Edgar Davids Biography

Edgar Davids, born on 13 March 1973 in Paramaribo, Suriname, is a Dutch football coach and former football player. He played on the left and in central defensive midfield.

He started professional training with his older brother Ricardo at the youth club of Schellingwoude, which worked closely with Ajax. He tried twice to get into the Ajax academy but was rejected due to his poor physical conditions (short height).

He made his debut for Ajax on 8 September 1991, at the age of 18. His first season in the Ajax senior team was crowned with winning the UEFA Cup. He won the Dutch league championship in 1994, 1995 and 1996 with the Ajax Amsterdam and the Dutch Cup in 1993.

As one of the most decorated Dutch footballers of all time, he has won many titles and awards with Ajax, Juventus and

. In 2004, the legendary Brazilian footballer Pele put Edgar Davids in the list of FIFA 100, which consists of “Greatest Living Footballers” by Pele’s choice.

His quick running combined with his aggressive tackling in defensive midfield earned him the nickname "Pitbull" during his time at

. He was further known for his enormous stamina and high shooting power. Davids' distinguishing feature was his orange-coloured glasses, which he had worn since 1999 due to eye surgery. As he explained, they served as protection, but also as a distinctive feature of him.

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All You Need to Know About Edgar Davids Biography

Edgar Davids has played a total of 74 games for the Netherlands between 1994 and 2005. He was a part of Netherlands in Euro 1996, 2000 and 2004 and 1998

in France. He has also scored 6 goals for his nation.

Edgar Davids Information

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Edgar Davids nationality

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Edgar Davids Bio

• Full Name: Edgar Steven Davids

• Nickname: The Pitbull

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Edgar Davids Physical Stats

• Weight: 68 Kg

• Height: 1.69 m

• Eye Color: Dark Brown

• Hair Color: Black

Edgar Davids Football Information

• Position: Defensive midfielder

• Jersey Number: 26

• Professional Debut: 1991

Edgar Davids Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 13 March 1973

• Birth Place: Paramaribo, Suriname

• Zodiac Sign: Pisces

• Nationality: Dutch

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Edgar Davids childhood

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Edgar Davids Early Life

Edgar Davids was born in Suriname (former Dutch colony), a South American country that has provided many internationals for the Dutch team, including Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit, Patrick Kluivert, Clarence Seedorf, Mario Melchiot, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Royston Drenthe.

Edgar was just over a year old when he boarded a ship with his father to go to the Netherlands. Soon, the alleys of the slums in the north of Amsterdam became the first playground for the wonder boy and his friends. Although Davids was not tall, he possessed a fierce determination and a talent for playing ball that did not leave scouts of the great

indifferent.

Although his first attempt to join Ajax was unsuccessful because of his short height, but he finally made it to the legendary white and red shirt and joined one of the best training centres in the world. One match after another, the promising young footballer took the steps that led to the first team.

Edgar Davids Profile

In 1991, Edgar Davids began his professional career with Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam. His debut in the

came on 6 September 1991 in a 5-1 win over RKC Waalwijk. By the end of the season, the midfielder was getting plenty of regular playing time under manager Louis van Gaal.

He reached the final of the UEFA Cup with Ajax Amsterdam in his first year as a professional footballer, which the team won the cup with a 2-2 away draw and a 0-0 draw versus Italian side Torino Calcio. Davids, however, did not feature in either match.

Davids made his definitive national breakthrough in the following year. Together with the team, Davids first clinched the KNVB Cup and then the Dutch Supercup prior to the start of the season. They won the Dutch League for three times between 1993 and 1995 and the Dutch Super Cup two more times. However, their greatest victory came in the 1994/95 UEFA Champions League season, when the Amsterdam side won the trophy by defeating

1-0 in the final match on 24 May 1995.

Alongside this, they were also winners of the UEFA Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup, thereby completing the international triple. The team reached the final of the Champions League again in 1996 but lost 4-2 on penalties to Juventus after a 1-1 draw in extra time. He missed his team's first penalty in that match.

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and his AC Milan career.

AC Milan

His stay in Milan was a miserable eighteen months. He suffered a fractured leg, he was kept away from the pitch for a long time and, when he regained his full fitness, he had to sit on the bench of a team whose coach had closed the door to him. Davids played 31 matches in the red and black jersey.

In December 1997, Edgar was about to pack his bags for FC Barcelona, where Silvio Berlusconi wanted to loan him out. It was then that Juventus came on the scene. For a transfer fee of £5.3 million, Davids chose to go to Turin rather than

.

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Juventus

In December 1997 he moved to league rivals, Juventus Turin. At the Old Lady, Davids improved and became one of the team's regulars and a driving force. He won the

title after only six months, and this success was repeated in 2002 and 2003. In 2003, the Dutchman again reached the final of the Champions League with the Turin team.

