van der Wiel.

Davids signed once more for Ajax on 28 January 2007[10] and played his first match against Ajax's rivals Feyenoord on 4 February.[11] 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 on the final day of the league. He also played a major role in Ajax's 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, Davids' leg was broken in a pre-season friendly against Go Ahead Eagles, sidelining him for around three months.[12] In May 2008, Davids said he would leave Ajax when his contract expired on 30 June.[13]

Davids played against Los Angeles Galaxy on 6 December 2008 in an exhibition match held at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, as part of an Oceania XI All-Star team, despite the fact he is not from Oceania and has never played for an Oceanic club or national team.[14]

On 20 August 2010, Davids agreed a pay-as-you-play deal with English Championship club Crystal Palace. He made his debut on 24 August 2010 at left-back in the Second Round of the League Cup against Portsmouth.[15]

International career

Davids was an integral part of the Dutch national team since his debut on April 20, 1994 in Tilburg against Ireland (0-1) [16], though he has not won any major tournaments for the Oranje.

During the UEFA Euro 1996, he was sent home by then manager Guus Hiddink for saying in a radio interview: "Hiddink should stop putting his head in some players' asses."

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 to the official FIFA "Team of the Tournament".

Davids played in the UEFA Euro 2000 when he was named for the UEFA "Team of the Tournament". The Netherlands reached the semi-finals and played against Italy in a thrilling game that ended up being decided with a penalty shootout.

During the Netherlands' UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying matches, 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 victory against Scotland.

After Euro 2004, new national team coach Marco van Basten appointed Edgar Davids as captain of the team. However, lack of first team football at his club Inter meant Davids also lost his place in the national team in October 2004, thus losing the captain's armband in the process, which was later handed to Edwin van der Sar. 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 World Cup.

As a sign of his great ability Davids was selected to make the cover of the football game FIFA Football 2003 alongside Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs and Brazilian international Roberto Carlos.

Honours

Club

Ajax
Juventus
Internazionale

Individual

Career statistics

Club Performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Netherlands League KNVB Cup League Cup Europe Total
1991/92 Ajax Eredivisie 13 2 0 0 - - 13 2
1992/93 28 4 0 0 - - 28 4
1993/94 15 2 1 0 - - 16 2
1994/95 22 5 2 0 - 7 0 31 5
1995/96 28 7 6 0 - 11 1 45 8
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
1996/97 Milan Serie A 15 0 0 0 - 4 1 19 1
1997/98 4 0 6 1 - 0 0 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 0 0 - 15 1 41 2
2003/04 5 0 0 0 - 5 0 10 0
Spain League Copa del Rey Copa de la Liga Europe Total
2003/04 Barcelona La Liga 18 1 0 0 - - 18 1
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
2004/05 Internazionale Milano Serie A 14 0 0 0 - 5 0 19 0
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2005/06 Tottenham Hotspur Premier League 31 1 0 0 - 31 1
2006/07 9 0 0 0 1 0 10 0
Netherlands League KNVB Cup League Cup Europe Total
2006/07 Ajax Eredivisie 12 1 3 0 - - 15 1
2007/08 18 0 0 0 - - 18 0
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2010/11 Crystal Palace Championship 1 0 0 0 1 0 - 2 0
Country Netherlands 136 21 12 0 - 11 1 159 22
Italy 192 8 38 5 - 56 2 286 15
Spain 18 1 0 0 - - 18 1
England 40 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 42 1
Total 386 31 50 5 0 0 68 3 504 39

[17] [18]

Netherlands national team
Year Apps Goals
1994 1 0
1995 4 0
1996 4 0
1997 0 0
1998 11 1
1999 6 3
2000 12 0
2001 6 0
2002 6 2
2003 9 0
2004 14 0
2005 1 0
Total 74 6

References

  1. ↑ "Goggles are Davids' most glaring feature". Soccertimes.com. 7 March 2003. http://www.soccertimes.com/oped/2003/mar07.htm. Retrieved 19 December 2008. 
  2. ↑ "Edgar Davids Profile". World Soccer News. http://www.wldcup.com/euro/2004/players_present/399_edgar_davids.html. Retrieved 19 December 2008. 
  3. ↑ David v Goliath?
  4. ↑ "Davids and Couto hit with FIFA bans". London: Telegraph. 2001-05-31. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/3006500/Davids-and-Couto-hit-with-FIFA-bans.html. Retrieved 2009-10-09. 
  5. ↑ Lowe, Sid (1 March 2004). "Davids drags Barca back to life". London: Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2004/mar/01/europeanfootball.sport1. Retrieved 2010-04-27. 
  6. ↑ Lowe, Sid (2010-01-29). "The Joy of Six: game-breaking transfers during the season". London: Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2010/jan/29/joy-of-six-game-breaking-transfers. Retrieved 2010-04-27. 
  7. ↑ inter.it, Edgar Davids joins Inter, 11 July 2004
  8. ↑ [1], Tottenham complete Davids signing , 3 August 2005
  9. ↑ [2], Wigan 1-2 Tottenham , 26 ember 2005
  10. ↑ nos.nl, Davids signs for Ajax. 28 January 2007
  11. ↑ "Tactical Formation". Football-Lineups.com. http://www.football-lineups.com/wiki/_match3656.php. Retrieved February 7, 2007. 
  12. ↑ "Ajax midfielder Davids breaks leg". BBC Sport. 22 July 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6910718.stm. 
  13. ↑ Herbert, Ian (May 21, 2008). "Transfer news and speculation, 21 May". Independent, The (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/summer-sales-transfer-news-and-speculation-on-21-may-831410.html. Retrieved 2008-08-01. 
  14. ↑ Edgar Davids joins Oceania All Stars for Galaxy match
  15. ↑ "Edgar Davids Agrees Terms". Crystal Palace F.C.. 20 August 2010. http://www.cpfc.co.uk/page/News/0,,10323~2128733,00.html. Retrieved 20 August 2010. 
  16. ↑ http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/davids-intl.html
  17. ↑ http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=4772
  18. ↑ http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/davids-intl.html

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