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Van der Sar: A quiet hero
Tom O'Brien
Manchester
Evening News
Thursday 26 May 2008
Edwin van der Sar emerged from
Moscow as Manchester United's Champions League final
hero, but the quiet goalkeeper isn't one for hogging
the limelight.
Unlike team-mates Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo,
whose every move is followed by the cameras, he is a
more reluctant superstar.
Born on October 29, 1970, in Voorhout, a small Dutch
town with a population of less than 15,000 known mostly
for its flower growing, he started his career as a teenager
at local amateur sides.
At 20, he moved to Ajax, making his debut in the senior
team in the 1990/91 season and helping the Amsterdam
side win the UEFA Cup and the Champions League, beating
AC Milan in Vienna.
Accolades
He also started to receive recognition for his performances
and was named Dutch goalkeeper of the year four times,
Dutch footballer of the year in 1998 and European goalkeeper
of the year in 1995, making his first appearance for
his country the same year.
He has since gone on to become Holland's most capped
footballer, playing 123 times.
The Dutchman met his wife, Anne-Marie van Kesteren,
in his brother's grocery store in Amsterdam. The couple
married quietly in May, 2006. The ceremony was a family
affair and former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy
was one of few footballers to attend.
The couple have two children, a son, Joe, and daughter,
Lynn. Van der Sar, 37, shuns the typical footballer's
lifestyle to pick up his children from school and help
them with their homework.
Memory
He was on the losing side in the Champions League final
in 1996 as Ajax lost on penalties to Juventus - a memory
that Wednesday night's victory in Russia will have gone
a long way to erasing.
In 1999, he signed for Juventus in a £5m deal.
He became the Italian giants' first foreign goalkeeper,
but just two seasons later joined Fulham and was voted
their player of the season in 2003/04.
In summer 2005, Sir Alex Ferguson made his move for
the goalkeeper, paying around £2m to bring Van
der Sar to Old Trafford.
Glazer
In the process, he became the first signing under Malcolm
Glazer's ownership of the club.
The Dutchman quickly established
himself as a favourite and called Wednesday's match-winning
penalty save from Nicolas Anelka the 'decisive moment'
of his career.
He's already thinking of the next competition as he
prepares to represent his country in the European Championships,
before retiring from international football.
But if Edwin van der Sar collects another medal, don't
expect the paparazzi to snap him out celebrating. He'll
probably go on holiday with his family and prepare for
another season determined to claim even more trophies
with United.
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