But nailing the fundamentals - proper positioning, handling and footwork - helps you become a goalkeeper who is able to prepare for the future, rather than reacting to the present. We often think of goalkeepers as reactive, since they are usually responding to the actions of the attackers in front of them. So how exactly did Van der Sar manage such sustained greatness? It’s all down to his superior fundamentals and the proactive style of play that he mastered over the years. ![]() Consistency is one of those qualities that is easy to overlook until it is suddenly lacking, and it’s one of the hardest things to accomplish for any goalkeeper. Goalkeepers are generally judged more harshly for their failures than they are praised for their successes. All of those titles and accolades might make for tedious reading, but that just speaks to the incredible longevity and consistency he was able to achieve across his 21-year professional career. Individually, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year three times, and won both the Premier League Golden Glove and UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2009. In his six seasons at Old Trafford, he won four Premier League titles, three League Cups, and a second Champions League trophy in 2007-08. Few would have ever predicted that Van der Sar’s signing would be the answer to all of United’s problems in between the posts and prove pivotal as they reasserted their dominance over European football in the mid- to late-2000s.Īt United, Van der Sar’s past glories were quick to return as he rediscovered the form that made him one of the best goalkeepers in the world with Ajax, where he won four Eredivisie titles, a UEFA Cup and the 1994-95 Champions League. He was seen as a one or two-season placeholder to allow United the time to develop their talented young goalkeepers - notably 22-year-old Ben Foster, who they had just purchased from Stoke City. Although the Dutchman was a decorated player who had spent nearly a decade with Ajax followed by a brief spell with Juventus, he appeared to be a man at the tail end of his career rather than a long-term solution. In 2005, Ferguson raised eyebrows when he purchased a 34-year-old Edwin van der Sar from Fulham for £2 million. ![]() Though United did win three league titles and one FA Cup in the six years that followed, not one of the 10 goalkeepers who tried to fill Schmeichel’s gloves came close to making a similar impact. Following his departure, it was always going to be a difficult task for Sir Alex Ferguson to find a suitable replacement for a goalkeeper of Schmeichel’s stature. He won five league titles in eight years and bowed out after a final appearance at the Nou Camp, lifting the Champions League trophy to complete the historic treble. When Peter Schmeichel decided to leave Manchester United for Sporting Lisbon in 1999, he left as a club legend and one of the best goalkeepers the Premier League ever had. You can read Oliver Kay’s introduction to the series here. You might not agree with their choices, you won’t agree with the order (they didn’t), but we hope you’ll enjoy their stories. Running each day until the new season begins, The Premier League 60 is designed to reflect and honour the greatest players to have graced and illuminated the English top flight in the modern era, as voted for by our writers.
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