Braafheid, Edson

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Fullname: Edson Braafheid
aka: Heid
Born: 8 April 1983
Birthplace: Paramaribo, Suriname
Signed: 1 February 2010 (loan from Bayern Munich)
Left: 31 May 2010 (although World Cup followed so strictly was on our books till end of it)
Position: Left-back, Defender
Debut: Dunfermline 2-4 Celtic, Scottish Cup, 7 Feb 2010
Internationals: Netherlands
International Caps: 10
International Goals: 0
Squad number: 21

Biog

Edson Braafheid arrived at Celtic Park on a loan deal from Bayern Munich on February 1st 2010.

One of three players to join the Bhoys on loan during a hectic transfer deadline day the Dutchman was initially seen as a welcome addition to a club still searching for a solution to the then problematic left-back position.

Pre-Celtic

He had grown up and began playing youth football in his home town of Amsterdam. He was spotted by FC Utrecht and signed to the youth side graduating to the senior side in 2003. At the end of his contract there, he joined FC Twente on a free, and under then manager Fred Rutten he began to make the left-back spot his own.

In 2006, he went to the U21 World Cup in Portugal with the Dutch side. The strength of his performances and his all round game in the Eredivisie started to mark out the young Edson as a star of the future.

When Bayern Munich fired Jurgen Klinsmann as the team manager and appointed Louis van Gaal, Braafheid was pinpointed by Van Gaal who made a EUR2.1m transfer move for him from the Netherlands to the Bavarian giants. However, Van Gaal’s start was poor, and Braafheid suffered as one of his handpicked Dutch imports – the thinking being his own failure was that he was deemed too lightweight for the position.

Having started only five games in 2009/10 Bundesliga season, he was allowed to leave, and the clued up money had him returning to the Eredivisie. Both Ajax and PSV had shown interest, and with the player hailing from Amsterdam, it looked odds on he’d be strutting his stuff in De Arena. However, with a wage burden now spiralling out of control at Ajax, maybe he would be forced to head on down to Eindhoven, and rejoin his old tutor, Fred Rutten, now firmly ensconced in the PSV hot seat.

Instead he ended up at Celtic on loan.

Celtic Career
The former PSV man would make his debut for the Hoops on Sunday 7th February 2010 in a 4-2 Scottish Cup victory at Dunfermline. Overall, he had made a fair first impression with a key assist role in two of Celtic’s goals.

Indeed the new Bhoy – facing plenty of competition – would take the online forum Kerrydalestreet.co.uk Man of the Match award. Perhaps the only downside to an otherwise exceptional debut was the fact that the player’s name was misspelt on the back of his shirt.

However, the Dutch fullback would not continue his impressive initial form. While Braafheid certainly showed plenty of promise going forward questions very quickly began to be asked of his defensive attributes which, to most observers, seemed far from impressive. In total, his good runs forward didn’t always work out but in fairness Celtic as a whole were poor (until manager Tony Mowbray’s exit). He created one cracking goal of note from a long cross, and that’s about it.

A 4-4 draw at Aberdeen was a bitter blow to the Bhoys already meagre title hopes. The Hoops had led 4-2 with just 17 minutes remaining but Braafheid gifted the home side a penalty, a lifeline with a needless handball. In the physical and frequently crude environment of the SPL, Braafhied was beginning to look all too fragile and was increasingly maligned by the support for his performances.

After the 4-0 thrashing at St Mirren, Celtic manager Tony Mowbray was axed, and interim manager Neil Lennon’s immediate restructuring of the faltering Bhoys saw the on-loan Dutchman relegated to the bench.

He even found himself behind the previously much maligned Lee Naylor in the pecking order for the left-back slot. Edison was then dropped from the squad for the fateful Scottish Cup semi-final tie against Ross County. The player – who had come to Glasgow hoping to secure a place in the Dutch World Cup squad – reacted to this decision by storming out of Hampden (and getting fined for his hissy fit). If anything, this reaction has historically been a common trait amongst Dutch players at international level for some reason, so maybe he was just in practise.

From that moment on, his very brief Celtic career was over in everything but name.

