Edwin van der Sar

Edwin van der Sar (born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who was most recently the chief executive of Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a member of the club's golden generation and was part of the Ajax team that won the UEFA Champions League in 1995.

He enjoyed a long and successful stint in their senior side, winning the 1991–92 UEFA Cup (albeit only as the reserve, making no appearances in the run) and the 1994–95 UEFA Champions League (by now the starting goalkeeper), as well as the 1995 Best European Goalkeeper award, besides domestic honours.

Van der Sar has won several individual awards, including Best European Goalkeeper in 1995 and 2009, and UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year in 2009.

Born in Voorhout, Van der Sar began his career at his hometown club, Foreholte, and then VV Noordwijk.

At a relatively late age, he was brought to the attention of Louis van Gaal, and subsequently signed for Ajax.

Even though he joined late he went into the reserve team and bided his time before getting his first-team call-up by Louis van Gaal.

He was in goal for Ajax in the 1996 UEFA Champions League Final, but had to make do with a runner-up medal as they lost the penalty shoot-out against Juventus.

He made a total of 226 appearances for Ajax, and scored a penalty for Ajax to complete an 8–1 victory over De Graafschap in the 1997–98 season.

In his first full season as Ajax No. 1 he won the Dutch Football Goalkeeper of the Year, he would then go on to retain the award for the next three consecutive years.

A goalkeeper, he left Ajax for Juventus in 1999, where he spent two years before moving to England, first to Fulham and then to Manchester United in 2005.

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, with the best defensive record in the league on each occasion.

He performed well in his first season, winning the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup, and helping the club compete for the Serie A title.

On the final day of the 1999–2000 season, however, Juventus lost to Perugia, after Van der Sar was beaten by Alessandro Calori's volley; the result allowed Lazio to overtake Juventus and win the league title by a single point.

The following season was less successful, however, as Juventus suffered a first-round exit in both the Coppa Italia and the Champions League, while Van der Sar committed several errors, including a high-profile one in a league fixture at home against eventual Serie A champions Roma, on 6 May 2001, when he spilled Hidetoshi Nakata's shot, allowing Vincenzo Montella to tie the game 2–2; Juventus eventually finished two points behind the league champions.

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.

On 1 August 2001, Van der Sar opted to play in England and joined newly promoted Fulham in a shock move worth £7 million, signing a four-year contract.

The following day, Van der Sar was officially unveiled by Fulham, and upon his arrival, he described the move as a "nice friendly atmosphere" and that he felt "appreciated".

He made his league debut on 18 August 2001 in a 2–3 away defeat against Manchester United.

In total, he notched up 127 league appearances while at Fulham.

In a game against Aston Villa in his final season at the club, he memorably saved two penalties from Juan Pablo Ángel in a 1–1 draw.

His performances for the Cottagers caught the eye of Manchester United and the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Van der Sar signed for Manchester United on 10 June 2005 for a reported fee of £2 million, although the exact transfer fee was undisclosed.

Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson considers him the best goalkeeper to have played for the club since Peter Schmeichel.

He was also named in the 2006–07 PFA Team of the Year.

On 5 May 2007, his penalty save from Darius Vassell helped assure a 1–0 triumph over Manchester City in 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.

The 2007–08 season was Van der Sar's best season since his arrival; he had several great performances despite a niggling groin injury.

He would help United secure their second successive Premier League title on the final day and win the Champions League by saving the final penalty of the shoot-out from Nicolas Anelka.

There he won a second Champions League title in 2008, making him one of just eight players at the time to have won the competition with more than one club.

During the 2008–09 season, he set a world record by not conceding a league goal for 1,311 minutes.

He retired as a professional in 2011, but briefly came out of retirement in 2016 to play a match for Dutch amateur team VV Noordwijk, for whom he had previously played as a youth.

He is also the oldest player to win the Premier League, having done so in 2011 at the age of 40 years and 205 days.

Three months later, he was a catalyst in Manchester United's 16th FA Community Shield victory, as he saved three consecutive penalties in a shoot-out after Manchester United and Chelsea played to a 1–1 draw at the end of regular time.

He played 130 times for the Netherlands national team, and was the nation's most-capped player until 2017, when he was overtaken by Wesley Sneijder.

Van der Sar is considered by critics and fellow players as one of the best goalkeepers of all time.

He is also one of the most successful footballers ever, having won 26 major trophies in his career, mainly at Ajax and Manchester United.