![]() ![]() Finland's Jari Litmanen was only team-mates with van der Sar at Ajax but was an integral part of that team, so still racked up enough mutual appearances to make the XI, despite not having international caps to boost his total like the rest of the Ajax representatives. Up front in our nominal 4-4-2 system we have quality galore. ![]() The fourth cog in the midfield wheel is our own Paul Scholes (imagine how well he and Davids would have complemented each other in the middle!) who of course played in a winning Champions League final of his own with van der Sar, against Chelsea in Moscow in 2008. The third part of the Dutch midfield contingent, in the centre, is Edgar 'the Pitbull' Davids.Īll three of these players, plus the two Dutch defenders mentioned already, were part of the superb young Ajax team of the mid-1990s under Louis van Gaal, and all started alongside Edwin in the famous 1995 Champions League final victory over AC Milan. On the other flank is speedy winger Marc Overmars, who United fans will remember best as part of the Arsenal side that fought so fiercely against United during the latter half of the 1990s. On the right of midfield, Ronald de Boer joins his twin Frank in the side, and in fact is next in line after his brother when it comes to number of matches played alongside Edwin overall. Van der Sar's Dutch connections dominate the midfield, but there is room for some Reds royalty as well. Ronald de Boer (286), Paul Scholes (175), Edgar Davids (240), Marc Overmars (223) Making up the back four is possibly a surprise package in John O'Shea, whose versatility earns him the right-back berth ahead of Dutchman Michael Reiziger, a specialist in that position but a fair way behind big John with 152 matches alongside van der Sar. He is partnered by Rio Ferdinand, who featured in a considerable 79% of the matches that van der Sar played for the Reds, as part of a formidable defence that helped Edwin set a world record for the most consecutive minutes played by a keeper in league football without conceding a goal (1,311 minutes). The versatile Frank de Boer slots in at left-back (though it was at centre-back that he later established himself) and holds the distinction of being the player who most frequently played alongside Edwin, while Danny Blind, father of ex-Red Daley, is in the middle. With Ajax being the club van der Sar played the longest and most times for, and given that he earned a whopping 130 international caps for the Netherlands, there's a distinct Dutch feel to Edwin's team-mates XI, which shows itself with two out of his back four being colleagues at both Ajax and for Holland. He is also the second-highest capped Netherlands player of all-time with 130 international appearances.John O'Shea (186), Rio Ferdinand (207), Danny Blind (247), Frank de Boer (344) Van der Sar returned to Ajax in 2012 as director of marketing before being promoted four years later to CEO. He went on to lift the European Cup again in 2008 with Manchester United after spells at Juventus and Fulham. Regarded as one of the world's all-time best goalkeepers, Van der Sar played for Ajax from 1990-1999, winning the Champions League in 1995. His resignation came on the back of the worst season in 14 years for the top Dutch club which finished third in the Eredivisie. Van der Sar announced in May that he was quitting as Ajax chief executive after “an incredibly tough period” of more than a decade at the helm of the Amsterdam powerhouse. Everyone at Ajax wishes Edwin a speedy recovery. “Once there is more concrete information, an update will follow. He’s currently in hospital in the intensive care unit and is in a stable condition,“ Ajax said on Twitter. “Edwin van der Sar has had bleeding around his brain. The 52-year-old, who played for Ajax and then Manchester United, was on holiday on a Croatian island when he fell ill, Dutch public broadcaster NOS said. THE HAGUE: Former Netherlands goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is in intensive care in hospital after suffering a brain haemorrhage, his ex-club Ajax said on Friday.
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