Edwin Gears Up For Group Of Death

08:22 - 2006-Jun-5 - comments {0} - post comment

Boss Praises Successful Signings

Park, who signed from PSV Eindhoven, played in all but four of United's Premiership matches in 2005/06, and was quickly regarded as a fans' favourite among the Old Trafford faithful.

Van der Sar, who the Reds signed from Fulham a year ago, kept an astonishing 25 clean sheets.

The United boss is currently looking to strengthen his squad again but, looking back on the debut seasons of last summer's captures, he is pleased with how they have settled.

"Ji-sung Park has been a revelation," the manager told United magazine.

"And we've been proved 100 per cent correct in our signing of van der Sar, in terms of his experience, personality, and his winning mentality."

"Without doubt those two signings have improved the team."

08:16 - 2006-Jun-2 - comments {0} - post comment

Van der Sar move under investigation

The £5 million sale of Edwin van der Sar to Fulham from Juventus in 2001 is one of 41 transfers being investigated by prosecutors as part of the growing scandal in Italian football.

Although there is no suggestion Fulham have done anything wrong, it is the first time a transfer involving an English club has been drawn into the corruption controversy engulfing Italy and centring on Juventus.

Public prosecutors in Turin yesterday ordered the seizure of documents concerning the 41 transfers, including Zinedine Zidane's £46 million world record move to Real Madrid from Juventus.

In addition 71 teams from Serie A down to amateur levels have also received requests for information from investigators probing the Turin club's transfer dealings to see if they entered lesser sums for the sale of players to avoid paying higher taxes.

Juventus' entire board resigned earlier this month along with general manager Luciano Moggi, who is being investigated for allegedly trying to influence referee appointments.

Meanwhile, Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was forced to break off from training for the World Cup to be questioned by investigators in Parma.

Buffon has been accused of betting huge sums on matches he was involved in - a practice which is against Italian law as well as the Italian FA's rules.

06:31 - 2006-May-31 - comments {0} - post comment

World-Cocu looking to end international days on a high

Throughout his long professional career, which started at AZ Alkmaar 16 years ago and has included spells at Vitesse Arnhem, PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona, Cocu has provided the necessary hidden power, or magic ingredient, in almost every team he has played for.

Because of his slight physical strength Cocu proved a late bloomer, making his debut for the Netherlands when he was 26 years old, six weeks before the European Championship finals in England in 1996.

Cocu became a regular choice under then national coach Guus Hiddink and will be taking part in his fifth, and final, major tournament in an orange shirt. He is retiring from the international team after the tournament.

Cocu is a versatile, left-footed midfielder, who can handle a defensive role as well as an attacking one.

He joined PSV for the first time in 1995 and left after three seasons and one title, moving to Barcelona for a six-year spell.

After the 2004 European Championship in Portugal, where he experienced his third consecutive semi-final exit with the Dutch team, he returned to his home-town club.

Along with coach Hiddink, Cocu is considered the architect behind PSV's successes over the last two seasons. 

In 2004-05 he formed a powerful midfield trio with Mark van Bommel and Johann Vogel and guided PSV to the Dutch Cup and League double, while their Champions League adventure ended on the away goal rule against AC Milan in the semi-final.

Surrounded by a handful of new midfielders, the 35-year-old again has had an impressive season with PSV retaining their title with relative ease.

Now all that remains to be achieved is improving his tally of caps from 95 to 100 or more. He would become the third Dutchman to do that after Frank de Boer and Edwin van der Sar.

Of course, that would just be the aperitif before the main prize if the Dutch do as well in the finals as some believe they can.

Despite all his successes at club level, the World Cup represents his last chance of winning an international trophy. In his silverware collection, a major international honour is still missing.

10:25 - 2006-May-24 - comments {0} - post comment

Three Keepers Vie To Be Edwin's Understudy

09:41 - 2006-May-19 - comments {0} - post comment

Edwin Is A Keeper - Stepney

04:15 - 2006-May-17 - comments {0} - post comment

Liverpool's Reina wins Premier League golden gloves award

Reina's performances put him ahead of Manchester United's Dutch keeper Edwin Van der Sar (18) and last year's winner Czech Petr Cech of champions Chelsea (17).

