Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal will take Edgar Davids to the 2022 Qatar World Cup as his assistant coach. So, HITC Football has recalled his memorable spell at Tottenham Hotspur.
Van Gaal recruited Davids for his backroom team in May as the former Manchester United manager looked ahead to Qatar. He had previously coached the iconic Oranje midfielder at Ajax and in the national team. They lifted Champions League and UEFA Cup titles together.
Davids enjoyed a decorated career across spells in his native Netherlands and in Italy with Juventus and Inter Milan. But the 49-year-old has not yet managed to replicate his success on the pitch from the dugout. His average tenure in a coaching position is only six months.
Netherlands assistant boss Edgar Davids has been called a ‘disaster’ as a coach
Barnet offered Davids his first chance to try his hand at management after coming out of retirement as a player-coach in 2012. The Bees gave him the reigns whilst in League Two after sacking Mark Robson. But the goggle-wearing icon could not guide the club to safety.
His tenure in north London would eventually end in January 2014 when Davids resigned by mutual consent. It was not until August 2020 that the Dutchman returned to any coaching role as an assistant at Telstar. Yet his time at the North Holland outfit only ran to January.
Olhanense offered Davids a chance to steer a ship again in January 2021 but they came to regret the decision. The Algarve club’s chairman Luis Torres wrote in an open letter to the Portuguese minnows’ fans, via the Mirror, apologising after they sacked Davids that July.
“The decision to appoint Edgar Davids was foisted on me by our sporting director,” Torres professed. He continued: “From a sporting point of view his appointment was a disaster. I could see it coming, but we didn’t have a lot of options.
“Let’s be honest – our coach didn’t manage to forge a bond with the players or get the team to learn a precise style of play. Edgar Davids is someone with a rich history as a player. But that has nothing to do with his qualities as a coach.”
Edgar Davids won 11 major titles around Europe during his playing career
Davids won 11 major titles around Europe during his playing career with successful spells in the Netherlands and Italy. He won three Eredivisie titles alongside lifting the 1991/92 UEFA Cup and 1994/95 Champions League with Ajax after graduating from the team’s academy.
AC Milan came calling in 1996 before the midfielder moved to Juventus two years later and won three Serie A crowns. A period on loan to Barcelona followed in 2004 before returning to the San Siro with Inter Milan. He won a Coppa Italia before joining Tottenham in 2005.
Spurs only saw Davids ply his trade in north London for two seasons before he returned to Ajax in 2007. His homecoming helped the Amsterdam natives win the 2006/07 Dutch Cup, as well. It was his second time securing the KNVB Beker after Ajax’s successes in 1992/93.
The 2007/08 campaign was almost Davids’ final term as a player but he laced his boots up again in 2010. Crystal Palace coaxed the midfielder, nicknamed ‘The Pitbull’, out of his first retirement. But he would only feature in seven games before ending his stay in November.
Another two years in the wilderness followed for Davids before his surprise chance to be a player-coach emerged at Barnet. Now, 10 years on from joining the Bees, the 74-cap hero is heading to Qatar for the World Cup as one of Van Gaal’s assistant Netherlands coaches.
Recalling Netherlands assistant boss Edgar Davids’ memorable spell at Tottenham
While Davids may have only graced White Hart Lane with his dreadlocks and effortless skill for two terms, the Netherlands assistant coach had a memorable spell at Tottenham. Even though he only scored once and created two goals over 44 outings across all competitions.
The midfielder was among the best all-rounders of the 1990s and 2000s with his supreme passing range, consistency and a dogged approach. His skillset was perfect for the style Dutch boss Martin Jol wanted to introduce at Spurs upon taking charge in November 2004.
Davids provided a great engine in the centre of the pitch, but success across the continent boosted his ego. So much so that he clashed with Robbie Keane soon after joining the club.
“We were at training and Davids came in from Inter Milan and he thought he was the bee’s knees,” former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara recalled on talkSPORT in 2020.
“He thought he was the guy and the main man and everything. But everyone realised Robbie Keane was the main guy at Tottenham at that time.
“I remember him giving it to Keano in training and they were having a barney, and I think he tried to step to Robbie Keane and say something – and Keano just sparked him, bosh! He just went bang – one punch. Gone.
“Then Davids has just picked himself up and walked off – and that was it. He came in the next day like, ‘morning, Robbie…’ Everyone knew you don’t mess with Keano.”