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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2216757/Edgar-Davids-takes-Barnet-training.html#ixzz299FOlLIh
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Edgar Davids has explained how his shock return to football with League Two Barnet is part of a plan to move into management and begin assisting the development of the country’s young players.
The 39-year-old Dutchman was on Friday unveiled as co-head coach of the side currently bottom of the football league but said he will also continue as a player because ‘street soccer’ has kept him fit.
Davids, who has won 74 international caps and the Champions League with Ajax in 1995, conceded he would at times clash with joint-manager Mark Robson but that both would work together to improve a run of three draws and eight defeats which sees Barnet five points adrift of safety.
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Listen up: Edgar Davids (third left) has joined Barnet as joint head coach
On the ball: Davids is planning on appearing as a player for the club
The former Juventus and Barcelona midfielder, who lives a mile away from Barnet’s training ground, has been brought in initially on a year-long deal estimated at less than £10,00 per-week and will step into the dugout for the first time in his illustrious career at home to Plymouth on Saturday.
‘I got contacted and invited to the facility and I was really impressed,’ Davids said. ‘I was also impressed by the talent walking around and I was wondering how they were under-achieving.
‘I am doing my coaching badges in the Netherlands so from that perspective it is a great opportunity to start an adventure. I can learn from Mark how things are done because he has the Premier League under his belt. I don’t know all the answers to the football questions.
‘We will have some fights but the bottom line is to fight to get results. You don’t grow if you comply together all the time. I believe strongly in putting cards on the table and having your own opinion. One goal in mind is to get results with Barnet and developing players.’
Davids has been sharpening his coaching skills with Brixton United, a south-London side in the Metropolitan Sunday League, and maintaining fitness by playing football on the streets with friends.
Tough competitor: Davids is ready to take the football league by storm
‘I think it’s normal,’ he said. ‘You play street soccer, you go back to the roots, you have your community. But you also have a responsibility to the community. I don’t think it’s also fair to sit at home and do nothing.
‘Sunday league football, it’s guys that really have fun and really go for football. For me, it’s an easy way to help them and to guide them in a certain way.
‘I won two cups already with Brixton. They did very well. I have no clue what they’re called, but we won them!
‘It’s so important to help develop the youth system in England. When I look at the English team and I see them play, I’m not a great fan. I know they have talent but it’s not developing right now. It needs a lot of work.’
Concentration: Davids is hoping Barnet can benefit from his experience
Davids, who had a brief and ill-fated spell playing at Crystal Palace two years ago, revealed he has received lucrative offers from cash-rich clubs in the Middle East and Australia on an annual basis, but was not motivated by money.
‘I have offers every year on the same date but I don’t feel like going. I’m lucky and blessed to do that. I would rather be in Brixton on a cold Sunday morning and talk to guys and help them have fun rather than somewhere else 50 degrees in the shade where you know it’s not going anywhere and you don’t contribute to something.’
Davids said more young people in England should follow his lead and play football on the concrete outside their homes.
In charge: Davids hopes to combine his coaching role with some playing time for Barnet
High profile: Davids is an amazing capture for Barnet
‘If you look at South America, that’s why they have technical players. That’s why in England you don’t have technical players. I was wandering round the street looking to play with my friends and couldn’t find anyone!
Asked if street football was a good way to hone talent on grass he replied: ‘It translated at Juventus, so let’s hope so. This is a different league I’m well aware. I’m not going to underappreciate it. It’s a very physical league and I respect it. I will do my best and see how we’ll be doing down the road.’
Outright management is an aim but doing so at the top-flight does not appeal to him straight away. ‘Marco van Basten did it at an amateur level and there are a lot of coaches that started low,’ he said. ‘For me now it’s time to develop players and to develop as a coach. We will see if I have the capabilities of reaching the highest level.
‘Do I want that? I saw (Pep) Guardiola and (Frank) Rijkaard when they started and saw them age with grey hair. I’m too good looking for that.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2216757/Edgar-Davids-takes-Barnet-training.html#ixzz299Eajh72
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