American Brad Friedel of Blackburn Rovers and German Jens Lehmanof Arsenal (both 16) completed the top five.

The 23-year-old Reina, who joined Liverpool last July from Villarreal for six million pounds, made 33 league appearances after replacing Jerzy Dudek as first choice.

Reina helped Liverpool reach the Champions League first knockout round, where they were eliminated by Benfica, and the FA Cup final, which they play against West Ham United on Saturday.

They also finished third in the Premier League with 82 points to secure a Champions League qualifying place.

"He (Reina) has used this season as a springboard on to the international scene and has seen off the challenge of some world class players to keep the most clean sheets," said Matt Appleby of Barclays, whose company makes the award.

Reina began his career with Barcelona and made his debut for the Catalan side aged 18. He was on the losing side against Liverpool in the 2001 UEFA Cup semi-final.

11:06 - 2006-May-11 - comments {0} - post comment

Man United loan keeper to Everton

10:49 - 2006-May-9 - comments {0} - post comment

Edwin Completes Unblemished League Campaign

The Dutch goalkeeper is only the fourth player to do start all league matches for the Reds in the Premiership. Gary Pallister was the last player to do it in 1994/95.

Pallister was also part of the defensive trio, alongside Steve Bruce and Peter Schmeichel, that started every Premiership match as United clinched their first league title in 26 years in 1992/93.

"My form has been ok," van der Sar says of his debut season. "There's always room for improvement, I think, but it has gone fine for me so far, 

Apart from one or two games here or there, everything has gone fine so far. We won the Carling Cup.

"But it has to be the start for myself and the younger guys and a restart for the players who have been here a long time to get more trophies in the next couple of years. It has to be the beginning of more success for United."

United secured the runners up spot in the Premiership with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Charlton on the final day of the season. The Dutchman was rarely called into action as he kept his 24th clean sheet of the season in all competitions.

The victory took United’s points total to 83, just one short of the tally in 1992/93, and equal to or better than achieved in the title-winning seasons 1996/97, 1998/99, 2000/01 and the Reds’ last success in 2002/03.

10:53 - 2006-May-8 - comments {0} - post comment

Edwin urges fans to rally round Reds

10:27 - 2006-May-2 - comments {0} - post comment

Ed to bury Boro boys

07:35 - 2006-May-1 - comments {0} - post comment

FROM LEMON... TO LEHMANN

HE has been ridiculed, belittled and made fun of.   He was called 'Lehmann the Lemon' for his comical blunders and madcap antics, particular in his first season with the Gunners.

But look who's having the last laugh now?

Jens Lehmann's career has come full circle.   

And after keeping a record of 10 consecutive clean sheets in the Champions League - smashing Edwin van der Sar's record of 658 unbeaten minutes back in his Ajax days - few would begrudge Lehmann the accolades that have come pouring in.

Arsenal captain Thierry Henry called him 'magnificent' while Sol Campbell congratulated Lehmann, saying: ''Jens is in fantastic form now.'

Germany coach Juergen Klinsmann thinks so, too.

Earlier this month, he picked Lehmann over Oliver Kahn to be Germany's No.1 for the World Cup, ending an almost two-year running battle between the two German shot-stoppers.

And just last week, Lehmann signed a one-year contract extension to his current Gunners deal which expires at the end of the season.

But how it could have been oh so different. He has never been the most popular footballer in England.

After his high-profile arrival from Borussia Dortmund in 2003, journalists loved making fun of his humourless and grumpy demeanour.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Lehmann had huge boots to fill - that of Arsenal legend David Seaman, who had been the undisputed No.1 at Highbury for well over a decade.

But Lehmann certainly did himself no favours.

Flashback to May 2004, when Arsenal won the Premiership title, beating Spurs at White Hart Lane.

