 EDWIN VAN DER SAR

It was very late in Moscow on May 21st 2008, tensions and uncertainty were running high. Up stepped Nicholas Anelka to take the sixth penalty of the night for Chelsea and for that moment, from a United perspective, all eyes turned on the big Dutchman to save the day and win the third European Cup for Manchester United. Luckily, he did not disappoint and transformed the fans’ emotions from torture to ecstasy. Sweet, sweet memories indeed , and my favourite memory of Edwin Van Der Sar in a United shirt.

Looking back at the history of the club, Manchester United should consider themselves very lucky to have had legends of the calibre of Edwin Van Der Sar playing for the club and it is not surprising to hear consistent rumours linking him with a return for one of the executive positions at the club. As a matter of fact, one can argue that the ex-goalkeeper has already had a positive influence in the transfer business of the club in the past and was probably also an important stakeholder to ensure a smooth transition in the move of Erik Ten Hag from Ajax to Manchester United.

Back in June 2005, when Edwin signed for Manchester United, the idea of having secured a goalkeeper in decline which had failed at Juventus FC did not fill me with too much excitement. Consequently, my expectations were low focused on the premise that he was going to be another desperate attempt to fill the shoes of the great Dane where so many goalkeepers had already failed. Thankfully, history proved me wrong.

Edwin Van Der Sar was born on the 29th October, 1970 in Voorhout. In terms of his professional career, he has played for AFC Ajax, Juventus FC, Fulham FC and Manchester United. The Dutchman has won four Eredivisie titles, two KNVB Beker cups and three Netherlands Super Cups, four Premier League titles, three League Cups and three Charity Shields in addition to two Champions Leagues, one FIFA Club World Cup, one UEFA Super Cup and an Inter-Continental Cup. The goalkeeper also enjoyed a respectable international career representing his country in various tournaments.

In terms of his numbers, impressively he made a total of 313 appearances in the Premier League and kept a total of 132 clean sheets in addition to securing the prestigious Golden Glove award in 2008/09.

Edwin Van Der Sar commenced his football career at his local home town. At an early stage, Louis Van Gaal offered him the opportunity to sign for AFC Ajax where he started to develop into one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, helping his side to win European trophies and compete amongst the best. To acknowledge his performances, Edwin was presented with the best European goalkeeper award in 1995 together with other domestic honours. In total, the Dutchman made a total of 226 appearances for the club before moving to Italian giants Juventus in 1999.

Unfortunately, although he made 66 appearances for Juventus, his time at the Old Lady did not go as planned and it is mostly remembered for his costly errors that prevented the Bianconeri from winning the Seria A title, once losing to Lazio and the following season to Roma. Such costly errors were not forgiven and eventually Van Der Sar lost his place in the summer of 2001, after the Bianconeri purchased Italian international goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon from Parma for 100 billion lire (approximately £32.6 million), a worldrecord fee for a goalkeeper. Unwilling to remain as second-choice behind Buffon, Van Der Sar made it clear he wished to move on after two years in Serie A and eventually joined Premier League side Fulham FC in August 2001 and that proved to be another game changer in the Dutchman’s career.

He made his debut in a 3-2 defeat away to Manchester United and made a total of 127 league appearances with the Cottagers and memorably saved two penalties in his final match for the London club against Aston Villa.

Manchester United secured his signature on the 10th June 2005 and to date, some fans including Sir Alex Ferguson ranks him as the best goalkeeper to have played for the club since Schmeichel and few would argue against that. In terms of his contributions to

by Jude Cauchi

the trophy cause, in addition to the penalty saved against Chelsea, Van Der Sar was also crucial to save Darius Vassell’s penalty in a derby match against Manchester City which proved to be decisive in the Red Devil’s quest to reclaim back the Premier League trophy in 2007. Although, this is a matter of opinion, but that save paved the way for the start of another period of dominance for the Red Devils in England.

In addition to the trophies won at the club, the Dutch goalkeeper also helped Manchester United set a new club and Premier League record for consecutive clean sheets and 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal in the Premier League. His impressive performances for the club won him the Barclays Golden Glove and the Best European Goalkeeper. Edwin was also named in the PFA Team of the Year.

Edwin’s last year at the club was in 2011 where he played his final league game at Old Trafford in a 4-2 victory against Blackpool. Unfortunately, the Dutchman’s last European match was on the 28th May where United lost the UEFA Champions League Final by the score of 3-1 to Barcelona. Despite this, at the age of 40 years + 211 days, he become the oldest male player to feature in a European Cup final during the Champions League era. Another impressive record for the football legend.

Outside his playing career, Edwin Van Der Sar continued to be involved in football as he took on a role as Ajax’s marketing director in 2012 before being promoted in 2016 as the CEO of the club.

As United fans, look back at the years and the history of the club, Edwin Van Der Sar will forever occupy a special place in our hearts and some part of me still hopes that we see him in a future role at the club as the Red Devils look to restore back their identity in English football.