Edwin van der Sar will always be remembered among Manchester United supporters for his Champions League winning penalty save in 2008.
Chelsea fans won’t be able to forget it either.
Van der Sar sent a message over the weekend commemorating 15 years since his transfer to Old Trafford in 2005.
He wished United luck on the season’s restart, and admitted he wished he signed for the Red Devils even earlier in his career.
Fergie’s error
Sir Alex Ferguson admitted himself in his autobiography that he also regretted not signing Van der Sar as Peter Schmeichel’s replacement after the Great Dane left United.
He said, as serialised in The Mirror: “We had a bad period trying to replace Peter Schmeichel .It’s maybe not my strong point.
“It wasn’t until we brought in Edwin that we got back to the level we had with Peter.
“Edwin was a great buy for us, absolutely brilliant. Looking back, I just wish we’d got him when Peter decided to leave.”
Instead United messed around with a combination of Mark Bosnich, Massimo Taibi, Fabian Barthez, Tim Howard and Roy Carroll before buying Van der Sar, who had joined Fulham during this time.
Fergie learned his lesson, replacing Van der Sar with David de Gea, and now a succession plan is even in place for the Spaniard.
Dean Henderson is waiting in the wings, giving United the luxury of not even having to use the transfer market to buy a new goalkeeper.
- Dan Gore’s electric Man Utd cameo pushes him to the forefront of Michael Carrick’s midfield gauntlet
- Three things Michael Carrick will have learned from Andrey Santos’ Man Utd debut, key test passed
- I backed Jacob Devaney to break through for Man Utd this summer, Michael Carrick now approves
- Man Utd have a sneaky breakout contender in brilliant wonderkid after Wrexham game, he’s unique
- Donald Trump will be at World Cup final, but US president’s Man Utd ‘connection’ is deeper than some might think
- Analysing how Marcus Rashford performed in England’s 6-4 win over France
- Lisandro Martinez has never taken penalty in his whole career, but this is what he could do in World Cup final
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos have once again been vindicated with major Man Utd call, despite Wrexham defeat
- 14 things I liked and disliked from Man Utd vs Wrexham pre-season opener
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
