DAVIDS: “CAPE TOWN IS GOING TO BE AMAZING!”
Edgar Davids is a star in the game of football. His full-blooded, hard-tackling performances for the Dutch national team and the elite of European football including AC Milan, FC Barcelona, Juventus, Inter Milan and Ajax are the stuff of legend and have earned him the nickname “Pitbull”. But Davids is by no means a stranger to the finer side of the beautiful game. As a Judge at the Red Bull Street Style 2008 World Finals in São Paulo, the dreadlocked star cast his critical eye over the best freestyle footballers on the planet, crowning Arnaud “Séan” Garnier from France. Now Red Bull Street Style returns with the World Finals scheduled to take place on April 14 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa, just weeks ahead of the FIFA World Cup. In an interview, Davids talks about new tricks, camaraderie between freestyler competitors and the trickiest footballer he has ever played with.
Edgar, you’ve played with and against some of the best players in the world for some of the best teams in the world. Who is the trickiest player you’ve ever been on a pitch with?
The trickiest player was Ronaldino, he had amazing skills. Even if you played with him or against him, you never knew what was going to happen, so there was always a surprise! In training and after training we sometimes practised some new tricks and he could pull them off too. He was pretty amazing.
You were on hand in São Paulo in 2008 when Arnaud “Séan” Garnier won the World Finals. As a bit of an insider, what are your expectations for the 2010 World Finals in Cape Town? Are there any countries you would consider favourites for the title?
I expect a lot from the world freestyle championships in Cape Town. What I saw last year was good, but I know now that the freestylers have stepped up their game, they’ve trained their showmanship, and they’ve really stepped up their game as far as the tricks go. I’m really looking forward to it and to getting started as Judge there, because I think it is going to be really amazing. But do not forget: the level of the Dutch freestyle players is high and we will see that in the results at the World Finals in South Africa – I think they will finish between first and tenth place.
What, for you, is the unique thing about freestyle football compared with normal football?
The important thing is that you can put your expression into this art form; you can do it by yourself, you don’t have to walk ten blocks or anything like that to do it. It’s also very easy because you can see all the tricks on Internet and you can train, and it’s also a very good exercise because it is very hard to train three or four hours a day – it also trains you to have the right discipline and focus.
What is the atmosphere like at a Red Bull Street Style event?
The atmosphere is fantastic when you are at an event like this with all the freestylers because they are really open and they’re really nice to each other – it’s a very relaxed atmosphere. The minute they step into the arena and they do the one-on-one they are very competitive, but if you s
ee them before they are friendly to one another and help each other perform new tricks, and also train with each other. That’s really remarkable.
As a Judge, what do you personally look for from the competitors?
As a Judge I look at the style, the interaction with the public and the difficulty of the trick they are performing.
What does Red Bull Street Style mean to the international freestyle football community?
The Red Bull Street Style events create this whole new platform for freestyle as a sport and I think it is very important for the community to embrace it – that’s what I do to really make it a recognised sport.
Finally, what about the host city? Do you think Cape Town will already be in football fever with the World Cup approaching?
Cape Town will be a great place to host the world freestyle championships because people love soccer out there and people are excited about the Soccer World Cup and Red Bull Street Style – it’s the perfect combination. The atmosphere is also nice; it’s a beautiful country, a beautiful city…if you count all that up then it is going to be amazing.
