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August 02 Edgar Davids - August 2nd 2006When I told you about a collective dream in Surinam about participating in the World Cup I didn’t quite gave you the full story.
Maybe you remember me telling you about a quarter of the Surinamese population fitting in the legendary Maracanã Stadium. If you find this hard to believe –and I can’t blame you for this- listen close.
When the Maracanã Stadium first opened its doors in 1950 for the 4th World Cup Football, the entire Surinamese population fitted in there nicely. To be more precise there still would have been enough leg room for cool boxes, barbecue sets and ice vendor machines of the smaller type. Actually, there also might have been room for a dressed up moped parking lot, ‘cause with an unprecedented 200.000 capacity the Maracanã rocked the World of Football like nothing before.
At that time so close after World War II, making it to the World Cup was already a dream of many –if not all- Surinamese people. The combination of Brazil, Football and Global recognition; I mean who could resist?
This dream is still alive and with so many great Surinamese football players in the Worlds major competitions it simply wont go away. July 28 Edgar Davids - July 28th 2006Somewhere along the way to the world Cup Finals, I couldn’t help but wondering why a country that has brought about so much sports talent can’t make it to the World Cup. If Trinidad & Tobago can do it, then surely Surinam must be able to do it.
Be assured that such a feat would cause a major mental uplift for the entire country. Ten thousands will sell their cars, homes, cattle and boat to join the national squad in the host country. This is not a joke. They will, believe me.
To give you an idea. A quarter of the Surinamese population fits nicely in the Maracana Stadium. Wouldn’t that be something? Surinam I the semi-finals against Brasil. Oh what the heck, Argentina or Italy (two other favorites amongst Surinamese football lovers) will do just as fine.
Can you imagine? A quarter of the total population in the seats of a football stadium.
Remember what I told you a while ago about the atmosphere in a Surinamese Football stadium? Now multiply and let that sweet smile come across your face. Edgar Davids - July 28th 2006People that know me well, know that the streets are my background in many ways. That’s where I learned The Game, the hustle, the determination and above all the technique of survival. Many times I had to play against opponents many times older, bigger and heavier than me. Even though it was sometimes a really intimidating experience I never backed down. Ever. That’s the basic rule of the streets. Show fear and you’re toast.
Since I was determined to become a professional football player I realized at an early age that no matter what the circumstances, intense heat, bitter cold and or mean opponents, I had to give it all I had to make a difference, to make a name. And so I did.
The streets and playgrounds of Amsterdam is where I learned how to play. Especially in Amsterdam Oost, I spent many, many afternoons, evenings, nights you name it, to develop my skills and my mentality. It has brought me to where I am today and from this point I’d like to pay homage to those playgrounds of my youth. July 24 Edgar Davids - July 20th 2006What has this World Cup taught us? A selection, please feel free to (dis)agree.
Edgar Davids - July 20th 2006Let’s talk about Zizou. He took a lot of heat after head butting Materazzi. Some were very, very quick to condemn a man of his stature. Within two weeks after the incident, the mood seems to have changed. Now it’s more like: If a man like Zidane loses his temper like that at such a crucial moment in his career and in the history of Football, what the hell has happened to provoke such an act?
With everything said and done by all of us at the sidelines, teammates, coaches, lip readers and the media, one thing still stands as a fact: there are only two men in the whole world that know the truth about what happened in the moments preceding the incident. These two are Zidane and Materazzi.
Now let me ask you this: which one of these two do you reckon a man of honor? July 13 Edgar Davids - July 13th 2006In the past 6 months I tried to give you an insight on how I look at The Game. For one, there are many ways to look at it. Skills, competition, style, transfers, gusto and last but definitely not least, the media, are all part of The Game. The key is how to deal with all this at the same time.
Even though it’s unlikely that I will play an active role in the Dutch national team, from a distance I sincerely hope that Holland will reinvent it self. Therefore I would like to call upon Dutch nationals, players of all level. football afficionados and media alike, to make a combined effort to impress the world at the next major international competition with a brand new Dutch Total Football Concept. Edgar Davids - July 13th 2006Looks like this will be one of my last blogs for this very inspiring MSN Road To World Cup Project. A lot has happened in these past 6 months both in the premier League as well as far as the World Cup. It started boring with Brasil and France but than Argentina, Spain and even the German squad started to spice things up. Hopefully the Dutch team will be back better, stronger and wiser next time around. It’s all part of The Game and we all can learn from this.
