Edson Braafheid was born at Paramaribo in Suriname on April 8 1983. He started his professional career with Utrecht in 2003 and at the end of his first season as pro his team won the KNVB Cup on May 23, 2004, against Twente. In August they also won the Johan Cruijff Schaal. He stayed with Utrecht until January 2007 after 87 appearances and two goals, and moved to Twente.
After proving to be quite a good left back, with Twente he also showed skills as a central defender, attracting the attention of Bayern Munich. In June 2009 he left for Germany. He did not play much and in the winter transfer window he was loaned to Celtic. In this way he could get more playing time and could hence be called to participate in the 2010 World Cup. He then went back to Munich but in January he was sold to Hoffenheim. At the end of the 2011-12 season he was loaned to Twente and there he played the entire year. Back in Germany for the 2013-14 season, he did not play a single game the whole year.
In July 2014 he joined Lazio for a trial period and after a month he signed a contract with the Biancocelesti. He was a very valid alternative at left back and during the year he appeared 18 times. His annual contract was renewed for another year but in the 2015-16 he got very limited playing time. The times he was used, he was not up to par, especially considering the positive first season at Lazio.
In August 2016 he returned to Utrecht, where it had all started. But even there things did not go as planned and in January 2018 he announced he was going to retire. Braafheid however changed his mind six months later and signed for Austin Bold FC in the USL Championship. He stayed there until March 2020 when he decided not to renew his contract. In November 2020 he signed for Palm Beach Stars, a new club in the minor US leagues. On July 1, 2021 he announced his final retirement aged 38.
At international level, Braafheid was part of the team that won the European Under 21 championships of 2006. He debuted for Holland on February 11 2009 against Tunisia. He was selected to play in the Beijing Olympics but his club did not give him the permission to go. He however participated in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He came on towards the end of the first half of extra time in the final against Spain.
Braafheid had a positive experience with Lazio at least for the first year. His second year was not as good but the team was not playing well either so perhaps it was not all his fault.
Lazio Career
Season | Total appearances | Serie A | Coppa Italia |
2014-15 | 18 | 16 | 2 |
2015-16 | 5 | 5 | - |
Total | 23 | 21 | 2 |
Sources
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