Zinédine Zidane vs Edgar Davids: Stats Compared
Attacking Midfielder, France (born 1972, retired 2006) · Defensive Midfielder, Netherlands (born 1973, retired 2011)
Line up Zinédine Zidane next to Edgar Davids and the contrasts come quickly. Where pure finishing is concerned, this is a shootout between two of the most feared marksmen of their time. Zinédine Zidane finishes with 156 career goals from 692 games — a 0.23 strike rate — against Edgar Davids's 45 from 600 at 0.08 per match. Assists were not reliably tracked for much of their careers, which makes the playmaking comparison an imperfect one; where records exist, Zinédine Zidane is credited with 0 and Edgar Davids with 40. The honours ledger favours Zinédine Zidane with 7 major trophies (1× FIFA World Cup (1998)) against Edgar Davids's 4 (1× UEFA Champions League (1995)). Zinédine Zidane scored with a intelligent that defined his era, while Edgar Davids's finishing carried a orchestrating all of its own. Club journeys add another layer, with Zinédine Zidane reaching his representative peak around 2002 across Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus, Real Madrid and Edgar Davids doing so around 2000 with Ajax, AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Internazionale, Tottenham Hotspur, Ajax, Crystal Palace. Picking between them says as much about the picker as the players.
186 words · comparison angle: goalscoring
Player profiles
French playmaker and 1998 Ballon d'Or winner who scored twice in the 1998 World Cup final and volleyed the winner in the 2002 Champions League final.
“An elegant, balletic playmaker whose first touch, vision and big-game temperament defined a generation.”
Nicknamed 'The Pitbull' for his relentless tackling, Davids wore his trademark wraparound goggles and was one of the most feared ball-winners in Europe during Juventus's late-1990s dominance.
“An aggressive, tireless ball-winner whose combativeness and surprising technical quality made him a complete midfield destroyer.”
Head-to-head stats
Career goals by season
Representative career seasons — goals per season for each player across their documented clubs.
Attribute radar
Attribute ratings are peak-era, 0–100. Different positions naturally skew the profile.
Attribute comparison
Trophy breakdown
- 1× FIFA World Cup (1998)
- 1× UEFA European Championship (2000)
- 1× UEFA Champions League (2002)
- 2× Serie A (1997, 1998)
- 1× La Liga (2003)
- 1× Intercontinental Cup (2002)
- 1× UEFA Champions League (1995)
- 3× Serie A (1998, 2002, 2003)
Trophy distribution
Career milestones
- 1989 Professional debut for Cannes
- 1992 Joined Bordeaux
- 1996 Signed for Juventus
- 1998 Headed two goals in the World Cup final
- 2001 World-record transfer to Real Madrid
- 2002 Volleyed the winner in the Champions League final
- 2006 Retired after being sent off in the World Cup final
- 1991 Professional debut for Ajax
- 1995 Won UEFA Champions League with Ajax
- 1998 Won Serie A with Juventus
- 2000 Reached the peak of his powers at Juventus
- 2011 Retired after a final spell at Crystal Palace
- Finished his career with 45 goals in 600 appearances and 4 major honours. Finished his career with 45 goals in 600 appearances and 4 major honours.
The verdict
Taking goals, assists, silverware and overall profile together, Zinédine Zidane takes it by a decisive margin.
Zinédine Zidane edges it (a decisive margin)
