The Flying Dutchman: Edwin Van Der Sar

As far as my knowledge about football goes, I hope no one disagrees with my understanding that having a world class goalkeeper in the team is the battle half won. This is probably why scouting a goalkeeper for any top club takes up a lot of resources as well as time. Recruiting a goalkeeper is affected by many aspects of the game, such as the style of play of the club, reflexes, shot-stopping and so on. Just as Sir Alex refers to Robin van Persie as the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle, the same could be said of the other Dutchman a few years back.

Signed at the age of 34, Sir Alex knew Edwin van der Sar was the one to be handed the goalkeeping responsibility. His arrival at Old Trafford ended the series of flops; the manager had replaced 10 goalkeepers since the Great Dane, Peter Schmeichel, retired in 1999. His calm and composed approach to the game provided the much needed stability and solidity at the back for the Red Devils.

In his 21-year career, he played for top clubs in Europe like Ajax, Juventus, and finally Manchester United. Yet, the amount of success he has achieved at United in his six years at Old Trafford clearly surpasses any of his previous achievements. He had his moments of triumphs with United, the most celebrated amongst them – the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea.

Throughout a long and successful career, Edwin van der Sar achieved and set numerous records. In the 2008–09 season, he set the world league clean sheet record by not conceding a single goal for 1,311 minutes. His other remarkable achievements include being the most capped player for the Netherlands national team (130 caps), making him a part of an esteemed list of top 40 most capped players by the national team.

Aged 40 years and 205 days old, van der Sar is the oldest player to have won the prestigious English Premier League. The Dutchman, also won several individual honours, including Best European Goalkeeper in 1995 and 2009, and UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year in 2009. Undoubtedly one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time.

It was clear that his departure would leave a huge void to fill in the team. But by watching young De Gea, who has been brilliant in goal, has definitely calmed some nerves

When the big Dutchman made his final appearance for United in the league he was handed the microphone by Sir Alex Ferguson, who described the retiring 40-year-old affectionately as “this big lump of a man standing beside me.”

Van der Sar told the Old Trafford faithful, “I want to thank the manager, he bought me six years ago, maybe a couple of years too late. I wish I’d done it [joined United] earlier. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. The fans and the other players have been magnificent. I’ll always keep a warm place in my heart for Manchester United, the world’s biggest club.”