Former Netherlands and Manchester United goalkeeper took fans back in time after he saved a penalty for former club Noordwijk to help the club earn a point in a match against Jodan Boys. The 45-year-old goalkeeper had come out of retirement for just one game because of an injury to their regular goalkeeper Mustafa Mare Zine.
The club did not have a ready replacement and asked the Dutch legend if he could come out of retirement for one game. The Dutch FA did not stand in his way and allowed him to play the game at such short notice. He had spent five years of his youth career at the club between 1985 and 1990 before eventually moving to Ajax and making a name for himself.
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What made the penalty save so special was that it was similar to the iconic save against Nicolas Anelka in the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea.
United had won the trophy in the penalty shootout where Van der Sar was the star after he figured out the Blues’ game-plan and guessed correctly to deny the French striker. The Dutch goalkeeper had pointed to the left corner which caused Anelka to take a poor shot to the right, allowing Van der Sar to make the save.
Here, too, Van der Sar pointed to his right which saw the penalty taker shoot to the left, allowing the goalkeeper to dive to his left and parry it away before it was cleared by a teammate.
Although the game ended in a 1-1 draw, the fans were only too happy to watch the legendary goalkeeper in action one more time.
“He still thinks warmly of the club and is here regularly,” said Peter Vink, Noordwijk’s technical director. Fans may have seen the last of him for now, unless he is called upon to play another game which is highly unlikely.
