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'Ice Rabbit' fears no one in goal
Netherlands goalkeeper ready for Batistuta, Argentina
Posted: Friday July 03, 1998 11:21 AM
Special from L'Equipe, the French sports daily PARIS (L'Equipe)
-- At 6-foot-6, Edwin Van der Sar is the World Cup's tallest goalkeeper,
but also one of the best. "If you look at Van der Sar, you realize he's
one of the best in the world, which gives a team an invaluable asset to
start building its defense," Johan Cruyff said. To Pim Doesburg, who was
Feyenoord's goalie and Jongbloed's backup during the 1978 World Cup, and is
in charge of the Netherlands
' goalkeepers, Van der Sar is unique. "Edwin plays a lot with his feet, and
it makes him unique. He's part of the team's game. He never shoots a ball
in the stands, he always tries to make a clean shot. Opposing forwards
rarely press him because they know it's a waste of time, and his teammates
totally trust him because they're sure they're going to get a clean pass.
This makes him one of the best in the world," he said. Van der Sar, who
was born in Voorhout, a small town close to Noordwijk aan Zee, on the
coast, in October of 1970, couldn't having imagined when he was a kid that
he'd be sitting on top of the world in the summer of 1998. He played
amateur soccer for the local team, but school was a priority, because he
wanted to become a store manager, like his uncle, who'd played for
Volendam. Only luck and favorable circumstances allowed him to get this
far. Scouted by Ajax, he ended up in Amsterdam after a conclusive
tryout. At 20, he became Stanley Menzo's backup, and should have had to
wait and learn from what he could observe. But it wasn't long before he
started playing. A UEFA Cup quarterfinal match in March of 1993 proved
fatal for the Ajax goalie from Surinam. Two weeks after Auxerre scored four
goals against Menzo, coach Louis Van Gaal started Van der Sar. Ajax won the
match and Van der Sar won his spot for good.
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Van der Sar has come a long way from the boy who wanted to be a store manager (AP) |
Europe discovered Van der
Sar, whom Doesburg describes as "a sober and efficient goalie who isn't as
spectacular as José-Luis Chilavert or Jorge Campos," at the same time as
Ajax fans and players did. "Sometimes I've described as a ball-stopping
machine," Van der Sar explained. "And it's true that compared to Menzo, I
am not spectacular or flashy. I do what I need to do, not more. Argentina's
Carlos Roa is a warm-blooded artist, me, I'm a cold-blooded man. I'm not
here for the show, but to be efficient." And he was efficient enough to
get a spot on the national team after a Champions League title. That was in
1995, and Ed de Goey, who'd been a rock for the Netherlands so far, was
coming out of a difficult Spring. After a loss to Czechoslovakia, the
Feyenoord Rotterdam goalie, who now plays for Chelsea, was replaced by Van
der Sar. Despite a surprising 0-1 loss to Belarus in June, Van der Sar
stayed in the goal for the Netherlands. Ed de Goey only played in a couple
friendly matches for the Netherlands after that, and now is his backup. "I
was lucky," Van der Sar said. "I benefited from the fact that the national
team plays like Ajax does. I didn't have to adapt to a new style of play.
The way I do things, my active participation in the game, my passes'
accuracy, everything I learned at Ajax was useful to me." At 28 now and
after almost 30 matches for the Netherlands, Van der Sar rarely looses his
cool. When an English journalist asked him what made it possible for him to
be so quiet so close to the quarterfinal match against Argentina, he
answered, "just look outside the window," pointing out the magnificent view
of the French Riviera. "Being quiet is a quality for goalies. We can't make
any mistakes. We have to stay focused. I'm the goalkeeper for a big team, a
big club, too, and I'm used to facing these situations. But if I can remain
the least used goalie of the World Cup, it will be fine by me," he added.
"Ice Rabbit," as he's called in the Netherlands, watched the tape of
Argentina's victory against England. He
studied the free kicks and the penalty shots, and he's not afraid. "I'm not
worried, but focused. I respect Argentina, I respect Batistuta, but I've
seen a lot of great forwards, in my career, and I'm not impressed by them.
I like competing, important matches, and I'm feeling better and better,"
Van der Sar said.
And although he reckoned he has some difficulty in
one-on-one situations "because you know that the adversary has to do the
first move or you're dead," Van der Sar doesn't fear penalty shots. "I'm
the best," he said, laughing. And maybe he's right.
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