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 David Edgar
Edgar was born to Eddie Edgar and Christine Edgar (neé White). His father was a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Newcastle United and Hartlepool in England, as well as playing with Pelé for the New York Cosmos. David's mother is now a teacher in Canada. Edgar grew up in Kitchener, Ontario and attended Blessed Kateri Catholic Elementary School, where he broke many athletic records including the 800m, 1500m and long jump. He also won athlete of the year in grade eight. A sports-obsessed child, Edgar tried his hand at ice hockey, long and middle distance running as well as football.
When Edgar was 9, his father took him to England to compete in a football tournament which was sponsored by Manchester United. Edgar impressed at the tournament to the extent he was offered a scholarship deal by Manchester United. However, Edgar turned down the opportunity, opting to stay in Canada for the time being. He also excelled at hockey and was even considered to have had the potential to be drafted into the NHL. From the age of 11 he began playing at Provincial level for Ontario, along with his now international teammate Jaime Peters. He continued to switch between playing hockey and football, however at 13 years of age he decided to quit hockey and focus primarily on playing football. After impressing in trials for numerous football clubs including Celtic, he was offered a scholarship at the Newcastle United academy, which he accepted. Aged 14, he left Canada and moved into his grandmother's home in Hebburn, Tyne and Wear.
Early career
Edgar began playing regularly in the academy and made his debut for the reserve team on April 10, 2003 against Bradford City. He made his debut for the Canada under-20 team on October 15, 2003, (just three months after first appearing at under-17 level), against Panama at the Torneo Mondialito, aged 16. The following month, he was named in the Canada squad for the World Youth Championships, that took place in the UAE. Edgar was an unused substitute in each of Canada's matches, as they finished third in their group.
In June, 2005, Edgar was involved in the competition for a second time, appearing in all three of Canada's matches at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in Netherlands. Canada finished bottom of their group. Edgar caught the eye of Spanish club Málaga CF in September, 2005 when Newcastle played the La Liga club in a pre-season friendly game. Málaga, as well as a few English clubs, declared an interest in signing him. However, Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd was quick to announce that Edgar was not for sale, and that he had been given a new contract by the club to ward off any further interest.
Edgar began making more regular appearances in the reserve team during the 2005-06 season. On May 19, 2006, whilst celebrating his nineteenth birthday, he played and scored in the Canadian Under-20 side's 2-1 victory over the Brazilian Under-20 side. This was the first victory Canada have ever had over Brazil in any level of men's football.
Senior career
Edgar continued to appear for Newcastle's reserves and he was called up to the first team squad due to a lengthly injury list midway through the 2006-07 Premiership season. He made his first team debut for Newcastle against Bolton Wanderers on December 26, 2006.
 On January 1, 2007 during his home debut, he scored his first goal for the club with a long range strike against Manchester United in a 2-2 draw. Edgar was playing in the unfamiliar position of full back as part of a makeshift Newcastle defence consisting of three under-21 players and a winger, due to injuries to first team defenders. Edgar was later named man of the match and drew praise from then Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder for his performance during the game.
Edgar being interviewed whilst on international duty in 2007.On February 1, 2007 he was named as Canadian Youth Player of the Year for the 2006 season. On May 5, 2007 he signed a new contract with Newcastle that will keep him at the club until 2009.
In 2007, David helped host team Canada compete for the Under-20 World Cup and has been named as one of six ambassadors for the Canadian team during the competition, which will be the largest single-sport event ever hosted by Canada. Edgar picked up a groin injury three weeks before the tournament began, which put doubt over how much he would feature. An MRI scan showed no tears in his abdominal wall, which helped quell fears that he would be lost to injury for the tournament.
Style of play
Edgar has been acknowledged for having good leadership skills; he has been described as a player who organizes the other members of his defensive line through his vocality.[18] Dale Mitchell, Edgar's coach for the Canada Under-20 team, has labelled Edgar as a player who rises to the occasion against top competition, stabilizes the defence, and also has the ability to stretch opposing teams' defences.[17]
Source: Wikipedia and Corresponding Resources Cited Within Wikipedia.
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