Edwin van der Sar created his own little bit of history at Wembley yesterday.
Even at 36, Van der Sar proved he is still capable of achieving new feats, pulling off three successive penalty saves to earn Manchester United their Community Shield triumph over Chelsea.
Like his manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Van der Sar had never had much luck in shoot-outs prior to yesterday's victory.
But all that changed as the giant Dutchman denied Claudio Pizarro, Frank Lampard and, finally, Shaun Wright-Phillips in an individual performance to match any in the history of the sudden-death conclusion.
"I have never saved three penalties in a row before," he said.
"It has been done before, I remember Helmuth Duckadam saving all four for Steaua Bucharest in the 1986 European Cup Final against Barcelona.
"That was a little bit of a bigger thing to win than the Community Shield but we are happy with this one anyway."
Van der Sar is yet to decide whether he will extend his career once his current United deal ends in the summer.
But that does not mean he is resting on his laurels. After ending last season with a few mixed performances by his usual high standards, the former Ajax player has put in a lot of work on the training ground, with the reward coming on the field yesterday.
"Over the last four or five years, I have learned to cope a little better with penalties," he said.
"Before yesterday, I was 5-2 down in shoot-outs in my career, so at least I have pulled that back a little bit. It just proves even if you get older, you can still learn things."
Van der Sar's efforts ensured his second visit to the 'new' Wembley was far better than his first, when Didier Drogba's late goal won the FA Cup for Chelsea.
And while the Community Shield may not rank particularly high on United's list of priorities, Van der Sar hopes the win marks the start of a trophy-laden campaign for the Old Trafford outfit, which starts at the weekend when Steve Coppell's Reading head north for the Premier League opener.
"We got a much better view of the stadium this time than we did in May," he reflected.
"On that occasion, when we went up to collect our medals the stadium was all blue.
"We still have seven days to go to work on a few things but I expect us to be ready to meet Reading next Sunday."
Like his manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Van der Sar had never had much luck in shoot-outs prior to yesterday's victory.
But all that changed as the giant Dutchman denied Claudio Pizarro, Frank Lampard and, finally, Shaun Wright-Phillips in an individual performance to match any in the history of the sudden-death conclusion.
"I have never saved three penalties in a row before," he said.
"It has been done before, I remember Helmuth Duckadam saving all four for Steaua Bucharest in the 1986 European Cup Final against Barcelona.
"That was a little bit of a bigger thing to win than the Community Shield but we are happy with this one anyway."
Van der Sar is yet to decide whether he will extend his career once his current United deal ends in the summer.
But that does not mean he is resting on his laurels. After ending last season with a few mixed performances by his usual high standards, the former Ajax player has put in a lot of work on the training ground, with the reward coming on the field yesterday.
"Over the last four or five years, I have learned to cope a little better with penalties," he said.
"Before yesterday, I was 5-2 down in shoot-outs in my career, so at least I have pulled that back a little bit. It just proves even if you get older, you can still learn things."
Van der Sar's efforts ensured his second visit to the 'new' Wembley was far better than his first, when Didier Drogba's late goal won the FA Cup for Chelsea.
And while the Community Shield may not rank particularly high on United's list of priorities, Van der Sar hopes the win marks the start of a trophy-laden campaign for the Old Trafford outfit, which starts at the weekend when Steve Coppell's Reading head north for the Premier League opener.
"We got a much better view of the stadium this time than we did in May," he reflected.
"On that occasion, when we went up to collect our medals the stadium was all blue.
"We still have seven days to go to work on a few things but I expect us to be ready to meet Reading next Sunday."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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