Against his previous club AC Milan, the team lost out in a penalty shoot-out. Until then the score had been 0-0. In the 66th minute, Davids was substituted by Marcelo Zalayeta. In January 2004, officials at Juve decided to loan the midfielder to Spanish side FC Barcelona, where Davids finished runners-up behind

.

Barcelona

The situation was difficult when he joined his former team-mate Rijkaard, who had become a coach at Barcelona. And although Ronaldinho had joined Barcelona, the club was not playing at the level of Real Madrid and was a long way from qualifying for the Champions League.

The incorporation of Davids into the Catalan squad coincided with the Barcelona team's rise in the

table. Davids balanced a team that had previously been too forward-looking while relieving Ronaldinho of some defensive duties. At the end of the season, Barcelona finished second in the league, having taken the opportunity to overtake their rival from Madrid. Davids only lost one match with Barcelona in 18 matches he played for them.

Although Rijkaard supported the idea of Davids continuing the Catalan adventure, the Dutchman's salary was a serious obstacle to this desire. Moreover, the Barcelona managers wanted to build a young team made up of "new talents" at the time. This explains why Davids was not kept at the end of the 2003-2004 season.

Inter Milan

In summer of 2004, Edgar Davids moved to Inter on a free transfer. In Milan, he managed to lift the only Italian trophy he still lacked, the

; nevertheless, his performance in the Nerazzurri was weaker than in previous years, partly due to tactical misunderstandings with coach Roberto Mancini that forced him to spend the end of the season practically "separated at home".

A situation that led Inter, in the summer of 2005, to initially think about terminating his contract, although they then sold him for free to English club

.

Tottenham Hotspur

Because of his energetic style of play, Edgar Davids quickly became a fans' favourite and a key player in the Spurs team. He played for the English side for two years. Both times they finished fifth. In January 2007, he moved back to Amsterdam.

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Ajax Amsterdam

He won a Dutch Cup there in the year of his return. Davids was introduced as team captain, however, he had bad luck when he was injured during the pre-season 2007-2008. On his return, Ajax did not lose a single match with him, but the performance was insufficient to win the title.

Getting older and somewhat exhausted, the former international ended the season by retiring, denying any connection between this decision and the arrival of Marco van Basten, with whom he had a difficult relationship, as head coach of the team.

After keeping himself fit by training with Ajax since early 2009, Davids announced on 9 September that he would return to play for Vitesse; however, the Arnhem-based club later decided not to sign him due to the player's high financial demands.

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Crystal Palace and Barnet

On 20 August 2010, after two years of not playing, he was officially signed by

, in the Football League Championship. The following 8 November, however, he was released by the Glazers after just 7 games played.

He joined Mark Robson as a player-coach at

on 12 October 2012. On the following 29 December, with Robson's departure, Davids took over the full technical leadership of the club. On 28 December 2013, he retired permanently from playing football.

Netherlands National Team

Edgar Davids made his first international appearance with the Dutch national team on 20 April 1994 in a friendly match against Ireland. On that day, he made his debut in midfield alongside Wim Jonk and Frank Rijkaard. However, his team lost the match 1-0.

As a key player for Ajax Amsterdam, Davids travelled to England for Euro 1996. A few days after the start of the competition, he was rudely expelled from the Dutch camp for exposing racial discrimination within the Netherlands' team.

He was kept away for almost two years, but coach Guus Hiddink called him back after his good performances in the Juventus jersey. On 27 May 1998, the

played one of the last friendly games before the World Cup against

. There Davids won his ticket to France. He shone throughout the competition, notably with a splendid and furious cross-shot in the match against Yugoslavia, which led to qualification for the quarter-finals.

For Euro 2000 at home, Edgar Davids was promoted to captain by the new coach Frank Rijkaard. He made a strong impression at this competition, where he was named in the team of the tournament.

He made his mark in the Euro 2004 qualifiers by scoring the opening goal in the first match against

on 7 September 2002. The Netherlands team won the match against Belarus by three goals to nil.

Davids has played in various major tournaments for his country. Because the Netherlands did not qualify for the 2002 World Cup, he played only one World Cup, the 1998 World Cup in France (finishing with his team in fourth place of the competition), but took part in Euro 1996, eliminated by France in the quarter-finals (although on a personal level, he will be excluded and sent home after 2 matches against France for criticizing the coach), 2000 (semi-final) and 2004 (semi-final). He was named in the team of the tournament for the 1998 World Cup and the Euro 2000.

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Coaching Career

On 2 June 2011, Edgar Davids returned to Ajax as a member of the Supervisory Board. On 13 April 2012, Davids stepped down from his post.

