Chapter 409 Magic Uncle
Manchester United goalkeeper Van der Sar announced yesterday that he would retire at the end of this season, and the 40-year-old Dutch goalkeeper will end his 21-year career this summer.
In his 21-year career, Van der Sar has played 130 times for the Dutch national team. The only regret is that he did not help the Dutch team get to the highest podium of the World Series. In June 2005, Van der Sar transferred from Fulham to the Red Devils for a transfer fee of 2 million pounds, becoming another legendary goalkeeper of Manchester United after Schmeichel.
In an interview with Manchester United's official TV station, Van der Sar explained why he decided to retire. After playing for so many years, you have reached a turning point where you need to make a decision. There are many things to consider, whether you still have the desire to compete, and your family, it is time to focus on my family. You must look back at yourself. You have to ask if you can still perform at the top, which is what you have to do at Manchester United. At this moment, I am still satisfied with my condition and my results on the court. I just want to leave at a high level.
"After the age of 40, you can't always show superhuman performance. This is a difficult decision to make, but this season is the last season. When I first came here, I was just very happy to sign a two-year contract. I want to win a Premier League championship before I retire. I'm lucky to have achieved more results now than I thought. The happiest moment of your career? He saved Anelka's penalty. I have to say that the happiest moment was Anelka's penalty in the 2008 UEFA Champions League final against Chelsea. Of course, I have made a more beautiful save, but that time was too decisive. After the game, I was so happy with the boys that I will never forget it. As a player, it feels great to win the trophy of the most important game for the club you play for.
Ferguson was not surprised by Van der Sar's decision to retire. As early as last month, the Lord said, "We are ready. This is Van der Sar's last season." Ferguson gave Van der Sar a very high evaluation, "An excellent person, a fantastic goalkeeper, an incredible career."
"He is a role model for all young people in the world who want to become goalkeepers. Over the years, Van der Sar's level has no trace of regression. He has never changed. He has always played at a high level with a continuous and stable level. He is always extremely calm. He is very calm. He never likes to show himself deliberately. He is very happy with the achievements in his career. He doesn't pursue anything else. He is really a good person. I know that he will take a break first, but sooner or later he will take the road of coaching, based on his many years of experience.
When Van der Sar and Ferguson mentioned the biggest regret when talking about the retirement decision of the Dutch goalkeeper, they coincidentally said that Van der Sar did not join Manchester United earlier.
Van der Sar felt helpless about this. This is the (retirement) decision we made together. I talked to the coach last week, and he agreed. I enjoyed my time at Manchester United, and I have been very happy at Manchester United for so many years. What you may say is, 'You may stay a little longer'. But this is life. You can't always get what you want at the right time. I'm just very happy that at least we have been together for so many years. It's not over yet. I still have several months to go. I still have more goals to accomplish. At my age, it's really a blessing to get a lot of great experience in a great club like Manchester United.
Manchester United goalkeeper coach Steele believes that Van der Sar will be another legend of the Red Devils after Schmeichel. Van der Sar will retire at the end of the season, which is a joint decision of the coach, the team and Van der Sar. He is so outstanding that I am very lucky. I worked with Schmeichel when I was in Villa, and I worked with Van der Sar at Manchester United for two and a half years. The penalty save in Moscow allowed Van der Sar to be on an equal footing with Schmeichel.
Manchester United's official website praised Van der Sar as the "super goalkeeper" and believes that the Dutch goalkeeper can physically play for another year.
This season, Van der Sar has made 12 clean sheets in the Premier League. In the past three seasons, when Van der Sar played for Manchester United, the Red Devils had the lowest average loss rate and even maintained more cleans. This season, when Van der Sar came in, Manchester United's average loss rate was only 0.8; when he failed to play, Manchester United's average loss rate reached 1.2. In the past 14 games in Van der Sar, Manchester United has conceded only 7 goals, averaging 0.5 goals per game, and maintained a clean sheet in 8 games.
Such a super door god decided to leave the Red Devils this summer, which is definitely a sigh of news for tens of millions of Manchester United fans around the world.
At the same time, the fourth round of the FA Cup will also begin.
Manchester United defeated Southampton 2-1. Following the crazy reversal of three goals in a row in the last game, the Red Devils once again made a big hit and another reversal battle.
"Little Pea" scored two consecutive games and became the reverse spokesperson of Manchester United, while Gibson, who rarely got a consecutive starting opportunity, continued his poor performance. The young Irish player, who was once highly expected by Ferguson, failed to seize the redemption opportunity generously given by the Lord. His appearance made the team habitually fall into a passive in the first half - using the conceded ball to build a platform for the team to stage a reversal, and Gibson achieved the reputation of Manchester United's "reversal king" from another level.
Gibson appeared in the right-back position in this game, and the super newcomer Chamberlain, who focused on Manchester United, also frequently participated in Manchester United's right-wing activities, which gave Gibson many opportunities to have direct conversations with Chamberlain.
As a result, Gibson, who has played for Manchester United for four seasons, looks like a rookie in front of a 17-year-old football prodigy.
