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POSITION : GOALKEEPER
JERSEY NO : 1
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 was 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 was Van der Sar's first sucess in one of European football's big five leagues: England, Spain, Italy, Germany,
France.
In 2007-2008 Edwin secured his place in Manchester United folklore by saving Nicolas Anelka's penalty in the
shoot-out in Moscow to win Manchester United the Champions League. Ironically the season had began back in August with Edwin
also winning the Charity Shield for United against Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out.
At 37 years old he was still a
model of consistency and kept 23 clean sheets as United held the best defensive record in England with only 22 goals conceded.
In Europe he only let 3 goals in the whole campaign which saw him collect his second Champions League medal in what has been
an illustrious career.
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