Edgar Davids
Defensive / Central Midfielder · Juventus · Netherlands
About Edgar Davids
Edgar Davids — "The Pitbull" — is one of the most distinctive midfielders in football history: compact, ferocious, and technically excellent, with the added visual signature of his Oakley sports goggles worn from 2000 onwards due to glaucoma. He won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995 and was a key figure in Juventus's late-1990s dominance in Serie A and Europe.
Edgar Davids's story
Paramaribo to Amsterdam
Davids was born in Paramaribo, Suriname — a Dutch colony — and moved to Amsterdam (NED) with his family as a boy. He joined Ajax's famous youth academy and developed into one of Europe's finest young midfielders. Ajax's 1994-95 Champions League winning team featured Davids alongside Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert, and Frank and Ronald de Boer.
The Goggles
From 2000 onwards, Davids wore sports goggles on the pitch — initially required following surgery for glaucoma (increased eye pressure). The goggles became one of the most recognisable features in football — imitated by fans worldwide and associated globally with his ferocious midfield presence.
The Pitbull
Davids was nicknamed "The Pitbull" by Juventus manager Marcello Lippi — for his ferocity in the tackle, his relentless pressing, and his refusal to accept any loss of the ball in midfield. He was the engine of Juventus's Serie A-winning teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s, covering more ground than any other player in the league during his peak years.
Did you know?
- 🥽 He wore custom Oakley sports goggles from 2000 due to glaucoma — making him one of the most visually distinctive players in football history. The goggles were copied by fans worldwide.
- 🐕 Marcello Lippi named him "The Pitbull" for his ferocity in the tackle — a nickname that stuck throughout his career and perfectly described a midfield style that was simultaneously destructive and constructive.
- 👨👩👧👦 Married Raquel; they have children. He settled in the Netherlands after a colourful career and later bought non-league club Barnet FC.
- 🌍 Born in Suriname, he represented the Netherlands — one of many Surinamese-origin players who shaped Dutch football's golden era through the 1990s and 2000s.
- 📊 He accumulated 108 yellow cards in his career — one of the highest totals by a midfielder at the elite level — while maintaining a reputation as one of the game's most technically skilled ball-winners.
- 🌟 Pelé included him in his FIFA 100 list of the greatest living players — making him one of a very select group of midfielders from his era to receive this recognition.
- 🏟️ After retiring, he became player-manager of Barnet FC in non-league English football — one of the most unusual post-elite-career decisions by a former Champions League winner.
- ⚽ He was suspended by UEFA for doping in 2000 — a six-month ban that is one of the most surprising in football's recent history given his profile.
- 🤝 His partnership with Zinedine Zidane in Juventus's midfield — Davids winning the ball, Zidane distributing it — is considered one of the greatest complementary midfield partnerships in the history of Serie A.
Honours
- UEFA Champions League: Ajax (1995)
- Serie A x4: Juventus (1997,1998,2002,2003)
- Eredivisie x3: Ajax (1994,1995,1996)
- FIFA 100: Named in Pelé's FIFA 100 greatest living players
- Dutch Footballer of the Year x2: 1995, 2003
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