He was given a final chance in the last game of the season. As could only happen to him, he scored direct from a free-kick to finally win himself some kudos from the support in the stands, only to see the goal chopped off as it was actually an indirect free-kick! A schoolboy error which again marked down the player.

The loan move had been a huge let-down for both parties. Braafheid came to Celtic with a fine CV behind him. It was therefore some surprise to see him come as a trialist to Celtic in the first place, but his performances actually flattered to deceive. It was not to be a successful move for the player or the club management.

To add insult to injury, his parent club (Bayern Munich) were now in the European Cup final and going for an historic first treble in German football (European Cup, domestic cup and league) whilst he was stuck in the reserves at Celtic. Bayern Munich ultimately grabbed a domestic double and lost narrowly in the European Cup final.

He came knowing that he’d have to hit the ground running, but he wasted his chance with Celtic, his international side and then with his old club when he returned.

For a player to have reportedly been playing for a chance to play for his country in an upcoming World Cup (2010), his ability and effort were lacking. To the surprise of many, he was finally selected for his national squad (the Netherlands), and incredibly he managed to get subbed on at the end of the first half of extra-time in the World Cup final itself, at a vital point of the game too. It was his only appearance in the finals and the Netherlands lost 1-0 to Spain, but he managed to grab himself a place in the biggest match in the national team arena and get a silver medal. Congratulations to him.

His brief time on field was remembered best for at the end of the second half of extra time he was hit in the back of his head by an accidental volley. Luckily, the ball fell right into the arms of the Dutch keeper Maarten Stekelenburg. There wasn’t really enough time for him to make his mark in that final and in any case it was heading towards penalties before a last gasp winner for Spain sealed it for them. Should help to make up for all the disappointments on a personal level he’d suffered over the past year or so at club level.

In some ways he became the first player whilst on Celtic’s books to play in a World Cup final (as strictly he was a Celtic player till the end of season even though he was returning to Bayern Munich).

Regardless of the boost from the World Cup, for the Celtic support that was not going to paper over what he had failed to achieve at Celtic. He was possibly the poorest transfer move by Tony Mowbray but it was just a season long loan and nothing more.

He later moved to 1899 Hoffenheim and a further loan move to FC Twente followed which was likely to see him wind down his career. He had a late reprieve with a stint at Lazio in Serie A where he played a number of games, but then back to the Netherlands with Utrecht. He later moved to the growing MLS in the US.

He may not have set the heather on fire, but despite this he had got to play in the Bundesliga, the Dutch League and in Serie A, on top for his country in major occasions. That is something great for him to look back on, we just wish it could have been so much better for him at Celtic.

We wished him the best.

Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

none

KDS Honours
MOTM Winners 2009-10
07-Feb-10	Dunfermline 2-4 Celtic	Scottish Cup 5th Rd

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Celtic sign dutch defender Edson Braafheid

(1 Feb 2010, Official site)
Newsroom Staff

DUTCH international defender Edson Braafheid has joined Celtic on loan until the end of this season.

The club are delighted to have signed the player from Bayern Munich and he becomes the sixth arrival at Celtic Park during the January transfer window.

Edson Braafheid has won five caps for Holland and the 26-year-old is aiming to secure his place in the Dutch squad for the 2010 World Cup.

He began his career at Utrecht before joining FC Twente in 2007. He moved to Bundesliga side Bayern Munich last summer.

Exclusive by Thomas Jordan

0 comments
Published on 12 Apr 2010

Neil Lennon will hit Edson Braafheid with a fine and banish him to the reserves this week for going AWOL at Hampden Park as Celtic crashed out of the Active Nation Scottish Cup.

The on-loan Dutchman stormed out of the National Stadium before his team-mates crashed 2-0 to Ross County after the interim Parkhead manager omitted him from his 16 for the semi-final showdown.

SportTimes understands Lennon is furious with the Bayern Munich full-back and will hammer him with a fine for his unprofessional attitude.

He will also be banished from first-team business this week at Lennoxtown.

And it appears Lennon – who is livid at the shocking performance his side produced against their First Division opponents – is also about to get tough with two of the most high-profile players at the club.

