Edwin Van Der Sar believes Manchester United have improved in two years because they kept Barcelona quiet for 20 minutes!
The Dutchman tried to bring some levity to an otherwise depressing day for everyone connected to the Red Devils as he looked back on their previous defeat to Barca in the 2009 final. Then they opened brightly too before losing 2-0.
Van der Sar said: "It took them 20 minutes to get into the game, so we doubled that from Rome!"
It was not the farewell match that the 40-year-old goalkeeper was hoping for as he now retires from football. A game he knows he will find tough to live without.
He said: "It will be very hard probably. It is not going to be easy. I never said that."
Van der Sar tried to be philosophical about the events at Wembley as United were taken apart going down 3-1.
He was wrong-footed for the first goal, should have done better with the second - which was hardly planted into a corner - but had no chance with the third. He said: "It would have been great to go out on a win but it didn't happen. We are disappointed, but hey that's life, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.
Van der Sar will now enjoy a much slower pace of life after being in football's fast lane for two decades. His career saw him win two Champions League medals with Ajax in 1995 and United in 2008 against Chelsea.
He said: "Yes 2008, will be a highlight for me - making a big save against Nicolas Anelka in the penalty shoot-out. "I was hoping to make another one in this final but it wasn't to be."
Van der Sar, capped 130 times for Holland, stood by his decision to retire despite manager Alex Ferguson and his team-mates trying to get him to change his mind. He revealed: "It is the right time for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment