Fulham Snap Up Van Der Sar
Tuesday 31st July 2001
Fulham have agreed a four-year deal with Edwin van der Sar and will sign the Juventus goalkeeper on Wednesday subject to a medical. "His ability is proven at the highest level and he will be a great asset to the squad," said coach Jean Tigana.
The fee has yet to be confirmed, but the �10 million-rated Dutchman's arrival in west London confirms the lofty ambitions of Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed.
Van der Sar said: �I am happy and relieved to have signed for Fulham. The plans that they presented to me were impressive and I especially like the ambition the club has.
"I spoke with the manager and we had a good conversation about the way he wants to play. Jean Tigana wants to go to the top with Fulham and he proved he can do that with Monaco. I like that ambition.
"At Ajax and Juventus I have played with top teams, now I want to use my experience to reach the same goal with Fulham.�
Van der Sar has won 44 caps for Holland, but suffered criticism from Juve fans last season after his dismissal in a 3-1 defeat at Panathinaikos in November. The result effectively sealed the Bianconeri's exit from the Champions' League.
He then saw the club splash out �33 million on Italy No 1 Gianluigi Buffon, despite conceding fewer goals than any other first-choice goalkeeper in Serie A.
Agent Rob Jansen claimed recently that Van der Sar had turned down Barcelona and was not interested in joining Liverpool. "Edwin has offers from three other top clubs, but it doesn't seem sensible to reveal their names," he added.
Van der Sar started his career with amateur club Noorwijk and joined Ajax in 1989. It took him four years to break into the first team, but once there his position was never in doubt.
He was in the Holland squad for the 1994 World Cup and won his first cap in 1995. By Euro 96, he was the national side's No 1 and has remained so ever since.
Van der Sar won the Champions' League in 1995, keeping a clean sheet in the final as Ajax beat AC Milan 1-0. He left the Netherlands for Juventus in 1999 and enjoyed a fine first season, before matters took a turn for the worse.
