Edgar Davids career was a great one, but it did not really get too interesting until his spell with Barnet towards the end of his career. A tenacious midfielder regarded as one of the best in his generation, Davids was 5 foot seven, had dreadlocks and wore protective goggles due to his glaucoma medical condition. Interesting features for an interesting player.
Born in Suriname, Davids moved to the Netherlands as an infant and broke through to a great Ajax side. Featuring the likes of Edwin van der Sar, Danny Blind, Frank de Boer and Dennis Bergkamp. He won the Eredivisie three times, the Champions League, the Super Cup and many other trophies with Ajax.
He moved on to Milan, Juventus, Barcelona and Inter Milan, where he had a lot of success making his name as one of the best midfielders in world football. Davids came to England with Tottenham Hotspur at 32 years old and played 44 times across two seasons. He returned back to Ajax, where he offered his experience to the new breed of Dutch football in two seasons.
At 37 years old he signed for Crystal Palace in the Championship on a pay-as-you play deal and made his debut at left back against Portsmouth in the league cup. A shock move for one of best players in the world now in his twilight years. His spell at Palace ultimately only lasted seven games and he moved on.
He remained living in North London and managed a Sunday League side, Brixton United. He joined Barnet in League Two as a player-manager, alongside Mark Robson in October 2012. A move that was a real shock at the time. He took over as full player-manager in December that year. He played 29 times and scored one goal in League Two at 39 as the club suffered relegation to the then called Conference Premier. Davids stayed as player-manager and chose to wear the number 1 shirt, only really wore by goalkeepers, stating he wanted to 'set a trend'.
The Conference has never seen a player of Davids caliber and the whole idea of the former best midfielder in the world playing as a player-manager for Conference side Barnet wearing the number 1 shirt is just bizarre. During his final season he was cautioned eight times and was sent off three times. He would not travel to an away game if it required an overnight stay. So at 40 years old he decided to retire following his final red card and end a 23 year long career as a professional footballer.
Davids will always be remembered as one of the games very best, but his final spell as a player will always go down as his most interesting period. Now a manager again, this time in Portugal with S.C. Olhanense in the third tier of Portuguese football.
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