In the 13th minute, Gibson received a direct pass from O'Shea and was ready to break through. As a result, Chamberlain rushed from the side, and a precise shovel destroyed the ball under Gibson's feet. In the first head-on confrontation between the two sides, Gibson exposed the weak spots under his feet at a glance.
On the other hand, Chamberlain's breakthrough on the left side made Gibson helpless. In the 44th minute, Chamberlain used his speed to rush all the way from the left road to the front of the penalty area to score the ball. Gibson chased awkwardly behind him. Chamberlain made a continuous change of direction on the way to get rid of it. Gibson was still chasing farther and farther. The main midfielder of Manchester United actually fell to such a situation, which really made the body bear the great The red robe of history is humiliated.
In addition to being completely defeated in the direct dialogue with Chamberlain, Gibson also squandered many offensive opportunities created by his teammates.
In the 33rd minute, Fabio made a free kick on the left side of the penalty area, which was considered to be a first-class Gibson among Manchester United midfielders, but he made a mistake like an amateur player - he didn't open the ball at all.
In a position so close to the goal, professional players often have such low-level mistakes only in the case of serious overdraft of physical strength. Gibson's "flying immortals outside the sky" can only be attributed to his absolute difficulty in terms of solid basic skills.
A minute later, Gibson wasted Manchester United's excellent offensive opportunity again. He received a pass from his teammate in front of the penalty area and got a shot without being stared. This was a good opportunity for him to show his proud shooting skills, and it is even possible to achieve self-redemption for the poor performance of the last game. However, Gibson made many adjustments in a row due to unstable stopping the ball. As a result, he did not complete the shot until the defender arrived, and the ball was blocked by the defender without any suspense.
Ferguson, who couldn't stand it, replaced Gibson with veteran Giggs in the 58th minute, which was also Giggs replacing Gibson for two consecutive games.
After Gibson's end, he shook his head on the bench, as if he had foreseen that his limit at Manchester United was approaching.
Like the last game, this substitution once again became a turning point in the game. After Giggs came on the field, Manchester United's offensive immediately improved and completed the reversal.
Giggs, who only got a 32-minute chance to perform, sent key assists to Hernandez in two consecutive games, which not only achieved the reputation of Mr. "Little Pea", but also strongly reflected Gibson's mediocrity.
Take a look at the naked comparison between the two people in the post-match data statistics of OPTA.
In the 58th minute, Gibson made no contribution on the offensive end except for a threatless cross and two rambish shots; and he, known for his tough style, only had one counterattack and one relief on the defensive end.
And Giggs sent two threat balls in 32 minutes, three passes without a wave shot, and made an amazing three counterattacks on the defensive end.
In the fan rating of Sky Sports an hour after the game, Gibson only got a poor 3.9 points, the lowest in the game. This is also the unlucky Irishman's two consecutive games as the "worst gentleman".
Giggs scored 7.6 points, almost twice as much as Gibson. Players from the same team scored so much, which is very rare in the scoring history of Sky Sports.
In addition to Gibson, Manchester United's other "Star of Hope" Evans also performed poorly. It was his defensive error that made Southampton's wonderful goal.
In the 45th minute, Southampton's Chaplo, who was loaned from Preston, intercepted Manchester United's clearance ball on the right side of the penalty area, and suddenly started to easily shake off Evans, who rushed up, shot furiously in the air, and the ball roared like a cannonball like the upper right corner. At the moment Chaplo got up, Evans had been thrown away by 5 meters away. In fact, after being successfully broken through by Chaplow, Evans began to slow down. Obviously, he had given up resistance. This psychological state was extremely inconsistent with Manchester United's never-agaout team spirit.
Evans was once regarded by Ferguson as a super newcomer in defense with the same potential as Pike. But when Pike has grown into a world-class defender, the 22-year-old Evans has faded his aura and become a mediocre central defender.
In this battle, Evans's poor defensive skills and bad defensive consciousness were magnified in front of the weak brigade. If it hadn't been for O'sshea's active complement, Evans would have been blown up by the opponent's turns.
More importantly, Evans did not show his talent to grow into an excellent central defender. In addition to the poor performance that caused the goal loss, Evans also sacrificed amateur defensive moves many times. In the 37th minute, the Southampton player's big foot in the penalty area was cleared. In the top near the middle circle of Evans, he pushed his opponent down with a very obvious elbow. As a defender of a rich team, such a non-technical defensive action can only be described as naive.
The fan rating of Sky Sports gave Evans a low score of 5.1, only higher than "Mr. Nan Guo" Gibson, the second difference in the game.
Looking back on Evans's few appearances this season, he can only become such a clown almost every time.
From the low-level top of the 3-3 draw with Everton, to the ecstasy return of the 1-0 small winner of the Rangers, to the only stain of the 7-1 victory over Blackburn, and the 0-4 defeat to West Ham, Evans became the chief disaster star on the back line of Manchester United.
"Evans is a player with outstanding technical ability and psychological quality. He represents the future of the team's defense." Evans, who was once evaluated by the Lord, is obviously unable to carry this seriously overrated reputation.
