Sunday, March 23, 2008

SQUAD PROFILE Edwin van der Sar



Edwin van der Sar


Edwin Van der Sar started his career with Ajax Amsterdam in 1990 and was first choice keeper during a great period in the famous Dutch club's history. At Ajax he won four Dutch league titles, the UEFA Cup in 1992, the Champions League in 1995 and the Dutch domestic treble in 1996. In 1994 he claimed the top spot for the Dutch national side from Ed de Goey and has been wearing the No.1 shirt ever since. In season 1995-1996 he kept clean sheet for nine consecutive games, a total of 846 minutes.

Gradually the stars of the homegrown Ajax team that won the Champions league in 1995 were sold off and Van der Sar joined Juventus for £5 million in 1999. He became the first foreign keeper to play for the club but would only last two seasons. The arrival of the £32 million signing, Buffon in 2001 meant the Dutchman was no longer first choice at the Deli Alpi.

Fulham pulled off a major coup when they signed the giant stopper in a £7m deal in August 2001. The deal to bring Van der Sar to Craven Cottage smashed the club's transfer record.

Van der Sar won many plaudits for his debut season in England, making 41 appearances. A metatarsal injury 2002/03 ended his season with Fulham in mid-December, although he did return to fitness for Holland's summer matches.

The player missed only one match in 2003/04, being as dependable as ever and holding the record for the most shots saved over the campaign. He passed 100 Fulham appearances that term - and was also named Fulham's Player of the Year. He played in Euro 2004 were the Netherlands reached the semi-final's and by the end of the 2004-2005 season had made 153 appearances for the Cottagers.

Van der Sar had already been linked with a move to Manchester United and the player stated that he had rejected the chance to move to Old Trafford in January 2005 but agreed a contract extension with Fulham until summer 2006 instead. Sir Alex Ferguson had been looking for a new goalkeeper after releasing Roy Carroll at the end of May with names such as Paul Robinson of Spurs and Shay Given of Newcastle mentioned.

Neither rumours amounted to anything and in June 2005 United moved for Van der Sar and agreed an undisclosed fee of around £2 million for the player. The 34-year-old joined the club on 1 July after passing a medical and signing a two-year deal. Van der Sar said: "I am delighted to have signed for Manchester United, one of the most famous clubs in the world. I'm looking forward to joining my new team-mates to start preparations for the new season, which promises to be one of the most exciting of my career"
The Dutchman was United's first signing since the club's takeover by Malcolm Glazer and joined the squad for the July 2005 tour of the Far East. He became the latest in a long line of keepers to have been tried by Fergie since the loss of Peter Schmeichel in 1999. Mark Bosnich, Massimo Taibi, Raimond van der Gouw, Fabien Barthez, Ricardo and Roy Carroll have all came and went.

The 6ft 5in tall shot-stopper has proven his quality at all levels and with his vast experience it was thought he was a safe pair of hands to steady the ship after Tim Howard's mixed fortunes between the posts. Sir Alex made Van der Sar first choice when the new season began and pundits were soon no longer talking about "goalkeeper problems" at Old Trafford.

The Dutchman was a model of consistency and it is hard to recall an error in an excellent first season filled with fine saves and crucial stops. He completed a rare achievement starting in all of United's 38 Premiership matches - only the fourth player to start every league match since Gary Pallister in 1994/95.

At 34 years old he is certainly not a long term member of the team and it was originally suggested Tim Howard would take on an understudy role and learn from the Dutchman. However, Howard's recent move to Everton leaves Tomasz Kuszczak next in line along with Ben Foster. Van der Sar is still the Dutch No.1 and captained the Netherlands in the World Cup in Germany. He plans to continue to play internationals until at least Euro 2008.

Last season, Edwin played in 32 Premiership matches, 12 European and 3 FA Cup's. He missed a couple of matches after breaking his nose at Tottenham after a collision with Robbie Keane, otherwise he was a constant reassuring presence in the United goal.

The Dutchman made key saves, notably away at Lille, a late stop from Peter Crouch in the 1-0 win at Anfield and a save from Mark Viduka at home to Middlesbrough that averted defeat in the eventual 1-1 draw. In May 2007 he saved a penalty from Darius Vassell that sealed a 1-0 win for United over Man City.

It was a key moment as the three points secured the Premiership title the following day. Though he won 4 Eredivisie titles at Ajax Amsterdam the Premiership is Van der Sar's first sucess in one of European football's big five leagues: England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France.

Squad Number: 1
Position: Goal Keeper
Place of Birth: Voorhout, Netherlands
Date Of Birth: 29/ 10/ 1970
Height: 6'6
Weight: 13st 3lbs

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