Edwin van der Sar to retire at end of season

[os5889]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/9377719.stm

Man Utd's Edwin van der Sar to retire at end of season 

Van der Sar moved to Old Trafford from Fulham in 2005

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar will retire from football at the end of this season.

The 40-year-old former Netherlands international moved to Old Trafford from Fulham in 2005.

Van der Sar has made 245 appearances for the Red Devils and helped them to win three Premier League titles and the 2008 Champions League.

"It is now time to pay attention to my family," he told the website of his management agency.

Van der Sar admitted he had been contemplating quitting the game since his wife, Annemarie, collapsed with a brain haemorrhage in December 2009.

My age played no role. I am 40 years old, but I still feel fit

Edwin van der Sar
"I cannot really identify a time when it [the decision] happened," said the former Ajax and Juventus man. "Let's just say that it was playing on my mind from the moment Annemarie had her stroke.

"She has fought back from it. We decided on another year in England and thus to stay at Manchester United.

"But, once engaged in the season, the thought of saying goodbye started to gnaw a bit more emphatically."

Van der Sar admitted it had been a difficult decision to make, but ultimately the correct one.

"One minute you're out. The next, you question it again," he added on www.sport-promotion.nl. "I thought about stopping, maybe a year ago.

"It is a difficult process. After a defeat, I thought differently than after playing a few good games in a row.

"My age played no role. I am 40 years old but I still feel fit.

"And then the decision came suddenly. Do not ask me how or why, but suddenly you know. That was sufficient.

"The time has come to devote greater attention to my family - although they have never complained. Everyone in the family has indeed always had to focus on me, but we have also had a lot in return."

United goalkeeping coach Eric Steele commented that Van der Sar will go down alongside former Red Devil Peter Schmeichel as one of the club's greats following his decisive penalty save from Nicolas Anelka in the Champions League shootout against Chelsea in 2008.

"He has been a fantastic servant," Steele told Radio Manchester. "I was very lucky. I worked alongside Peter Schmeichel at Villa and I worked with Edwin for two and a half years.

"That penalty save in Moscow has elevated Edwin alongside Peter."

The 2008 Champions League crown is one of six major club trophies Van der Sar has won during his time with United.

606: DEBATE
what a fantastic keeper he is. I guess he was the nearest to Peter Schmeichel in skill

hydemainecoms
He also won a hat-trick of back-to-back Premier League titles with the club between 2007 and 2009, the 2006 League Cup and the 2008 Fifa Club World Cup.

He began his career with Ajax in his native Netherlands and enjoyed nearly a decade of success, winning four Eredivisie titles and three Dutch cups in addition to winning the Uefa Cup in 1992 and the Champions League in 1995.

He then spent two years at Italian club Juventus before moving to Fulham in 2001, and then to United four years later.

Van der Sar called time on his international career after Euro 2008 before returning briefly to help out Oranje coach Bert van Marwijk in two 2010 World Cup qualifiers a few months later, before retiring for good with a Dutch record 130 caps to his name.

United's Polish keeper Thomas Kuszczak, who has been at the club since 2007, recently declared his desire to succeed Van der Sar as the club's number one.

However, United have been linked to several keepers and the club signed Denmark international keeper Anders Lindegaard from Norwegian club Aalesund in November last year while Ben Amos, 20, went on loan to Oldham until the end of the season.

[The Equalizer]

Legend. He's had one heck of a good career, the highlight of which involved my ex girlfriend's right breast.

[BalDrick]

Proper decent player and, by all accounts, proper decent bloke to boot.

[finnster01]

Oooohhh, Ahhhhh, Vann Dah Sah.
Top bloke but not Fulham legend.

[BestOfBrede]

Oh No - Ol Red Nose will be sniffing around again!

[SmithyFFC]

Great player, great man, great career  :045: :clap_hands:

[sipwell]

Finally :P

[LBNo11]

...Van Der Sar, Louis Saha, Chris Smalling, sir red nose has tried for years to become the Fulham of the north...

[Pata]

Should go down as one of the first "modern" sweeper-goalkeepers. Top 'keeper. Great career.

[The Doctor]

And the very best of luck to him.  He's earned a nice long break.

I'll never forget the day he signed for us.  I thought my Dad was winding me up when he told me.  Once Ceefax had verified the news I was straight on the phone to a mate and we spent about half an hour alternately laughing hysterically and asking each other "Why's he done that?!".  The one world class signing that has knocked me sideways.

And of course, who could forget that game at Highbury?  Or the Alamo as me and my mates call it.  EVDS stood single-handedly between us and the thrashing of a lifetime to earn FFC a point.  If memory serves, Steed had a chance to win it late on but that's another story...

Two penalty saves from Angel vs Villa is another stand-out memory.  Teed it up nicely for Lee Clark to equalise in the last minute.

Thanks for the top-notch service, Edwin.  Enjoy the rest of the season (excepting 9th April!) and best of luck for the future

[CULTUREVULTURE]

Quality keeper, a privilege to see him play for Fulham.

[HatterDon]

Legend. He's had one heck of a good career, the highlight of which involved my ex girlfriend's right breast.

Okay, perhaps the rest of you don't need to hear "the rest of the story," but I certainly do.

[finnster01]

Legend. He's had one heck of a good career, the highlight of which involved my ex girlfriend's right breast.

Okay, perhaps the rest of you don't need to hear "the rest of the story," but I certainly do.

I second Mr Hatter. There is a story here that surely needs to be told... :045:

[cebu]

Legend. He's had one heck of a good career, the highlight of which involved my ex girlfriend's right breast.

Okay, perhaps the rest of you don't need to hear "the rest of the story," but I certainly do.

I second Mr Hatter. There is a story here that surely needs to be told... :045:

Was he making a one-handed save by chance?