As the ball ricocheted off the Arsenal bar, Lehmann grabbed Robbie Keane by the shoulders and pulled him into the back of the net.

Keane responded by pushing Lehmann, who comically fell to the ground. Keane scored the resulting penalty and Lehmann's mistake cost his side two points.

Although he won the Premiership title in his first season as Arsenal went unbeaten throughout, critics unanimously viewed Lehmann as the team's weakest link.

High-profile blunders continued in the the 2004 Champions League quarter-final loss to Chelsea.

Lehmann rushed off his goal-line only to miss the ball completely and let in Eidur Gudjohnsen through on goal.

In the return leg, Lehmann could only parry a speculative Claude Makelele shot straight to a delighted and somewhat baffled Frank Lampard.

Arsenal bowed out courtesy of a Wayne Bridge winner.

By the middle of the 2004-05 season, it was no surprise Lehmann was no longer automatic first-choice.

Spaniard Manuel Almunia had been recruited from Celta Vigo to relieve Lehmann.

As luck would have it, Almunia was none too reliable himself and that gave Lehmann a glimmer of hope again.

Slowly and surely, things started to come round for the German giant.

At the end of that season, Lehmann produced a Man-of-the-Match performance against Manchester United in the 2005 FA Cup final, making numerous saves to keep the score 0-0 after extra time, and then crucially saving Paul Scholes' shot in the penalty shootout, which Arsenal won 5-4.

Despite that, the Gunners' search for a new goalkeeper continued. Battling pre-season rumours that the arrival of Uruguayan hotshot Sebastien Viera would threaten his No. 1 spot, Lehmann kept his head down and worked hard.

By the Premiership kick-off in August, the Viera deal had fallen through. Then Lehmann truly came into his own.

This season, the 1.90m giant has been a rock in goal, behind a young and make-shift defence.

Confident, error-free and the voice of reason guiding the likes of the young Matthieu Flamini and Philippe Senderos in front of him.

So what sparked this sudden transformation?

Lehmann says the turning point came 18 months ago when he was dropped and left on the bench by Arsene Wenger in favour of Almunia.

His son broke down in tears as he feared they would have to leave London.

'It was 'do we go or stay here?',' Lehmann said.

'Our eldest child started to cry because he thought he'd have to leave London. So I made up my mind and decided, 'I'm going to stay and get to grips with things here'. I knew I had to up my game even further.'

With the Gunners now within touching distance of the Champions League trophy, and with the World Cup in Germany beckoning, things have never looked brighter for Lehmann.

What a remarkable turnaround it's been.

07:06 - 2006-Apr-28 - comments {0} - post comment

Jens the hero for defiant Gunners

THE most tense night in Arsenal's European cup history became the most joyous one. In winning a place in the Champions League final, Arsenal were eternally indebted to Jens Lehmann, whose late save from Juan Ramon Riquelme's penalty was the stuff of sporting heroics.

Lehmann endured missiles from the Spanish fans and attempts on goal throughout, but it was his save two minutes from time that guaranteed his place in Arsenal folklore.

When Gael Clichy was harshly adjudged to have brought down Guillermo Franco, the German keeper stepped fractionally off his line, stared down Riquelme, then parried away the Argentinian midfielder's spot-kick.

Lehmann was not alone in his defiance. Kolo Toure, on a mission to protect the aggregate lead given by his Highbury goal, was obstinacy personified at centre-half, coping admirably on the floor and in the air, making a vital stop from Diego Forlan late on, and compensating for an initially shaky Sol Campbell alongside him.

Gilberto Silva was also the model of commitment and zealousness in the tackle. But the hero was Lehmann, and as the final whistle signalled Arsenal's first visit to a European Cup final, all the players sprinted to congratulate their German saviour, who had kept their dream alive.

"I felt frankly that it [the penalty] looked a generous decision but I thought to myself if it was our year Jens would save it," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. "I knew he wouldn't be beaten easily. He has a strong character and the pressure and fatigue clearly told on Riquelme.

