2012 was a glorious year in the UK. Sergio Aguero’s late winner for Manchester City against QPR, Stevenage making the League One play-offs for the first (and so far only) time, and Chelsea winning the Champions League. It all seems like a long while ago.
In one corner of North London, 2012, a bizarre story unfolded: a Champions League winner signed for Barnet, still marooned in the National League after their recent play-off defeat. For fans of a certain age, the name Edgar Davids is one that still invokes a certain image: the sunglasses-wearing midfielder who represented a broken generation of Dutch footballers that should have won titles but all too often disintegrated into disarray.
How did Edgar Davids end up at Barnet? Why did he wear sunglasses while playing? For younger readers, who was he?
Who Was Edgar Davids?
Edgar Davids was a tough-tackling midfielder of Surinam descent who came through the ranks at Ajax. He won a Champions League with the Dutch giants in 1995 and later appeared for AC Milan, Inter, Juventus, and Barcelona. He was a player coveted by all the world’s big clubs, finishing third in the European Championships twice with the Netherlands and fourth in the 1998 World Cup. He was sent home from the 1996 Euros, a tournament many felt the Dutch should win, for criticising the manager.
As many players do, he desired to appear in England beyond Euro 96 and had spells with Spurs and Crystal Palace later in his career before ‘retiring’. However, he was perhaps most famous for his orange-tinted sunglasses, first worn in 1999, and a third stint with an English club.
What’s The Sunglasses Story?
Part of Davids’ mystique is his glasses, as it was (and still is) unusual to see a player sporting eyewear. He first wore them at the turn of the century after he developed glaucoma in 1995. He chose orange-tinted lenses for a friendly against Belgium, which matched the shirts of his beloved Netherlands and kept the same glasses throughout his career.
Davids has since become synonymous with his sunglasses, wearing many different brands. He’s been seen in Ray-Ban away from the field, but in a sporting sense, it was almost always Oakley or Nike. Tinted lenses are not unusual in sports, but they are unusual in football. Indeed, Davids even appeared as a player in an early PES game, wearing the glasses, back when only a handful of players were identified (others included former Boston United midfielder Paul Gascoigne, notable for his blond hair).
How Did He End Up at Barnet?
Davids finished his illustrious career with a short stint at Crystal Palace but settled in London. He spent time in the Sunday League, which must have been quite a sight, turning out for a Brixton-based outfit. However, in North London, the Bees were struggling. They were rock bottom of the Football League, and when the call went out for a new manager, the icon accepted. Doubtless, he saw a phoenix ready to rise from the flames of relegation, led by a man nicknamed The Pitbull.
He arrived on the back of a 12-match winless run, and immediately lifted the club. In his first game, he picked up Man of the Match, aged 39, and the side won 4-0. The great escape was on!
How Did That Go?
Tasked with keeping Barnet up, Davids set about his task with gusto. At first, he shared the job with Mark Robson, the manager who oversaw the opening 12 matches, but he soon moved on, leaving the legend alone in the dugout. At first, the experiment worked brilliantly – he was a revelation on the field, and results improved off it. He even scored against Southend, and by New Year, they were off the bottom of the table and heading to safety.
Sadly, that early-season handicap proved too much. Davids couldn’t keep the side up, and on the final day, they dropped out of the Football League. However, he could hold his head high – their form since his arrival had been acceptable, and when he agreed to remain as coach in the Conference, people were excited.
Then, things went wrong. Still sporting those eyeglasses, everything began to crumble. Firstly, he gave himself the squad number ‘1’ and stipulated that he wouldn’t travel to distant away games in places like Southport or Hyde United. Fans began to get restless when promotion began to look unlikely.
His performances dropped off as well. He began to look leggy and picked up bookings like nobody’s business. He was sent off against Wrexham in October, then again against Dartford in December. When another red came his way in December against Salisbury, his third in five matches, it was all over. He blamed a conspiracy; “I think I know for definite now that the league is targeting Barnet,” he said. “I don’t know how many games we have played now but there is weird decision-making all the time. It is ridiculous. I don’t think I’m going to play any more.”
The board certainly listened; he left by mutual consent a few days later.
What Happened Next?
Barnet were back in the league a season or two later, and Davids put his Underhill experience behind him to later manage Olhanense (for seven months) and the Dutch national team as caretaker.
However, a legend who won big trophies and played for the world’s biggest clubs will perhaps always be remembered for two things: wearing glasses and losing his head at Barnet.
