Edwin van der Sar has told FourFourTwo his save to settle the 2008 Champions League Final wasn't down to luck.
The Dutch shot-stopper dived to his right to repel Nicolas Anelka's kick in Moscow, as Manchester United beat Chelsea after a 1-1 draw at the Luzhniki Stadium.
“I remember studying a lot of Chelsea’s penalties on DVD before the match," he explains. "So, for example, I think I probably analysed about 40 that Frank Lampard had taken in the past. I had made plenty of notes and noticed that Nicolas Anelka would almost always take his penalties to the goalkeeper’s right.
I analysed about 40 that Frank Lampard had taken. I made plenty of notes and noticed Anelka would almost always take his to the keeper’s right
“Later on, I heard that Chelsea had also done their homework on me and learned that I usually dived to my right. So I think their players were told to shoot to my left, which most of them did [they all did, bar Anelka]. I’d anticipated Anelka would shoot to the other side, and thankfully that is what happened.”
Victory secured a second European Cup winner's medal for the goalkeeper, having been part of the Ajax side that overcame Milan 1-0 in 1995's Vienna showpiece.
I don’t think I’ll ever experience a more ecstatic moment than when I realised we’d just won the Champions League final and noticed all my team-mates running towards me. It was the highlight of my whole career
But he is no doubt that this was the greatest feeling of his career which stretched more than three decades in as many countries.
“After I had pushed away Anelka’s penalty, I feel like I was separated from the world for a couple of seconds," Van der Sar says.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
“I don’t think I’ll ever experience a more ecstatic moment than when I realised we’d just won the Champions League final and noticed all my team-mates running towards me. It was the highlight of my whole career.”
Words Joshua Jones; Interview Arthur Renard
Read the full interview with Edwin van der Sar in the November 2017 issue of FourFourTwo magazine, which focuses on Zinedine Zidane's quest for domination after leading Real Madrid to back-to-back Champions League triumphs. Also this month, we go behind the scenes at the FIFA Interactive World Cup to find out just how serious video games have got, speak to Huddersfield manager David Wagner about the Terriers' miraculous return to the top flight and drinking games with his best bud Jurgen Klopp, learn about the evolution of fan tribes, visit Ireland to watch a Scottish Challenge Cup tie, hear from Kaka about why he turned down Manchester City in 2009, and get clued up about Expected Goals. Order a copy here, and then subscribe!
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.