37-year-old Giggs renewed his contract again. Manchester United's big change in welcoming the "New Red Devil's Dynasty" seems to have turned the gunhead. Those veterans who are not inferior to the peak will be regarded as the team's precious wealth, and the clean-up object turns to those who have been proved to be embarrassing, such as Gibson and Evans. Even if they have an age advantage and were once considered to "represent the future of the team", it is absolutely impossible for Manchester United to place the hope of revival on them for players whose own ability is not worthy of wearing the Red Devils.
A few years later, in Ferguson's magnificent Manchester United epic, they did not have a chance to leave their names. If so, their footnotes can only be a rare failure in Ferguson's discerning coaching career.
The games in January have all ended, and Manchester United's killer Li Yu will also return to the team at that time. Li Yu, who returns with the wind of the Asian king, is bound to score goals again**, so Manchester United's road to the championship will undoubtedly add a lot of strength.
At the moment of Rooney's ups and downs, Li Yu is the most secure person. Ferguson has been waiting impatiently for a long time. Now that the Asian Cup has finally come to an end, Li Yu hurried back and has to say that this is Ferguson's anxious performance.
The Chinese New Year is coming, but in the game on February 2, Chinese fans still can't see Li Yu. Ferguson did not let Li Yu enter the list in the game against Aston Villa and let the main striker rest, which is also a helpless move for Ferguson.
It is a very dangerous thing for players to run around and play in a hurry. For the sake of safety, let Li Yu rest in this round and adjust his physical condition. There is a game waiting for Li Yu to play later!
With Rooney's two goals and an assist, Manchester United easily defeated Villa 3-1 at Old Trafford and won 9 consecutive home games in the league. After the game, coach Ferguson praised Rooney. Before this game, Rooney only scored three goals for Manchester United in all competitions this season, but it seems that after this game, Rooney has gradually regained his best form.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Ferguson said, "I'm absolutely very happy, excellent performance! We performed great today. I am very happy. We played so well. Vera is a good team. When they control the ball, we must maintain a high degree of concentration, because they have a good possession rate.
"Van der Sar's vision is so good, great pass! Rooney feels great today. Everyone should remember tonight, and he finally got what he deserved. We missed some opportunities today. Their goalkeeper made two or three really fantastic saves. I think we deserve to win more.
"If we maintain the winning posture, we will definitely not lose the final champion. Our goal is to maintain this momentum and maintain the efficiency of work like tonight's game against Villa. I hope we can finally get what we want.
Before Manchester United's game against Aston Villa, even the most optimistic Red Devils fans did not expect the team's start to be so smooth. Rooney opened the door to victory for the team with a Batistuta-style goal in just 49 seconds, and it was not Na who sent a Ruyi-Costa-style accurate long pass. Ni, Giggs and other "mission experts", but 40-year-old goalkeeper Van der Sar.
At that time, Manchester United got a free kick in the backcourt. Vidic stood in front of the ball and was ready to take the penalty. Van der Sar suddenly saw Rooney who was inserting forward and quickly shouted to Vidic. The Manchester United captain flashed aside with understanding. Van der Sar shot a long pass of nearly 70 meters and accurately delivered it to Rooney. Rooney comfortably put the ball. He stopped and leaned against Dunn, who was robbed with his body, and then his right foot volleyed in the air, and the ball roared into the back corner of the goal. Ferdinand immediately rushed to Van der Sar excitedly and excitedly celebrated this typical paradigm assist with his old partner in a head-to-head way.
In fact, Van der Sar's passing skills have always been underestimated, especially compared with Manchester United's last legendary goalkeeper Schmeichel, the Dutchman's low-key and steady style is very blinding. The former captain of the Danish national team is famous for his roaring backcourt command and ultra-precise back throwing fast attacks, but the restrained van der Sar is not inferior in these two skills. The assist sent to Rooney showed Van der Sar's overall view and accurate footwork vividly, and this was only the beginning of Van der Sar's excellent performance.
In the 17th minute of the game, Van der Sar once again performed a long pass stunt. Under the force of the opposing player, Van der Sar's big foot was comfortably sent to the foot of Evra near the middle line. In the third minute of injury time in the second half, Van der Sar threw the ball with a hand that penetrated the half of the field to launch a counterattack. The ball accurately found Nani on the right side like a cruise guide.
Manchester United central defender Ferdinand, who is known for his delicate footwork, once lamented that Van der Sar's footwork is outstanding, even better than many teammates in the non-goal position. In this game, Van der Sar's wonderful performance fully proves that his teammate's praise is not a lie. More importantly, Van der Sar's left and right feet are very balanced, and there will be no embarrassing scene of weak feet rushing out the ball in the face of opponents. Compared with South American goalkeepers such as Cesar, who have excellent footwork but rely too much on habitual feet, this feature of van der Sar is even more valuable. On the whole, Van der Sar can even be called the best goalkeeper in the world.
In addition to the passing of the ball, Van der Sar's own work is also perfect. OPTA's post-match statistics show that Van der Sar saved three times, made four successful attacks, and played against Fridel, who performed bravely on the other side, becoming a beautiful scenery in the game. It is worth mentioning that Van der Sar's performance is more masterful than Friedel's more ornamental 7 rescues.