"I'm pleased when a guy shows professionalism and a winning attitude. When a guy like Riquelme is under pressure he just wants to hit the target and not put it in the corner and Jens guessed right."

Nerves had raided Arsenal's body from the opening whistle, their pulses racing even faster when the ball was in the clever control of Riquelme. Campbell, hesitant on his return to the fray, endured a torrid evening. How Arsenal reached half-time without conceding a goal was a Madrigal mystery. Franco, preferred to Jose Mari in attack, twice wasted glorious chances.

Along with Gilberto, Toure was superb in manning the barricades. The pair were working overtime to deal with Riquelme and Juan Pablo Sorin. Back came Villarreal again, forcing Arsenal to defend deeper and deeper. They could almost feel the hot breath of the wonderful Villarreal fans on their necks.

One landmark was reached within four minutes, the outstanding Lehmann passing the Champions League goalkeeping record of 668 unbeaten minutes set by Edwin van der Sar  back in his Ajax days. But the yellow tide kept flowing, foundering only on three magnificent rocks called Gilberto, Toure and Lehmann. The Gunners were under siege. Even Thierry Henry tracked, and then screamed at his team to push forward.

Arsenal's night of living dangerously continued, particularly with Campbell lacking an aerial presence. Franco, meeting Javi Venta's magnificent cross, headed wide, then missed from close range.

10:22 - 2006-Apr-26 - comments {0} - post comment

HUNTELAAR GETS NOD OVER MAKAAY

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar looks increasingly likely to fire his way into the Holland World Cup squad after he pipped Roy Makaay to a place in the 33-man preliminary group announced today.

Holland coach Marco van Basten must trim 10 men from the party when his eventual 23 players for the World Cup are named.

Freescoring striker Huntelaar, who has been called into the Dutch squad before but has yet to play for the Oranje, has been included after a prolific season which has seen him net more than 40 goals in all competitions for Heerenveen and current club Ajax.

Van Basten had already indicated that the 22-year-old Huntelaar could stake a late claim for a berth and it is notable that Bayern Munich forward Makaay has been omitted.

Feyenoord custodian Patrick Lodewijks is one of four goalkeepers named and will compete against Manchester United's Edwin van der Sar, Henk Timmer and Maarten Stekelenburgfor what is likely to be three berths in the final squad.

Liverpool defender Jan Kromkamp also gets the nod for Holland who have been drawn with Argentina, the Ivory Coast and Serbia and Montenegro in Group C, considered by many to be the competition's "Group of Death".

Aston Villa defender Wilfred Bouma, midfielders George Boateng (Middlesbrough), Edgar Davids (Tottenham) and Arjen Robben (Chelsea), and strikers Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United) and Robin van Persie (Arsenal) are also in the squad.

11:22 - 2006-Apr-24 - comments {0} - post comment

Cocu retires from international football after WC

10:54 - 2006-Apr-12 - comments {0} - post comment

Man Utd v Arsenal

Rooney controlled Mikael Silvestre's brilliant cross before shooting past Jens Lehmann and later crossed for Park to score from close range.

Lehmann had superbly saved from Rooney twice before his goal, while Kolo Toure appeared to divert a strike from the forward on to the post with his hand.

United keeper Edwin van der Sar made good saves from Robin van Persie.

The result means Sir Alex Ferguson's team move back to within seven points of Chelsea, who defeated West Ham 4-1 earlier on Sunday.

United have five games left to catch the reigning champions, including a match at Stamford Bridge against Jose Mourinho's team.

But the victory over Arsenal means United are assured of finishing in the top four - and thus qualifying for next seaon's Champions League.

For Arsenal, though, their ninth away defeat in the Premiership this season leaves them five points behind north London rivals Tottenham in the race for fourth place.

It could have been different for Arsene Wenger's team if they had converted one of their early chances - in a match played in front of a Premiership record crowd of 70,908.

Despite relegating Thierry Henry to the bench Arsenal made the early running. Gary Neville made a superb challenge to deny Emmanuel Adebayor after he had been played through by Alexander Hleb and Van der Sar saved from Van Persie.

