Edwin Van Der Sar
About
Edwin has had a stellar career at both club and international level. He has won several awards and received numerous accolades throughout his distinguished career. He was also the goalkeeper in the last four Manchester United title-
Former Dutch International footballer Edwin Van Der Sar was born on the 29th of October, 1970. A huge presence as a goalkeeper for the club sides; Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United, he is also the most capped player in the Netherlands national team’s history with 130 caps.
He started his senior career with dutch dynamos Ajax, and is considered to be a member of the golden generation of players at the club. He remained there for nine years before moving to Italian club Juventus and then to England, first to Fulham and then to Manchester United.
Van der Sar has won several honours, including Best European Goalkeeper in 1995 and 2009, and UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year in 2009. In the 2008–09 season he set the world league clean sheet record by not conceding a single goal for 1,311 minutes. A true professional he continued to play football into his 40s becomming the oldest player to appear in the UEFA Champions League Final (40 years and 211 days), and the oldest player to win the Premier League (40 years and 205 days).
On 3 August 2011, a testimonial match was played at the Amsterdam Arena in honour of Van der Sar. The match featured the goalkeeper’s “dream team”, including former team-mates Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, and Paul Scholes, with Alex Ferguson as the manager. The income generated by the match was to be donated to two charities (Make a Wish Foundation and Laureaus), it generated so much money, however, that Van der Sar announced afterwards that he would be starting his own charitable foundation to spread the money.
One of the most respected figures in footballing history, Edwin is in demand as an after dinner speaker and event host.