Football's forgotten legends: #2 Edgar Davids
- Will Lancaster
- Apr 4, 2019
- 4 min read
Football really is more than just the beautiful game. It brings people together at the highest of highs and keeps them together when times are tough. Some players are fortunate enough to have experienced the glory days in their careers, yet the same squads will certainly have felt frustration and heartbreak. With enough hard work, grit and determination, a player who achieves a lot in their career will always be remembered as an icon; a legend; a hero.
But unfortunately, some of football’s greatest names have gone under the radar and their achievements are barely remembered. They don’t deserve to be forgotten about, so we’re not. Join us as we take you on a trip down memory lane and remember some of football’s forgotten legends.
#2 Edgar Davids
Boy, this man was talented at football.
If you lined up in the tunnel before a game - and out of the corner of your eye, clocked a small man with long flowing dreadlocks and blacked out glasses - you knew it was going to be a tough ninety minutes of football out on that pitch, no matter the occasion.
Despite boasting an insane list of honours, donning the shirts of many of Europe’s most prestigious and historic teams and turning out for some quite bizarre English sides, it really is a surprise that the quirky Dutchman isn’t mentioned a lot more.
Davids, christened ‘The Pitbull’ by Louis van Gaal, was part of the famous De Kabel generation of Dutch players; a ‘Golden Generation’ of Surinamese descent. A list including the likes of Patrick Kluivert, Ruud Gullit and Clarence Seedorf.
This crop of Dutch youngsters in the Eredivisie at the turn of the ‘90s was incredible to say the least; Dennis Bergkamp, Edwin van Der Sar and Marc Overmars were in the Ajax squad alone. (This brings me to remind you of my favourite kit of all time – Holland’s 1996 Euro shirt…)
Edgar appeared in his Ajax debut at the fledgling age of just 18, and immediately made the central midfield role his own. His regista style of play was easy on the eye, and his ability to dominant matches from central midfield helped De Godenzonen win three Eredivisie titles in a row from 1993-94 to 1995-96.
By the age of 23, Davids had achieved everything that most players could have only dreamt of: he’d started for the Netherlands, won three Dutch titles, a UEFA Cup and played a key part in Ajax’s most famous victory since the early 70’s – solving the ‘Catenaccio’ problem in a 1-0 win against Italian giants AC Milan, to claim the 1995 UEFA Champions League.
Although the Dutch league was at its most formidable point in the mid ‘90s, it was hard not to be lured by the attraction of Italian football – which at that time, was the best in the world – and so Edgar packed his bags and jetted off to sign for the club he’d assisted in denying the European Cup from two years prior, AC Milan.
Davids had a torrid time at the San Siro, a spell which wasn’t helped by Fabio Capello’s resignation, leaving the club in limbo throughout the campaign. The Dutchman was relieved of his duties and sold in yet another high-profile Italian transfer saga to Juventus of Turin.
It was at the now demolished Stadio delle Alpi that he made his name on the global scene; playing in the holding midfield role behind maestro Zinedine Zidane, his tenacious style of play alongside his close ball control earned him many plaudits in his six-year spell at the Old Lady.
By the end of his tenure, he’d helped Juve to three titles in just six years and had appeared in two Champions League finals - losing both times, meaning his only Champions League victory ever was with Ajax.
His international career, however, was rather hot and cold; known to have a short fuse, he was sent home from Euro 1996 for publicly criticising manager Guus Hiddink.
His misdemeanours for the Oranje were quickly forgotten in 1998’s World Cup, after a string of top drawer performances saw Davids earn a place in the FIFA Team of the Tournament.
He followed that up in the next two tournaments, achieving the same recognition for his efforts at Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup, but Davids wouldn’t ever be able to inspire the Netherlands to glory in either competition, finishing his international career without a trophy.
After a short stint at former rivals Inter Milan, the ‘Pitbull’ also famously tried his hand in English football, joining Spurs for two years in 2005.
He was a fan favourite in his time at the Lane, but at the ripe-old age of 34, retirement was calling – Davids moved south to Crystal Palace, before somehow rolling up as player-manager at League 2 Barnet. Strange eh?
After reading about him, you’d be forgiven for thinking Davids was one of those regens you’d found on Football Manager save that had ended up ten years in the future, wouldn’t you? But nevertheless he was an exceptional servant for many of Europe’s greats and that is why he deserves a place on our forgotten legends list.
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