Edgar Steven Davids (born 13 March 1973) is a Dutch professional footballer. He is as a defensive midfielder who most recently played for Ajax. After beginning his professional career with Ajax , he played for AC Milan, Juventus, FC Barcelona, Internazionale, Tottenham Hotspur before returning to the Amsterdam club. Davids has glaucoma, which requires him to wear protective goggles during football matches. His dreadlocked hair and his protective eye wear make 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.^[3]

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.

Davids moved to Italy in 1996 to play for AC Milan. He did not see much playing time at Milan, and moved on to league rivals Juventus in December 1997 for a £5.3 million transfer fee.^[4] Six successful years in Turin followed, with Davids helping the side to the Serie A title in 1998, 2002 and 2003. Also, 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.^[5] 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.

In September 2003 Davids joined FC Barcelona on loan in January 2004 as the Spanish club enjoyed a successful resurgence of form, finishing second to Valencia CF in the league. Then, he permanently moved on to Italian club Internazionale on a three-year contract.^[6] 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.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.

Davids signed once more for Ajax on 28 January 2007^[9] and played his first match against Ajax's rivals Feyenoord on 4 February.^[10] 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.^[11] In May 2008, Davids said he would leave Ajax when his contract expired on 30 June.^[12]

Davids played against Los Angeles Galaxy on 6 December 2008 in an exhibition match 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.^[13]

He was in contract negotiations with English Championship side, Leicester City from 22 October 2009.^[14] However, Davids failed to make a decision for over a week and the club withdrew their offer on October 30.^[15]

[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 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 defeat of 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. 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.