Van der Sar Edwin
Edwin Van der Sar is a former professional Dutch footballer who played as a goalkeeper. During his career he has played for Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. He is the most capped player in the Netherlands national team’s history. He currently works as the chief executive officer at Ajax. He came out of retirement to play for Dutch amateur team VV Noordwijk. He started his senior career at Ajax and is considered to be a member of a golden generation of players at the club. He remained there for nine years before moving to Italian club Juventus and then to England, first to Fulham and then to Manchester United. He is one of the few footballers to have won the UEFA Champions League with two different teams – with Ajax in 1995 and Manchester United in 2008; in the latter, he was also named UEFA Man of the Match. Van der Sar also won the UEFA Cup with Ajax in 1992. Regarded as one of the greatest and most complete keepers in football history, Van der Sar was a large, athletic, yet slender goalkeeper, who excelled at handling crosses due to his height and physique; an intelligent goalkeeper, in addition to his reflexes and shot-stopping, he was also known for his calm composure, and his ability to organise his defence. However, Van der Sar was known in particular for his skill with the ball at his feet, as well as his accurate distribution with either foot, which gave him the ability to launch counter-attacks from his area with long balls. Due to his ability in possession, he also functioned as a “sweeper-keeper” on occasion throughout his career, in particular during his time with Ajax.
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In 1999, van der Sar’s stature as one of Europe’s top goalkeepers drew attention from Manchester United, who sought a replacement for Peter Schmeichel; however, Van der Sar moved to Italian club Juventus for a fee believed to be in the region of £5 million. He made his debut for The Old Lady in the 1–1 draw with Reggina at the Stadio Delle Alpi. He became the first non-Italian to keep goal for the Turin club. He was the first-choice goalkeeper during his first two seasons in Italy, making 66 Serie A appearances as Juventus finished runners-up in the league twice under Carlo Ancelotti. On the final day of the 1999–2000 season, Juventus lost to Perugia Calcio, allowing Lazio to win the title.
Did you Know?
Regarded as one of the greatest and most complete keepers in football history, Van der Sar was a large, athletic, yet slender goalkeeper, who excelled at handling crosses due to his height and physique; an intelligent goalkeeper, in addition to his reflexes and shot-stopping, he was also known for his calm composure, and his ability to organise his defence. However, Van der Sar was known in particular for his skill with the ball at his feet, as well as his accurate distribution with either foot, which gave him the ability to launch counter-attacks from his area with long balls. Due to his ability in possession, he also functioned as a “sweeper-keeper” on occasion throughout his career, in particular during his time with Ajax.
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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 world-record 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. His mistakes in the most important game of the season against Roma A.S. didn’t help him to renew the contract for the following season.
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Van der Sar was included in the Netherlands’ 1994 World Cup squad but did not play. He had to wait until 7 June 1995 for his international debut, against Belarus. He was in goal for three successive eliminations from major competitions by penalties: Euro 96, the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. The Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup after competing with Portugal and the Republic of Ireland and so during all of his career with the Netherlands, he had missed one tournament.