Edgar Davids wore goggles on the pitch because of glaucoma
With dreadlocks and wraparound protective glasses, Edgar Davids was impossible to miss. The goggles were no fashion choice: glaucoma, which developed after eye injuries in 1995, required surgery on his right eye, and from 1999 he played in them. Opponents knew him as The Pitbull for his ferocious tackling.
Born in Paramaribo, Suriname, on 13 March 1973, Davids moved to the Netherlands as a baby. Ajax turned him down twice before taking him at 12, and he debuted for the first team in September 1991. With Ajax he won three Dutch titles, the 1992 UEFA Cup and the 1995 Champions League, though he missed the first penalty when Juventus beat them in the 1996 final shootout.
He left for AC Milan on a free transfer under the new Bosman ruling, but broke his leg in a miserable season and moved to Juventus in December 1997. There he partnered Zinedine Zidane in midfield, and coach Marcello Lippi called his new role one of the season's key tactical changes. He reached Champions League finals with Juventus in 1998 and 2003, losing the latter to Milan on penalties. Loaned to Barcelona in January 2004, he helped a struggling side under Frank Rijkaard climb to second place in La Liga. Spells at Inter and Tottenham followed, where he became a crowd favourite, then a return to Ajax, whose cup win he sealed with the decisive shootout penalty. He finished with a brief spell at Crystal Palace in 2010.
For the Netherlands he debuted in 1994 but never won a major trophy. At Euro 1996 Guus Hiddink sent him home after a crude radio jibe, yet still picked him for the 1998 World Cup, where Davids scored a last-minute winner against FR Yugoslavia. He made the team of the tournament at Euro 2000 and briefly captained the side under Marco van Basten. In May 2001 FIFA suspended him after a positive test for the steroid nandrolone.
Despite his modest height he combined stamina, strength and tight marking with close control and ball-juggling skills honed in street football. In 2004 Pelé named him in the FIFA 100, a list of the greatest living footballers.
Source: Edgar Davids
