Edwin van der Sar is one of the best goalkeeper of all time. When he joined Fulham in 2001 after a disappointing spell with Juventus, everybody thought that the end of a glamorous era for the Holland international goalkeeper in European competition has come to an end.

In 2005, Manchester United faced a transition period. With players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and the Nevilles grew older, and inexperienced youngsters like O’Shea, Fletcher, were slowly got more and more first team football, the club was in desperate need of an experienced player in one of the most under-rated yet important position on the pitch; between the goal post.

Ever since Peter “The Great Dane” Schmeichel left the club after the Treble Season, noone has successfully managed to replace that feeling of safety and leadership in the defence. Fabien Barthez, the French goalkeeper who replaced Peter, did good in his early runs with the club, but in his last few seasons with Manchester United, Barthez was more well-known for his acrobatic blunders than his save. Then came in a promising goang American goalkeeper in the name of Tim Howard. Like Barthez, Howard showed great promises at first, but he couldn’t handle the pressure playing consistently, he started making blunders in important matches and eventually lost his place to Roy Caroll.

However, Roy Caroll was not a “Manchester United no. 1” material. Don’t get me wrong, Caroll was an excellent substitute, but he simply can’t compete or stand in the same class with the likes of Buffon, Kahn, or even Coupet (at least not yet…). United needed a goalkeeper with more experience, guts and skills if it wanted to relive the glory days of the 90’s in the 21st century.

Names like Buffon, Robinson, Frei, etc were thrown away by the media, but eventually the choice was made on Edwin van der Sar. Edwin was considered a “washed up” goalkeeper. He was a Champions League winner who spent his last 4 years with a mediocre London club of Fulham, but what people didin’t realize that Sir Alex Ferguson knew that the old dog still got some hunger and gas left on the tank.

Edwin is the goalkeeper who has more similarity with Peter Schmeichel than any other United goalkeepers before. One of the similarity is, that Edwin like Peter, possesses a great skill with the ball on their feet. Both of them also have a good vision as playmaker and passes, they can literally changed the team from defending a corner into a deadly fast break attack. They can deliver long balls with their goal kicks with a precision of a midfielder, and when needed, they are not afraid to go forward in the last minute to give support on corners when United are down or in need of a goal.

And when it comes to goalkeeping skills, both have the one of the best reflects. They also are not afraid to lunge any part of their body (even their own f*cking balls) in order to prevent a goal from happening. Their only difference is that Edwin is much more calm than Peter. Peter’s red face and stretched throat veints while he is yelling at the defence was one of United’s trademark in the 90’s (ask Gary Neville, he’s gone through those horrors…).

In international level, after making his debut in 7 June 1995, Edwin van der Sar has always been Holland’s number one choice for goalkeeper position. Collecting over 120 caps for his country, van der Sar is now the captain of the Holland national squad, replacing the retiring Phillip Cocu.

In May 5th 2007, van der Sar saved 2 vital points for Manchester United as he managed to stop a penalty against local rival Manchester City, that led to a 1-0 United victory. With Chelsea’s failure to beat Arsenal the next day, van der Sar save had given the Premier League title for Manchester United. That is also the first league title that van der Sar won in England Soil. And three months later, van der Sar also played an important role as he saved not one, not two, but three penalties in the shoot out against Chelsea in the 2007 Charity Shield event.

In May 2008, van der Sar won his second Champions League title, this time with Manchester United. Van der Sar was the hero in the shoot out as he blocked Nicolas Anelka's penalty in the shoot out. Manchester United defeated Chelsea in a magical night in Moscow, and it was all because of van der Sar's magical hand.

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