It took United a while to settle but eventually they started to threaten, Lehmann punching clear a Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick and then making two superb saves to deny Rooney.

Each time Rooney shot across Lehmann, the first from 20 yards and the second considerably closer but from a tighter angle.

Arsenal looked to break quickly and Van der Sar made a superb save low to his left to thwart Van Persie.

Van Nistelrooy, starting ahead of Louis Saha, started to assert his influence on the contest, shooting wide from a tight angle and forcing Lehmann into action with a header.

And it was a superb through ball from Van Nistelrooy that led to the major incident of the first half.

He played Rooney through and his team-mate took the ball around Lehmann before shooting goalwards.

Toure, struggling to regain his feet, appeared to handle as he dived to his right to try to stop Rooney's strike. The ball was deflected against the post but the incident went unnoticed by referee Graham Poll.

Rooney was not to be denied after the break - the 20-year-old smashing the ball past Lehmann after taking one touch to control Silvestre's cross.

Arsenal went in search of an equaliser, with Adebayor shooting narrowly over and Van Persie failing to convert Emmanuel Eboue's cross.

Eboue brilliantly eluded Rooney before cutting inside but his ball to Van Persie was struck firmly, making it difficult for his team-mate to make a decisive contact.

Arsenal introduced Henry with 18 minutes left but Park's goal took the match beyond the away team.

07:07 - 2006-Apr-10 - comments {0} - post comment

Henry pointing way to Paris prize

10:24 - 2006-Apr-6 - comments {0} - post comment

Van Nistelrooy strike keeps title race alive

Jose Mourinho may be reluctant to acknowledge as much, but the Premiership title contest could well be back on. Manchester United evidently believe so after coming from behind to climb within seven points of Chelsea.  touchline prowl betrayed his anxiety as United strained every sinew for a late winner. The United manager was positively apoplectic when substitute Ruud van Nistelrooy fell under a challenge from Tal Ben Haim and the referee was unmoved by cries for a penalty.

But Ferguson and his cohorts were jigging for joy 11 minutes from the end as his team sliced open the Bolton defence for Van Nistelrooy to secure United's eighth consecutive win. The Dutchman had again been left on the bench and Louis Saha again justified the decision with a glorious equaliser after Kevin Davies had given Bolton the lead against the run of play.

United ought to have spared themselves the late frenzy. Darren Fletcher and Wayne Rooney were thwarted by Jussi Jaaskelainen after 10 minutes and the England striker miscontrolled after Saha's dummy left him in the clear.

Jaaskelainen also made an excellent double save from Ryan Giggs and Rooney and the United players ribbed Rio Ferdinand for an air shot when he found himself in unfamiliar territory.

But Bolton went ahead in the 26th minute when Kevin Nolan played a short pass to Davies, who nutmegged the embarrassed Ferdinand and calmly placed the ball past Edwin van der Sar.

Bolton held the lead for barely six minutes. Mikael Silvestre, having one of his eccentric days defensively, advanced down the left to roll a return pass inside Joey O'Brien for Saha. The striker judged his run perfectly and, using the outside of his left foot, bent a shot around Jaaskelainen and just inside the far post.

Jay-Jay Okocha was a man on a mission in the second half, unleashing three shots from distance. Two fizzed wide but Van der Sar had to react smartly to beat away the pick of the trio.

The much-maligned Fletcher worked tirelessly to fill the gaps for United but was sacrificed just after the hour to make way for Van Nistelrooy. Giggs switched to midfield and Rooney to the left.

Just like a game of basketball, play moved swiftly from one end to the other. Cristiano Ronaldo delivered the centre that Van Nistelrooy attempted to meet when he collided with Ben Haim. Ferguson was still seething as Van Nistelrooy and Ronaldo created an opening for Saha which Jaaskelainen smothered.

Van Nistelrooy lobbed the ball over the bar and shot straight at the Bolton goalkeeper before registering his crucial, 150th goal for United.

