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Edgar Davids

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Edgar Davids
Personal information
Full name Edgar Steven Davids
Height 5 ft 7 in / 1.70 m
Position(s) Midfield
Team information
Current team
 Tottenham Hotspur
Number 5
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of May 10, 2006

Edgar Steven Davids (born March 13, 1973 in Paramaribo, Suriname) is a Dutch football player who plays for Tottenham Hotspur F.C. in the English Premiership.

Davids is nicknamed Pitbull for his ferocity in fighting for the ball and for his off-field antics. He is regarded as a difficult character, and often comes over as aloof and self-centered, only listening to his own mind.

He started his career at Ajax in 1991, and helped the Amsterdam club to the UEFA Cup title in 1992 and the Champions League crown in 1995. He then moved to Italy, first to A.C. Milan (1996-98), then Juventus (1998-2004), and finally Internazionale (2004-05).[1]. Davids also spent part of the 2004 season on loan with Barcelona. The move to England and Tottenham came in August 2005 on a free transfer, after Internazionale terminated the remaining one year contract. [2]

Davids' contributions to the Dutch team have been significant despite not winning any major tournament in the orange jersey. His most vital contribution to date came in the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France in the second round against then Yugoslavia where he scored a strong volley from just outside the penalty area to earn his team a quarter-final meeting with Argentina.

His recall to the National Squad has been due to excellent performances at Tottenham Hotspur, helping add 'bite' to the Tottenham Midfield. Edgar is a self-confessed Spurs fan, and this, along with a good relationship with the manager Martin Jol, has seen him providing one-to-one training sessions with younger members of the Spurs squad.

During (edit conflict × 96), he was sent home by then Netherlands team manager Guus Hiddink for saying in a radio interview: "Hiddink must take his head out of players' arses, so he can see better." The Dutch team perfomed poorly in the tournament, despite coming there with great expectations.

Nonetheless Davids remained appreciated by Hiddink, who still included him in the Dutch squad for the 1998 World Cup, when Davids impressed despite not participating in every game. He also played in Template:Ec2 and Template:Ec2.

Davids suffers from glaucoma, which means he has to wear protective goggles during football matches.

On 17 May, 2001, Davids was suspended by FIFA when he tested positive for the banned steroid, nandrolone.

Davids was one of ten Spurs squad members to be struck down by food poisoning on the evening of 6 May 2006 before their crucial final game of the season against West Ham United. A win would have seen Spurs qualify for the Champions League for the first time ever, ahead of arch-rivals Arsenal. However, several players woke up the next morning feeling ill and Spurs tried to get the game postponed. They countered that the players needed extra time to get fluids and some food on board as they had not been able to eat until then. Due to a number of factors, a suitable time could not be agreed to reschedule the game. Additionally, the Premier League were not willing to rule out punishment if the game did not go ahead, so Spurs turned down the option of a minimal postponement of two hours and played the game on time with several key players clearly not match fit. Spurs went on to lose the game and surrendered 4th position in the league and a Champions League place to Arsenal. Conspiracy theories abound, but manager Martin Jol did not think dirty tricks had been going on.

Davids was omitted from the Netherlands squad for the 2006 World Cup announced by current coach Marco van Basten on 8 May 2006. Along with other players like Clarence Seedorf and Patrick Kluivert, Davids has been constantly ignored by Marco van Basten, who chooses not to nominate him for the Dutch national team.

Teams

Honours
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