Born on the 8th of April 1983 in Surinam, Edson Braafheid began his football career as a hard-tackling defender, chiefly occupying the left-back position. Standing at a moderate height of 5ft 10in (1.8m) and weighing 11st 13lbs (76kg), Braafheid was renowned for his solid defensive dependability.
He was first scouted by FC Utrecht, a team in the Eredivisie league of the Netherlands, in July 2000. Drafted as a trainee, he played several seasons at FC Utrecht, steadily climbing ranks and enjoying increased on-pitch time, making a substantial 13 appearances in his debut session in 2003. Over the course of the subsequent seasons, Braafheid confirmed his status as a first-team regular, cumulating in over a hundred appearances for FC Utrecht.
In the brisk Dutch winter of January 2007, a career-defining opportunity presented itself - a move to the Eredivisie club FC Twente. His journey with Twente was marked with upwards of a hundred appearances, followed by a transfer to the illustrious Bundesliga giants, Bayern Munich, in June 2009 for a fee of around ÂŁ1.7 million.
Despite limited appearances with Bayern Munich, Braafheid's talent caught the attention of the Scottish Premiership contenders, Celtic. In February 2010, he was loaned to Celtic, where he spent a commendable season making ten first-team appearances.
Upon completing his loan term, he returned to Bayern Munich in July 2010. After a brief stint at the German club, Braafheid was transferred to 1899 Hoffenheim in January 2011, where he furnished a solid performance, highlighted by a goal and numerous appearances.
After another loan spell at FC Twente and a short stint at Hoffenheim, Braafheid made a significant move to Italian Serie A club Lazio in August 2014. This was soon followed by a return to FC Utrecht in August 2016, where he enjoyed two final seasons before his release in January 2018.
