David Edgar, a Canadian footballer born on May 19, 1987 in Kitchener, plays centre-back. His mother, Christine Edgar, is a teacher, and his father, Eddie Edgar, was a goalkeeper for Newcastle United and Hartlepool United. His father also played alongside Pelé for the New York Cosmos. David Edgar studied at Blessed Kateri Catholic Elementary School, where he broke many athletic records, including the 800 m, 1500 m and long jump. He also won the Athlete of the Year award during eighth grade.
David Edgar first played for his country with the Under-17 squad in July 2003, and only three months later, at just 16 years old, he made his debut for the Under-20 team against Panama. He was included in the national squad for the 2003 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Youth Championships (WYC) and played 3 matches for his country during the 2005 FIFA WYC. David Edgar celebrated his 19th birthday by scoring in the Canadian U-20 side’s 2-1 win over the Brazilian U-20 side. This crucial match was Canada’s first ever win over Brazil in men’s football. In February 2007, he was named the 2006 Canadian Youth Player of the Year, and by July 2007, he was playing in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Dale Mitchell, the coach of the Canada U-20 team, believes David Edgar is a player who can rise to the occasion against fierce competition.
At the age of 9, David Edgar was taken to England by his father to compete in a football tournament sponsored by Manchester United. Impressed with his performance, Manchester United offered him a scholarship; however, he declined and instead returned to Canada. At the age of 11, David Edgar started playing football at the Provincial level for Ontario. Being equally skilled at ice hockey, he switched back and forth between football and hockey, but at the age 13, he decided to focus on football. After several trials for various football clubs, he received a scholarship from the Newcastle United Academy in 2001. Upon hearing this news, he immediately left Canada and moved to his grandmother’s home in Hebburn, Tyne and Wear to get trained by the academy.
On April 10, 2003, David Edgar got to play in his first match for the Newcastle United reserve team against Bradford City. In 2005, Málaga CF, a Spanish club, as well as some English clubs declared their interest in signing him, but David Edgar was given a new contract by Newcastle United to ward off other clubs. He started making more regular appearances for the reserve team during the 2005-06 season, and in December 2006, he made his first-team debut against Bolton Wanderers. He made his home debut for the club against Manchester United on January 1, 2007, in which he scored an equalizing goal to end the match 2-2. During the 2007-08 season, David Edgar captained the reserve team and was given 2 starts and 3 substitute appearances for the senior team. His performance against the Reading F.C. was even praised by Newcastle United’s manager Kevin Keegan.