So, as far as the 2006 World Cup. Action, drama, deceptions all packed in one Dream Final. Hardly could’ve been any better don’t you agree? June 29 Edgar Davids - June 29th 2006Dutch Football has just lost it’s innocence. It’s ironic that under the leadership of one of the most refined football players of all time, the Dutch squad showed it’s capable of brutal assaults on the pitch.
Even though there were a lot of provocations from the Portugese side there’s simply no excuse for what happened. I guess we all can get a little carried away in the heat of the moment. I know it has occasionally happened to me. But this was something completely different.
I think –at least in part- we witnessed anger and frustration about not being the World Class squad that you were not too long ago. At the same time I’m convinced that something positive and powerful will come out of this match. New Dutch talents like Emanuelson, Huntelaar and Castelen will look at this debacle and say: this is not the way we want to do it, but we sure as hell are gonna fight with the same intensity to regain worldwide respect for Dutch Football.
It’s all about using the brain ‘cause at the end of the day, Power is nothing without Control Edgar Davids - June 29th 2006They did it again, didn’t they. Germany gave their opponents hope and then crushed. How long will it take Poland to recover from that last second crush. Decades? Sweden despite their world class players as their next opponent, obviously didn’t stand a chance.
A hungry German squad is capable of anything against anyone. We all now that, we just try to forget.
There are enough teams still in the tournament, that will try and break the magic of legendary football countries. Mexico almost succeeded against Argentina, but after 90 minutes I guess it was all over. A stunning volley by Maxi Rodrigues in extra time set the record straight. Nevertheless, Mexico can leave the tournament with their heads high up for the level of performance that they displayed during the World Cup. I’m sure they’ll be back next time.
There is a classic in the making. Holland versus Portugal The Portugese have a squad as good as any. They have a fanatic fan base and a critical but sometimes over exited press. ‘We’re gonna peel oranges’, one of the Portugese newspapers informed us, referring to the Dutch national color. Let’s just wait and see what happens… Edgar Davids - June 29th 2006Now that the first round is dealt with, it’s time for the real men in the World Cup to show their face. The first battle of the giants has yet to be played. I’m looking forward on how the Dutch squad will prove that they really are serious contenders for the World Cup. Critics seem to think that they don’t stand a chance. We’ll see about about that.
I feel sorry for some of the teams that were out of the tournament after the first round. Togo for example played with heart and soul as well as Japan, South Korea, Ghana and Trinidad & Tobago. Their performance only shows that the traditional small countries versus big countries gap, is becoming something from the past more and more.
Even though it seems early to predict the outcome of this development, I strongly feel that at the next World Cup one of the ‘smaller’ countries will fight its way to the semi- or maybe even the finals. Wouldn’t that be something? Not too long ago Greece showed us that it can be done as did South Korea 4 years ago. But for now let’s stick to whats still to come for the 2006 tournament. June 20 Edgar Davids - June 20th 2006Sport and education play a key role in the mental and physical development of children, but refugee camps aren’t exactly the places where you expect to see children learn and play. The Ninemillion.org project, a joint venture between the United Nations Refugee committee, the UNHCR and its business partners was initiated. It aims to enable refugee kids worldwide to play and learn despite the harsh conditions they live in.
For this cause a unique Ninemillion ball was designed and tested by refugee kids. It’s a high performance, super durable, size 4 junior ball especially built to last in rough terrain. Can you think of a more appropriate day to celebrate this unique project than November 20th, World Children’s day?
This day marks the anniversary of the day in 1959, when the Declaration of the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. In 1989 the Convention on the Rights of the Child was signed on the same date, guaranteeing basic needs for children such as the right to a safe environment, the right to be educated and the right to play. The Ninemillion project’s motto is: ‘Help them play, Let them learn’. I hope you’ll join us to make it really happen. Edgar Davids - June 20th 2006The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, is the main international body dedicated to the rights of every child. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, is the major convention countries sign up to. The Convention tries –amongst others- to fight the conscripting of children for war purpose. In a lot of countries around the world it’s not unusual to draft 15 years old. If you think this is a shocking figure, brace yourself: it gets even worse.
