Edwin van der Sar

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Van der Sar began his senior playing career with Ajax in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a member of the club's golden generation and was part of the team that won the UEFA Champions League in 1995. In 1999, he left Ajax for Juventus where he spent two years before moving to England, first to Fulham and then to Manchester United in 2005. 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. He retired as a professional in 2011, but briefly came out of retirement in 2016 to play a match for Dutch amateur team Noordwijk, for whom he had previously played as a youth. Van der Sar 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. He 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. During the 2008–09 season, he set a world record by not conceding a league goal for 1,311 minutes. 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. 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.

In Their Own Story

The 2008–09 season marked Van der Sar's most dominant period at Old Trafford. On 27 January 2009, his team set a new club record of 1,032 minutes without conceding. Four days later, he broke the overall English league record, surpassing Steve Death's 1,103-minute mark from 1979. By 8 February, the streak reached 1,212 minutes, beating Bobby Clark's British top-flight record of 1,155 minutes. Finally, on 18 February, he extended this to 1,302 minutes, breaking José María Buljubasich's single-season world record of 1,289 minutes set in Chile. The streak ended on 4 March when Peter Løvenkrands scored after nine minutes against Newcastle United, but the total reached 1,311 clean minutes. These performances were pivotal as United won their 11th Premiership title with a total of 21 clean sheets. Despite losing the Champions League final to Barcelona in May 2009, Van der Sar was named Best European Goalkeeper for the second time.

Reader's Guide

Van der Sar signed for Manchester United on 10 June 2005 for a reported fee of £2 million. 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. He was also named in 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 penalties in a shoot-out after Manchester United and Chelsea played to a 1–1 draw. The 2007–08 season was Van der Sar's best season since his arrival; he helped 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. On 27 January 2009, Van der Sar helped Manchester United set a new club and Premier League record for consecutive clean sheets – the club's 5–0 win over West Bromwich Albion meant that they had gone 11 games and 1,032 minutes without conceding a goal. He then broke the overall English league record in the club's following game four days later. Another clean sheet, against West Ham on 8 February 2009, extended the record to 1,212 minutes, beating the British top-flight record. Finally, on 18 February 2009, Van der Sar further extended the record to 1,302 minutes, breaking José María Buljubasich's single-season world record. His clean sheet record ended on 4 March, when he made an error allowing Peter Løvenkrands of Newcastle United to score after nine minutes. In total, Van der Sar had gone 1,311 minutes without conceding in the league. With a total of 21 clean sheets he also won the Premier League Golden Glove for 2008–09. He missed out on winning his third Champions League winners medal as United succumbed to a 2–0 defeat at the hands of Barcelona in the final on 27 May 2009. He won Best European Goalkeeper award from UEFA for the second time, 14 years after he first won it at Ajax. He was one of the five United players shortlisted for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, which was ultimately given to his United teammate Ryan Giggs; however, Van der Sar was named in the PFA Team of the Year.

Did You Know?

• Van der Sar is the oldest player to win the Premier League, having done so in 2011 at age 40 years and 205 days.
• He set a world record by not conceding a league goal for 1,311 minutes during the 2008–09 season.
• He is one of just eight players to have won the UEFA Champions League with more than one club (Ajax in 1995 and Manchester United in 2008).
• Van der Sar saved three consecutive penalties in the 2007 FA Community Shield shoot-out against Chelsea.