10:14 - 2006-Apr-5 - comments {0} - post comment

Bolton 1 Manchester United 2

09:05 - 2006-Apr-3 - comments {0} - post comment

Manchester United v Birmingham

Steve Bruce's week of misery ended in predictable defeat at Manchester United as his old club nudged his current one another step nearer the dreaded drop.

The biggest crowd for 86 years to witness United in action at Old Trafford paid due homage to a man who served the Red Devils with such distinction but left knowing Birmingham are perilously close to losing their top-flight status.

It was not so much the margin of defeat, which did not come close to the seven-goal mauling the Blues suffered at Liverpool's hands in midweek, more the lack of penetration and numerous defensive lapses that will concern Bruce the most.

Having gone in front after just two minutes courtesy of a Maik Taylor own goal, Sir Alex Ferguson was probably disappointed United only added two more to their tally through Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney.

That they did not was more due to their own laxness in possession rather than any stout defensive work on Birmingham's part and if Emile Heskey continues to squander the type of chance he did late on, it is hard to see how Birmingham are going to escape.

The Blues have never scored a Premiership goal at Old Trafford, let alone managed a win, so given his side's perilous plight damage limitation must have been the name of the game for Bruce on his return to the ground where he enjoyed so much success during his playing days.

By the standards of their Liverpool humiliation, the wait of 130 seconds to concede a goal was something of an improvement for the Blues.

It was probably little consolation to Bruce though as he endured that familiar sinking feeling as Taylor's efforts to keep out Giggs' well-struck free-kick only saw him push the ball onto a post, from where it bounced back onto his head and into the net.

If anything, the goal seemed to unsettle United as Birmingham responded with admirable fortitude.

Had either Heskey or Dudley Campbell been able to find the net instead of Edwin van der Sar with close-range opportunities, the outcome might have been different.

Instead, United escaped and Giggs - overshadowing long-time team-mate Gary Neville, who was making his 500th appearance for the club - netted his second and it just became a case of how many for the Red Devils with Birmingham staring down the barrel of another humiliation.

For once though, the man on whom England's World Cup hopes are pinned did not have his shooting boots on.

After shaving Taylor's left-hand post with one angled drive after being released by Giggs' inspired backheel, Rooney then skimmed the right after Ronaldo had found him with an audacious chipped pass.

The only blot on United's day as the interval whistle blew was the injury which forced Kieran Richardson out of the action.

The England man's departure, after a challenge from behind by Jiri Jarosik, heralded the arrival of Park Ji-sung rather than Ruud van Nistelrooy, who found himself on the bench for a fifth successive match.

He may be out of favour with his manager just now but Van Nistelrooy remains a hero among the United faithful and it was the prolific Dutchman's arrival for Saha 18 minutes from time which perked up a crowd that had become increasingly subdued as the second half wore on.

The reason was partly due to some sloppy play from the hosts but also because of the admirable resolve shown by Birmingham, who pressed forward enthusiastically if without an end product.

Heskey should have pulled a goal back late on but ballooned hopelessly over after being set up by Jiri Jarosik.

The blunder was punished immediately by Rooney, who made it third time lucky after latching onto Ronaldo's knock down and sprinting clear.

In scoreline terms at least, it was an improvement by Birmingham but then, it could hardly have been anything else.

The tasks are not getting easier for them though. Chelsea are the visitors to St Andrews next weekend.

Teams:

Man Utd Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre,Ronaldo, O'Shea, Giggs (Fletcher 77), Richardson (Park 39),Rooney, Saha (van Nistelrooy 73).

Subs Not Used: Howard, Evra.

Goals: Maik Taylor 3 og, Giggs 15, Rooney 83.

Birmingham Maik Taylor, Melchiot (Tebily 82), Cunningham,Latka, Lazaridis (Bruce 87), Jarosik, Clemence, Johnson,Pennant, Heskey (Kilkenny 87), Campbell.

Subs Not Used: Vaesen, Forssell.

Booked: Latka, Jarosik, Pennant.

04:35 - 2006-Mar-29 - comments {0} - post comment