Sadly enough there are an estimated 120.000 child soldiers in Africa alone. Since were not counting soldiers from age 15 and up this means that were talking children, boys and girls alike, between age 8 to 14 years who have access to lethal weapons the same way children in the western world have access to toys. For a lot of these children it’s a choice between evil and worse: either join an armed militia or run for your life as millions have done before them. Child soldier or war refugee? Talking about options...
What I’m trying to say is that the child refugee problem and the abuse of children for war purposes are linked together. All of these children deserve a real life, with a real education, a real house and food on their plate. Best of all they deserve the Right To Play.
Check out righttoplay.com and marvel at their Kids Projects like I did. You wont regret. Edgar Davids - June 20th 2006Imagine a child running and a smile comes to your face. Same with a group of children and that’s the way its supposed to be. Nothing but positive thoughts go through your head ‘cause it represents fun, freedom and not a worry in the world.
Now imagine, a hundred, a thousands and then a couple of million children running for their life. Running from war, hunger and senseless violence. Makes for quite a different picture doesn’t it. Unfortunately its not a nightmare you can wake up from in the morning. In a lot of parts of the world it’s a day to day reality.
A single child that runs with no smile on his or her face means bad news. Multiply this by a million and your beginning to grasp the enormity of this child refugee problem that concerns us all. Actually it’s not even a problem anymore. It’s a disaster.
In the next weeks I’ll keep you posted on the Nike-Microsoft project that aims at bringing some relief to these vulnerable children all over the world. For now all I can say is that I’m proud to be part of an organization that makes an genuine effort to do the right thing. June 06 Edgar Davids - June 6th 2006Anyone who’ve checked in on the European Football Championships for players under 21 years must have noticed some very promising players. It’s a pleasure to see these youngsters going all out to represent their country. One thing in particular that stands out while watching them play, is that they haven’t forgotten how much an open and honest approach of the game is worth to billions of people worldwide. All you can hope for is that they won’t lose their head as they’ll enter -or proceed in- the big money professional Leagues.
The 4 best teams so far are Holland, France, Servië & Montenegro and Oekraïne. All of these teams have some exceptionally talented athletes amongst them.
Holland –who started the tournament slow- for instance, has Daniel de Ridder, Romeo Castelen and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. The French on the other hand, have won all of their games so far, thanks to almost an entire squad of supertalents.
The match-up between France and Holland in the semi-finals will be an exiting one, I can assure you that as well as the other semi-final. One thing’s for sure: on June 4th well get to have a closer look at the future of wordlclass and World Cup worthy football. June 05 Edgar Davids - June 5th 2006Today I had a photo shoot in London. I was back home and it felt great. We had a strole in Portobello and there it happened: I saw this picture of uncle Bob. Who? Bob Marley the legend himself in a football outfit!!!!!!!!!!
I love black and white photos and now right in front of me was one of the Man himself!! When I was a young kid, we used to listen to his music a lot and I still feel that great vibe. Up till this day I regret not going to Africa when I was invited to join the festivities celebrating him and his music. He put all his heart and soul in his music and it’s so important even today to do that at work or at school, basically with anything you do.
There was even a picture of Curtis Mayfield mister Superfly; who again? Listen to the man and I’m sure you’ll recognise some tunes of Dre, Snoop Dogg and some other artists who’ve sought and found ''inspiration'' in his music.
But let’s get back to the Bob Marley story. It was the 12th copy of a limited series and I just had to purchase it. You know the feeling. To top it off, my friend -a photographers manager- brought me a gift which is a book of Mr. Marley playing soccer, signed for me by David Brooks (thanks a lot!). This extraordinary book portrays the last episodes of Bob Marleys’ life and how he spend it playing soccer and making music, simply enjoying himself.
Did I mention he had a jersey with number 12?
One Lov May 26 Edgar Davids - May 26th 2006The bribing scandal is spreading like a disease. It seems like no competition is save nowadays. In the wake of the World Cup that’s not a good sign. Actually it never is. There’s also another way of looking at it. Maybe it’s good that it all comes out now so when it’s all over, the professional football leagues all over the world can start with a clean sheet. Wouldn’t that be nice?
