JUST FOR FUN

Edwin van der Sar was one of Holland’s most loyal soldiers. He said his farewells before the Hungary match (6-1) but his goodbye was overshadowed by the temporary goodbye of Arjen Robben. The permanent retirement of Sar had to make way of a week’s worth of setback for the Boy Wonder from Bedum. Our record international vs the Best Football Player on the Planet “to be”.



Edwin van der Sar was the Peter Pan-like substitute goalie behind Stanley Menzo. JC’s favorite was replaced by Sar after Menzo did some bad volleyballing against Auxerre. Sar replaced De Goey in Oranje, after the Feyenoord goalie was beaten by the Branco free-kick at the World Cup 1994.

And Van der Sar never looked back. He did make his debut in the lost international game away against Belarus, but a screw up by the Czech Republic on the same night meant that that game would merely be a footnote in Van der Sar’s career.

His best memories? The World Cup 1998, without a doubt. “The whole vibe, the atmosphere in the group, that Marseille venue in the semis against Brazil. Half the stadium was yellow, the other half orange. It was a high point and a low point, we did lose that game, but the whole tournament was amazing,” reminiscences the Man United goalie.

Edwin regrets never to have had his best saves for Oranje. “I will need to live with the fact that I never had the ultimate save for Oranje, like I had for Man United in the CL finales.” The Sweden penalty series than? At the EC2004? “No, those weren’t enough to win us silverware. We only reached the semis. But still…I can be relatively happy with the results with Oranje.”

Van der Sar will leave for a summer holiday for Spain. “I’m not sure if we have a tv in our holiday home. Otherwise I’ll go to a pub or a bar somewhere. And I might put something orange in my suitcase after all.”

Didn’t you consider – even once – to say: I’ll come along?
“Haha! And announce it right now. The day the group leaves for South Africa. Nah…your name is being mentioned because you play at a high level still, but no….my time has been. It was great. The EC 2008 was tremendous. Our group games were very good. I’m satisfied with my last tournament. It was a shame to be ousted in the quarters, but I’ll cherish the good memories.”

Talking about the World Cup 1998, did you ever think “Pierre should have been awarded a penalty…”
“I never really….no…. I read about it. But I guess when you actually retire and have time to look back at your career, than yes… I do think you’ll look at games with that “what if” feeling… But on the whole, I try to be thankful for what we achieved.”

Van der Sar was awarded a golden scale and remained on the pitch to enjoy the national anthem. He also posed for the group photo with the team, between skipper Gio and successor Stekelenburg. Van der Sar thanked the fans for the wonderful support through the years and a special word of thanks from his wife. The supporters were there for her when she fell ill, he said, and she’s happy to confirm that everything is going well now. “See you around,” the 130-capped ex-skipper said, before he waved and walked off the pitch.