Van der Sar: Man United Career, The Ajax Way & Advice for Lammens | The Overlap Exclusive
The Overlap
The Overlap
4.3 • 567 Ratings
🗓️ 22 February 2026
⏱️ 63 minutes
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Summary
On this episode of The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet, Gary Neville sits down for an exclusive one-to-one with Manchester United legend Edwin van der Sar.
Edwin reflects on why Manchester United still feels like home and reveals the approach he received from the club after retiring about a potential boardroom role. Would he ever return?
The conversation also turns to Ajax, where Edwin played a key role in rebuilding the club. He explains the philosophy behind their success, developing talents like Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martínez, and what it takes to build a winning culture from the top.
We dive into the evolution of goalkeeping, including his work with André Onana and why modern keepers are being asked to do more than ever. He also discusses the next generation and the qualities he looks for in a top goalkeeper.
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
09:15 Why keepers struggle at United
18:59 Golden-era defence & modern goalkeeping
28:42 Recovery After the Health Scare
31:47 From Pitch to Boardroom
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I hate goalkeepers. |
| 0:05.0 | Absolutely eight goalkeepers. |
| 0:07.0 | It's the only goalkeeper, actually, I like. |
| 0:10.0 | I should have said that, but I know a few more. |
| 0:12.0 | It's a bad statement, that. |
| 0:14.0 | Hardest job in world football in it, got Manchester United goalkeeper. |
| 0:17.0 | Your scouts are taking the piss out of my statement. |
| 0:19.0 | It's the hardest job in world football, Manchester United goalkeeper. Do you not think it is? I've got to name one more. Name an outfield position in the world that's got a tougher job. I think England goalkeeper's harder than Manor United goalkeeper. No. I mean, look, it's a tough job. Get it. But it's not, Manchester United goal constant. England goalkeeper, every blue moon. So you think Jordan Pickford has more scrutiny than the man United goalkeeper in Arna? I think he would if he f***ed up. But he's done all right pitford for England, aren't he? What are we doing here, Gary? We've come to Old Trafford to interview Edwin van der Saar. I always say about Edwin, Edwin restored peace at Old Trafford after, |
| 0:58.2 | what I think was quite a disruptive timing defensively and I think at the back after Peter leaving in 99. |
| 1:05.9 | We had so many goalkeepers try and claim that number one spot and didn't really have stability for a long |
| 1:12.5 | period and when Edwin came 2005 it just restored calm straight away and you felt safe again |
| 1:18.6 | incredible actually he goes from sort of like iax incredible team Juventus one of the biggest |
| 1:22.8 | and greatest clubs in europe to Fulham which is sort of like an interesting sort of like journey and |
| 1:27.7 | then all of a sudden goes back to United but he was made for here. There was a period that |
| 1:31.7 | I say was my best period of football that I've seen at Manchester United was the start of the |
| 1:39.0 | 2006-7 season when we won the league game for the first time. I got injured in the February |
| 1:43.9 | of that year we won the league but in that six months from August, September through to February, with Rio, Vida, Patrice, incredible, incredible. And it felt to me that Edwin coming in was a big part of that. That piece of the jigsaw is really important and getting that goalkeeper. Goalkeeper is so important at a club, particularly if you're going to win a title. Here we are! Gary Neville! How are you? I'm good. How are you doing? Edwin's got a vast experience. Obviously, he's been a CEO at Ajax. I always thought Edwin actually would be perfect sort of for this role here. Myx have a very strong DNA |
| 2:18.3 | that they've never moved away from really. |
| 2:20.9 | Young players, producing players through their academy, |
| 2:23.4 | the style of play. |
| 2:24.6 | What I want to ask them about is |
| 2:25.7 | what are non-negotiables really |
... |
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