In the end those who should feel betrayed the most are the people that love their club regardless of what. The super fans, the totally hard core legion of football lovers, the thousands and thousands of volunteers. Yes even the ‘laid back once in a while going to see a game’ fans. If it wasn’t or them, there’d be no professional football as we know it today. Ticket sales, club merchandise, where does it come from? Where does it go to? You know. I know you know.
It’s guess it’s time bring back some good ol’ fashioned respect for the sport and its supporters.
We all deserve better. May 25 Edgar Davids - May 25th 2006Last Wednesday night in the city. At times it seemed quiet as a mouse. How come? How about one of the most anticipated Champions Leagues finals ever? Rings quite a bell doesn’t it? I know people that would have quit their job if they had to, just to have a chance to attend the match at the Stade De France. There’s no mistaking that I was very pleased with the outcome. I don’t say this to be rude. No, no no, thats just not my style.
But if -as some do- you keep one of the greatest football players from the last decade on the bench till the very end, in my opinion, you don’t really deserve to win a price like that.
If this particular player is ready to shine for the last time in his official career, you deny him a worthy career ending like that? In a final like that? In a place called St. Denis? When your team is starving from genius like that? Well, well, well. Talking about adding insult to injury.
In Suriname, we would say: Hai kissi moi!!, which can approximately be understood as:
Who the cap fits…… May 22 Edgar Davids - May 22nd 2006I feel blessed to be part of one of the most beautiful inventions known to mankind: Football.
I can hardly think of a more universal way of expressing yourself than playing around with a football, one on one, two on two or an all out game. It doesn’t matter. The spirit stayes the same. There is not one place on earth where people of all creed, color and age fail to enjoy the magic of the football game.
Obviously, the World Cup -or whatever cup for that matter- appeals to all football lovers worldwide. The World Cup is also of major importance for the media attention that it brings to the sport on the highest level. Altogether it has become an almost mythical part of the game as we know it today. But what really carries the sport on a day to day basis ever since it’s been played for the first time, is the spirit of Football. This spirit can be found inside the hearts and minds of every single player -even at the most basic of levels- across the globe.
May the squad that expresses this pure football spirit to the fullest win the World Cup, not only this time around, but always. May 18 Edgar Davids - May 18th 2006All of you at the Olympic stadium last Sunday: thank you for supporting the Suriprofs and the Surinamese people in need after the flood. So much warmth and togetherness is hard to come by else where. Like all of my team mates, I had a beautiful day. I’m sure all those present at the game –enjoying the typical Surinamese entourage- feel the same way too.
As tradition has it the Suriprofs match is played against the All Stars from the Gouden Gids Divisie, the Dutch First division league. Obviously we won, you know the deal. The proceedings of this match are always reserved for special youth, sports and social projects in our homeland Suriname.
The recent flood less than two weeks before this years match, raised the awareness for the Surinamese cause. Even though the exact amount hasn’t been made public yet, an impressive amount of money was collected during the match. Next year we’ll be back to play for our people back home and –tell you the truth- I can hardly wait. If you want to now more about the Suriprofs project, check our website www.suriprofs.nl and join the club. May 17 Edgar Davids - May 17th 2006These aren’t the greatest of times for me as a professional football player First being left out of the first draw of the Dutch national team, then the unfortunate circumstances at the last day of the Premiership. My mind and body are so ready to perform that it’s a totally unnatural feeling to have days off, so to speak. I’m still ready to help the Spurs showcase their potential on the highest European level.
Right now I’m in Amsterdam preparing my pre-season training schedules for the 2006/2007 season. Another reason that I’ve come to Amsterdam is to play the match with the collective of Surinamese Football professionals the ‘Suriprofs’. The match is scheduled to be played in the Dutch Olympic stadium and it’ always a joy to represent Suriname on such an occasion.
This year the match is extra special because of the recent flood disaster in Suriname. Sure enough I’m going to participate and donate funds for the Surinamese cause and I hope that you will do the same thing too!!!! You know I care ‘cause it’s a serious issue and it means a lot to the people out there. Life isn’t only about win or lose a game or playing a World Cup. Whatever you do in life, one of the most important things is that you have to take a stand and show what your made off. |
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