Strikers Georgios Samaras and Marc-Antoine Fortune are expected to find themselves completely bombed out for tomorrow night’s SPL clash with Motherwell at Parkhead as the caretaker boss attempts to steer Celtic to a second-place finish in the league.

His decision to punish Braafheid for leaving the stadium after his decision to put Mark Wilson on the bench should proves he means business.

A Celtic insider said: “Edson wasn’t happy with the decision but Mark Wilson can cover more positions and that was the reason why he was included as one of the substitutes ahead of him.

“But he wasn’t the only player not included. He was, however, the only player not to watch the game as he left before kick-off which is completely unprofessional and shows a lack of respect to the rest of your team-mates and the management.”

He came on in a World Cup Final, he played for both Celtic and Lazio, his name is…

By Editor 22 October, 2019 No Comments

He came on in a World Cup Final, he played for both Celtic and Lazio, his name is…

WHO are we talking about? Edson Braafheid of course, remember him? We’re grateful to JoeBloggsCity and The Celtic Wiki for the memory jog on this one.

Edson Braafheid, Celtic Player 2010

Short loan with Celtic then a few years later played for two season with Lazio.

Yet has played in a World Cup final! Only Celt to have done so.

Didn’t set the heather on fire for either side.
Biog: https://t.co/CrSRXGRuZX#CelticAtoZ pic.twitter.com/07KafGxYwn

— JoeBloggsCity (@joebloggscity) October 22, 2019

Like Jeremy Toljan easier this year, Braafheid arrived at Celtic on loan from a Bundesliga side. Toljan was loaned to us by Dortmund and he borrowed Braafheid from Bayern Munich yet nether player set the heather on fire wearing the Hoops.

The Dutch international left-back Braafheid signed on loan on 1 February 2010 on a day when there was a flurry of players arriving.

Louis van Gaal had signed Braafheid for Bayern Munich but he appeared to be a little lightweight. I remember thinking when he played for Celtic that he had the skinniest legs I’d ever seen. He only managed a handful of games for the German giants and it looked like he’d be loaned back to Holland. However neither Ajax or his old club PSV Eindhoven were able to complete the deal and he ended up signing for Celtic.

Celtic win 4-2 at Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup

He made his debut in a 4-2 Scottish Cup win away to Dunfermline on 7 February 2010 and was credited with a couple of assists, picking up a Man of the Match award in the bargain. Rather bizarrely Celtic had managed to misspell the player’s name in the back of his shirt.

That though was the high-water mark for the Dutchman in a Celtic shirt. He seemed to be decent enough in an attacking role but was woefully short in the crucial defensive duties. Celtic were winning 4-2 up at Pittodrie in the latter stages of the game when Braafheid needlessly handed the ball inside the area to gift the Dons a way back into the game. That match finished up as a 4-4 draw and by now the Celtic support were thinking along similar lines to the the way that Toljan was regarded as his time at Celtic faded out towards the end of last season.

Celtic throw away a 4-2 lead to draw 4-4 at Pittodrie

By the time the Tony Mowbray shambles finally came to an end after a humiliating 4-0 loss at St Mirren and for those of us who were there, St Mirren were unlucky to get only 4 and Celtic were lucky to get nil. It was a complete shambles of a performance, as unprofessional as anything I had ever seen or seen since from a Celtic side.

Neil Lennon came in and we didn’t see the Dutchman again until the last game of the season when he scored a cracker direct from an indirect free-kick. That was the last of his eleven games for Celtic.

After leaving Celtic he joined up with the Dutch squad for the 2010 World Cup and actually came off the bench in the extra-time played in the Final itself. Spain won 1-0 but as a former Celtic man he is the only player to have played for our club to have appeared in a World Cup Final.

No-one saw that one coming when St Mirren were beating Celtic 4-0!

After his time at Celtic came to an end, Braafheid signed for 1899 Hoffenheim, before going out on loan again this time to FC Twente. He then managed to get a move to Lazio before going back to the Netherlands to play for Utrecht and ended up playing in the MLS in the States.

So there you have it, the player who played for both Celtic and Thursday night’s Europa League opponents Lazio and also played for Holland in a World Cup Final against Spain. We give you former Celt, Edson Braafheid! And his legs were too skinny!