Edson René Braafheid (born 8 April 1983) is a Dutch former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who currently works as a player representative at the Tevreden Group. Braafheid started his career as a defender with

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

side

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

in 2003, before moving on to

FC Twente Football Club Twente (), sometimes known internationally as FC Twente Enschede, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from the city of Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub E ...

in 2007 on a free transfer. He was signed by German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

in 2009 for €2 million. After failing to break into the team during the first half of the season Braafheid moved on loan to

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

club

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, in order to increase his chances of playing in the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

with Holland. After a few appearances at the start of the 2011–12 season for Bayern, Braafheid moved to fellow Bundesliga club

Hoffenheim Hoffenheim () is a village in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Sinsheim and, as of 2020, it has a population of 3,191. History The village, settled since prehistoric times, and first mentioned ...

. Braafheid has played for the U-21 and full Netherlands team. Braafheid was called up to the Netherlands squad for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, however, due to Twente's European matches early in the season he couldn't go. He was also called up to the squad for the 2010 World Cup and made a substitute appearance in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

Club career

Utrecht

Braafheid began his professional career at

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion ...

in 2003 and made 81 appearances for the side.

FC Twente

On 10 February 2007, Braafheid played his first

match for

against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...

. His current contract at the club lasts until 2010. Braafheid came to Twente on a free transfer after his contract with Utrecht expired; he was a talented left-back, but Braafheid impressed friend and foe when playing for Twente as a strong, sturdy central defender instead of his former position. He kept talented central defender Ramon Zomer out of the Twente squad ever since he made the position his own. Former Twente coach

Fred Rutten Fredericus Jacobus Rutten (; born 5 December 1962) is a Dutch football coach and former player. As a player, he spent his entire career with Twente during the years 1979 to 1992. Following his playing career, Rutten also managed Twente, before m ...

is to thank for that, turning Braafheid from a noticeably talented back to an impressive central defender, despite his mediate height.

Bayern Munich

Braafheid joined

for the 2009–10 season after the German club and Twente agreed on a €2 million transfer deal on 11 June 2009. He was not able to secure himself a place in the starting squad, however, during the first half of the season, he asked for a transfer in order to have a chance of being nominated for the Dutch

2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

team.

Celtic

Braafheid was signed by

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

on a loan deal until the end of the 2009–10 season on 1 February. Braafheid made his debut for Celtic on 7 February 2010 in a 4–2 victory over

Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...

in the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Tony Mowbray Anthony Mark Mowbray (born 22 November 1963) is an English football manager and former footballer who was most recently the manager of EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion. Mowbray played for Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich Town as a d ...

on 25 March 2010.

1899 Hoffenheim

After Braafheid made only three appearances in the first leg of the new season, he moved to fellow

side 1899 Hoffenheim on 27 January, following teammate

David Alaba David Alaba (; born 24 June 1992) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Real Madrid and captains the Austria national team. He was previously primarily a left-back, and was considered one of the best ...

. On 5 February 2011, Braafheid made his debut for the team in the 3–2 home win against

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern (), K'lautern or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to Association football, football ...

, but was

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

only six minutes after coming on as a substitute for

Vedad Ibišević Vedad Ibišević (; born 6 August 1984) is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is a currently assistant coach of the New York Red Bulls. Ibišević started his professional career at Paris Saint-Germain. He had ...

. Returning from a one-season loan spell at

and despite his contract running until June 2014, Braafheid was no longer part of Hoffenheim's Bundesliga squad for the 2013-14 campaign. His former shirt number 28 was assigned to Alexander Stolz. After the summer transfer window had closed, he started to participate in the U23 training sessions.

S.S. Lazio

On 1 August 2014, S.S. Lazio announced that they had signed Braafheid on a free transfer. He renewed contract on 6 July 2015.

FC Utrecht

On 17 August 2016, Braafheid signed a one-year contract at his first club

. In early January 2018, he agreed the termination of his contract with Utrecht citing family reasons and lack of playing time.

Austin Bold FC

In August 2018, Braafheid was one of the first three players signed by

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

expansion club

Austin Bold FC Austin Bold FC (ABFC) was an American professional association football, soccer team located in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2017, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. In 2021, Austin Bold FC announced it would be moving to Fort ...

, along with Kléber Freitas and Marcelo Saragosa. Braafheid's work visa cleared in June 2019 and he made his debut for Bold FC on June 30, playing the full 90 in a 5-0 win over

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional Association football, soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the Western Conference (USL Championship), Western Conference in the USL Champions ...

Palm Beach Stars

Braafheid continued his career by joining the Palm Beach Stars of the Florida-based Premier American Soccer League in November 2020.

International career

In 2006, Braafheid was part of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

squad that won the

UEFA U-21 Championship 2006 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 15th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. In December 2005, Portugal was selected to host the finals of the competition, which took place from 23 May–4 June 2006. The tournament was w ...

in Portugal. In a column in early 2008, critic Hugo Borst had named Braafheid as a true defender, and stated he should have been in the Dutch squad for

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

in Austria and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

under manager

Marco van Basten Marcel "Marco" Van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch former football manager and player who played as a striker for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...

. Dutch fans heavily criticised the defence after

Jaap Stam Jakob "Jaap" Stam (; born 17 July 1972) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. As a player, he played as a centre-back and is regarded as one of the best defenders of all-time. Stam was part of the Manchester United team that w ...

, Frank de Boer, and other highly rated defenders said goodbye to the ''Oranje'' shirt. Even despite the defenders since then continued to concede very few goals in the post-Stam era, defence was considered as the greatest weakness. On 11 February 2009, Braafheid made his debut for the Dutch national team against

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

2008 Summer Olympics

In early summer of 2008, Braafheid was selected for the Dutch Olympic Squad going to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, along with fellow Twente defender Rob Wielaert, as one of the three possible dispensation players. But as Twente qualified for

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

football in play-offs by beating

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

, Braafheid and Wielaert were no longer allowed to go, as their Champions League matches were early in the season.

2010 World Cup

Braafheid was included in the preliminary squad for the

in South Africa. On 27 May 2010, Netherlands manager

Bert van Marwijk Lambertus van Marwijk (; born 19 May 1952) is a Dutch Association football, football manager who is a member of the supervisory board for MVV Maastricht. As a player, he played for the Go Ahead Eagles, AZ Alkmaar, AZ, MVV Maastricht, MVV and For ...

announced that the player would be part of the final squad of 23 competing in South Africa. Braafheid came on as a substitute in the World Cup final. Near 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 Maarten Stekelenburg (; born 22 September 1982) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Stekelenburg began his career at Ajax, playing 282 matches over nine seasons in his first spell there and winning nine honours ...

. The Netherlands went on to lose the match, thus making them the runners up for a third time in a World Cup final. Braafheid and the rest of his team were rewarded with a silver medal.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Utrecht *

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Netherlands *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

runner-up:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

References

External links

*
Profile at VI.nl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braafheid, Edson 1983 births Living people Footballers from Paramaribo Dutch men's footballers Netherlands men's international footballers Netherlands men's under-21 international footballers Surinamese men's footballers Surinamese emigrants to the Netherlands Dutch sportspeople of Surinamese descent Dutch expatriate men's footballers FC Utrecht players FC Twente players FC Bayern Munich footballers Celtic F.C. players TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players SS Lazio players Eredivisie players Bundesliga players Scottish Premier League players Serie A players Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Germany Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Italy 2010 FIFA World Cup players Men's association football fullbacks Austin Bold FC players USL Championship players FC Abcoude players