Van Der Saar


Der Saar
Full Name:Edwin vander Saar
Date of Birth:29-Oct-1970
Place of Birth:Voorhout, Netherlands
Height:6 ft 5.5in(1.97 m)
Playing position:Goalkeeper
Club Information
Current Team:Manchester United
Number:1

Early career

Van der Sar began his career at hometown club Foreholte and then VV Noordwijk, where he was spotted by Ajax Amsterdam. After going through the ranks of Ajax's youth system, he enjoyed a long and successful stint in the senior side, winning the 1991-92 UEFA Cup and the 1995 UEFA Champions League, as well as the 1995 Best European Goalkeeper award. He made a total of 226 appearances for Ajax.

He went on to make 66 appearances for Juventus F.C., eventually losing his place to Gianluigi Buffon; van der Sar remains the first and only non-Italian to keep goal for the Turin club.

Moving to the Premiership

His move to the Premiership took him first to Fulham F.C. in 2001, reportedly for around £7.7 million. Initially signing a four year contract, he notched up 154 appearances.

Van der Sar in goal for Manchester United

He moved to Mancester United on 1 June 2005 for a reported fee of £2 million, although the exact transfer fee was undisclosed. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson considered him the best goalkeeper to play for the club since Peter Schmeichel.[3] He renewed his original two year contract in December 2006, signing for a further year to keep him at the club till the end of the 2007-08 season.

On 5 May 2007, his penalty saved helped assure a 1-0 triumph over Manchester City on the Manchester derby. The following day, Chelsea's failure to beat Arsenal at the Emirates ensured Manchester United's ninth Premier League trophy and van der Sar's first. He was also named to the 2006-07 PFA Team of the Year. Three months later, he was a catalyst in Manchester United's 16th FA Community Shield victory, as he saved three consecutive shots in a shootout after Manchester United and Chelsea played to a 1-1 draw at the end of regular time.

On 21 December 2007, van der Sar signed a new one-year deal, keeping him at Manchester United until the 2008-09 season.

International career

Edwin van der Sar during 2006 World Cup

Van Der Sar was included in Holland's 1994 World Cup squad but did not play. He had to wait until 7 June 1995 for his international debut, against Belarus. He has been in goal for three successive eliminations from major competitions by penalties: Euro 96, 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000.

However, during the penalty shootout at the Euro 2004 quarter-final against Sweden, Van der Sar saved a penalty from Olof Mellberg, helping Netherlands to win the shootout by 5-4 and go to the semifinals of that tournament, in which the team lost to Portugal.

Prior to the 2006 World Cup group match against Ivory Coast, Van der Sar had not conceded a goal in 10 consecutive non-friendly matches and kept a clean sheet for 1,013 minutes, an all-time European record.

Van der Sar has represented the Dutch national team 122 times, which makes him Holland's most capped player. That also puts him in the top sixty most capped players of all time. As captain of the Netherlands, he broke Frank de Boer's record in the 2006 World Cup second round match against Portugal.

In spite of the disappointment of the Second Round loss, he confirmed that he would continue to play for the national team during the Euro 2008 qualifiers and the jointly hosted finals in Austria and Switzerland.

On the day of his 37th birthday, Edwin was interviewed by Radio 538 and said that he intends to retire from international football following the Netherlands participation in Euro 2008.

Honours

Club - Ajax Fulham Manchester United Individual