Van der Sar tastes Champions glory 13 years on

Edwin van der Sar tasted Champions League glory again after a 13-year wait when he made the decisive penalty save against Chelsea on Wednesday.

"The feeling of saving the last penalty is immense," the Dutchman, who won the European Cup in 1995 with Ajax, said after being named Man of the Match at the Luzhniki Stadium.

"Winning here by saving the last ball, I don't have any words for it," said the player who solved one of Alex Ferguson's biggest problems at Manchester United when he arrived.

It took manager Ferguson six years to find a worthy successor to Peter Schmeichel, who played his final game for United in the 1999 Champions League final. In 37-year-old Van der Sar he finally has his man. In Moscow on Wednesday, he pulled off a stunning one-handed save to prevent an own-goal from Rio Ferdinand in the first half before winning the match in the shootout, diving to his right to save the 14th and final penalty from Nicolas Anelka.

SMILING DUTCHMAN

He seemed to know a fraction of second in advance that he was about to save it, as his mouth broke into a smile. "I knew which way he was going," the keeper said. "I felt it." Van der Sar was 24 when he played in his first Champions League final, helping Ajax beat Juventus 1-0 in Vienna.

He experienced defeat in a penalty shootout the following year, as Juventus turned the tables on them. The Dutchman later joined the Italian side but after a loss of form moved to decidedly unfashionable west London team Fulham before Ferguson recognised his qualities of concentration, dedication and consistency and took him to United in 2005. "One of the most difficult jobs we had was replacing Schmeichel and three years ago when we did that with Edwin you saw the marked improve in our defending," Ferguson said on Wednesday.

"Great credit to him. When it comes to the last penalty it takes experience and patience. You have to wait that fraction. Well done to him."