Van der Sar: A game too far for Man United
Reuters - Saturday 28 May 2011, 23:51
LONDON - Instead of ending his career on
the high note he craved, Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van
der Sar was left to reflect on the mistakes in his team's 3-1
defeat by a brilliant Barcelona on Saturday.
The Spanish champions won the Champions League for the third
time in six seasons, and beat United for the second time in
three, as Van der Sar's glittering career ended in defeat and
three goals in the back of his net.
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"We made one or two mistakes, and they punish you," he said.
"It was one game too many for us I think. It's not nice to
lose of course but they had the better chances.
"I don't know if I could have prevented (Lionel) Messi's
goal. I thought I was positioned well but I think (David) Villa
was blocking my sight. Messi tends to curl it to the far post
and he just clipped it around Villa.
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"They are very good. We started well in the first 15
minutes, same as we did (against Barca in the 2009 final in) in
Rome, and you just have to try and score the first goal but we
didn't do that."
Barcelona took the lead when Pedro scored after 27 minutes
with a wide open part of the goal to aim at Van der Sar's left,
and went back in front after Wayne Rooney's equaliser when Messi
scored after 54 minutes with a shot that curled away from him,
again to his left.
Although he kept Barca at bay with one or two important
saves, he was powerless to stop David Villa making it 3-1 after
69 minutes with a lofted curling shot, but kept the score down
with more saves before the end.
'FANTASTIC CAREER'
Despite the disappointment, Van der Sar has had a great
career with the Netherlands, Ajax Amsterdam, Juventus and
Fulham, moving to Manchester United in 2005 and playing a key
part in United's success since then including winning the
Premier League title earlier this month.
"It's not always given that your career ends on a good note
but I thank everybody for the memories and we'll see each other
again," he said.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, still seeking to finalise the
Dutchman's replacement next season, said: "Edwin has been a
fantastic servant to Manchester United, we wish him well.
"He's had a fantastic career and he's had that great career
with tremendous honour and I think that's the thing that stands
out about him."
Van der Sar was not the only one of United's old guard to
have a disappointing night as Ryan Giggs, 37, the only survivor
from their 1999 Champions League winning team, was peripheral to
much of the action.
Although he helped set up Rooney's goal, he lacked his usual
spark and passing accuracy and for the first time in many
matches, gave a lacklustre performance.
Paul Scholes, 36, who could yet retire before the start of
next season, came on for the last 13 minutes when United were
already well beaten and made little impact.
Instead the night belonged to Barcelona and their
23-year-old genius Lionel Messi, who ended the evening on a high - with many more nights of glory likely in the years to come.