Manchester United’s Edwin van der Sar determined not to lose final game of career

Edwin van der Sar – Manchester United (Getty Images)

Related Links

Teams

Players

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has admitted the memory of losing lasts longer than winning as he prepares to play the final game of his career against Barcelona in Saturday’s Champions League final.

The Dutchman, who will be playing his fifth European Cup final, says that such losses as the one suffered by United against the same opposition in the 2009 showpiece help to spur players on.

He told The Daily Mail: “You do think more about things you lose than what you win.

“When you have won your medal goes into the cupboard or the safe in the bank. But when you lose, you know something has slipped through your fingers. It makes you more determined.”

Van der Sar is also thankful to be playing at the highest level again after Sir Alex Ferguson brought him to United on the back of four years at Fulham.

He continued: “I played a few years at Fulham and remember watching Chelsea’s Champions League matches against Bayern Munich and Barcelona and thinking it would be great to be playing those kind of games again.

“Thankfully I have managed to do that at United and it is nice that my final match should be on an occasion such as this.”

The goalkeeper acknowledges however that the sentimentality of the event will be overshadowed if United under-perform as they did in 2009.

“You hope to bring your ‘A’ game to the final,” he continued.

“For that you need everything, saves, communication skills, experience and motivation skills. It must all go together to make sure you defend well.

“In that sense, preparation is the same as if you were playing Wigan. The difference is in the intensity because nothing beats this game.”

Our  provides the best breaking news online and our  football fan community is unmatched worldwide. Never miss a thing again!