Edgar Davids is currently coaching at World Cup 2022 with the Netherlands, working with Louis van Gaal as his assistant manager.
However, a decade ago the Dutchman was working in a slightly less glamorous environment, in League Two as a player-manager with Barnet. Davids had played for Ajax, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Barcelona and Tottenham in his career, winning multiple trophies including a Champions League.
In 2010, though, he joined Crystal Palace on a play-as-you-play contract as a 37-year-old, making six league appearances for the club. Having been out of football prior to joining Barnet for two years, he then worked for the North London outfit between 2012 and 2014.
Jake Hyde, now on-loan at Southend from Wrexham, played for Barnet during the period Edgar Davids was manager. Speaking to FourFourTwo in the latest issue available to order, he recalled a time when the Dutchman drove his £100k Bentley across the club's training pitches to watch a session.
“He wouldn’t show up for training, then, an hour in, you’d see his £100,000 Bentley drive across the car park and right down on to the pitches,” remembered ex-Bees striker Jake Hyde.
“He’d be sat behind the goal with the heating on, feet up on the dashboard watching. Then he’d start himself on the weekend!”
That isn't the only mad thing that Davids did during his time in charge of Barnet, though.
After suffering relegation with the club to the National League in the 2012/13 season, Davids then announced he would wear the number one shirt for the following campaign, saying he wanted to start a trend of midfielders wearing the shirt number more traditionally worn by goalkeepers.
During the first eight games of the 2013/14 season he played in the National League, Davids also got sent off three times.
Bizarrely, the madness doesn't stop there. He also announced he wouldn't attend away games that required an overnight stay - despite being the player-manager - leaving the responsibilities of the team to his assistant, Ulrich Landvreugd.
Working as Louis van Gaal's assistant seemingly makes a lot more sense, after all.