On 11 October 2012, Davids became the playing coach of English League Two club Barnet, sharing head coaching duties equally with Mark Robson. On 28 December 2012, Edgar Davids became the only head coach of Barnet. On 18 January 2014, the club's official website announced that Davids was stepping down as head coach of Barnet by mutual agreement.

On 4 January 2021, he took charge of Portuguese club Ollanense, who were playing in the country's third-tier league division at the time of his arrival.

Davids started working on his coaching diploma for the Coach Professional Football course in March 2014. In addition to Davids, Mark van Bommel, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Jaap Stam, Wim Jonk and Youri Mulder were also said to have started the course. A month later, Davids said he would not participate in the course, because the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) kept changing the rules. A year later, Davids followed the course in a modified form after consultation with the KNVB.

Style of Play

Edgar Davids has always been a fighter, a leader who is not afraid of anything or anyone. Scrappy but talented, he takes the ball off his opponent's feet. He is also a footballer with great tactical intelligence and above-average technical ability.

Nicknamed Pitbull by former Ajax coach Louis van Gaal for the aggressiveness he showed on the pitch, he was a tenacious and determined midfielder. A charismatic leader, but with a controversial character, he was gifted with great physical strength and an excellent left foot.

Reception

Many football fans and critics consider Edgar Davids as one of the best midfielders of his era and one of the greatest Dutch footballers of all time. Known as a fighting player, Matias Almeyda describes him as such: "He was the opponent I liked best. He would hit me and I would get up without saying anything. I would hit him and he would get up without saying anything. He on the left, I on the right: we were always fighting. A war."

Goal Celebration

During his club career, Edgar Davids has scored 50 goals which are good for a midfielder. However, he did not have a signature goal celebration and we saw many different ones from him after scoring goals. Now stay tuned as we are going to share some more information about Edgar Davids biography and his life outside football.

Edgar Davids outside Football

In 2014, it was announced on the media that Edgar Davids has partnered up with a creative marketing agency named Anomaly, which has offices in Amsterdam and London, two cities that Edgar Davids had home in. At the time Davids told the media that he was very excited to be joining the company.

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Edgar Davids Personal Life

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Edgar Davids life story

. So stay tuned.

Family, Children and Relationships

Davids was in a three-year relationship with fashion designer Olcay Gulsen. The couple were engaged for two years. Davids also has a son with his ex-girlfriend.

Now with his current girlfriend, Davids has two children.

Edgar Davids religion

is Christianity.

Philanthropy

Edgar Davids is one of the active players when it comes to charitable works. He is amongst the footballers who almost always participates in Soccer Aid matches. Soccer Aid is a charity event in England through all these years has raised around 40 million pounds for UNICEF UK.

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Legal Issues

In 2002, Sarah H, Edgar Davids’ girlfriend at the time had filed a complaint against Edgar Davids, who was a star player of Juventus at that time, claiming that he has seriously assaulted her and threatened to kill her. The couple which had started their relationship in 1998, finally had to end it with domestic violence.

In 2017, he had another legal issue where he filed a complaint against a company named Riot Games, which was the developer of the famous game League of Legends. Davids was claiming that the company has used his likeness to create a new skin for Champion Lucian avatar named Striker Lucian, which was very similar to Edgar Davids. This skin would convert the avatar to a new black one, with black goggles, dreadlocks and a broad jaw.

The Dutch court finally decided that Edgar Davids had valid grounds and thus this lawsuit against the gaming company.

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Edgar Davids Career Statistics

In this section of Edgar Davids biography, we want to take a look at his career stats, both as a player on club and international level and also a manager.

Club

As a footballer, Edgar Davids has played a total of 590 matches for 8 different clubs in 4 different countries, scoring 50 goals. His career started in Ajax in 1991 and ended 23 years later in Barnet. During his career, he played most of his matches for Juventus in 7 seasons, which was 243 matches. He has also scored 13 goals for the Italian giants.

International

Despite his club career, Edgar Davids’ international was rather short, where he played just 74 matches for his nation between 1994 and 2005, scoring 6 goals. He has played in 3 different Euro Championships and one World Cup for the Netherlands.

Managerial

Edgar Davids was the manager of English side Barnet from 11 October 2012 to 18 January 2014, when his team played 68 matches under his guidance, winning on 25 occasions, drawing 18 matches and losing 25. His win ratio at Barnet was just 36.8 percent.

He has started his new manager job at Portuguese club Olhanense from 4 January 2021 and so far managed his team in two games, winning one and drawing the other.

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Edgar Davids Honors

As one of the most decorated Dutch players at club level, Edgar Davids has won many awards and title such as Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, Johan Cruyff Shield, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup with Ajax, Serie A and Supercoppa Italiana with Juventus and Coppa Italia with Inter Milan.

Of his individual title and honors we can mention UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament, FIFA World Cup All-Star Team and FIFA 100.

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