Edwin van der Sar

“I remember that, often, Mike Phelan would just nip down to the touchline for a message to one or two players. It was usually just a tactical thing. But when Sir Alex comes to the touchline, all the players know that it's serious stuff.”

“At Ajax, Juventus, and with Holland, I have played with top teams, and now I want to use my experience to reach the same goal with Fulham.”

“A lot of the guys who played in the 1995 final for Ajax had been there since the age of 12 or 13. Patrick Kluivert and Edgar Davids had been there from age seven or eight, so I had a lot of catching up to do.”

“I accept that I didn't play very well in Italy for the two years. It was lower than my Ajax standard. I don't know why.”

“Diehards know what Ajax is about, but you always need a new following, and if you are not successful, it is difficult.”

“When I was 18, I never expected to be what I was - you hope to make your debut, to play for the national team, and I want to achieve something similar off the pitch to what I did on the pitch.”

“You want to build your own team for the highest level, and that happens more with teams that stay together.”

“I will miss football.”

“Jean Tigana wants to go to the top with Fulham, and I like that ambition.”

“I went to Fulham for the project they explained to me - but it didn't really work out. I might have been playing at a high level for the national team, but I was starting to miss those European nights and challenging for titles.”

“I'm just not very rock n' roll.”

“I've been the captain at Ajax and once for the national team - it's nice and makes you an important player.”

“Running a marathon is unlike anything I have done. You can recall all those bad weights sessions or the work you had to do in pre-season, but marathon running is worse than any of it, probably the hardest thing I have had to do in my entire life.”

“Celtic and Ajax are great names in history. They both have great followings all over the world, not just in Holland and Scotland.”

“All things evolve, and European football needs to evolve as well.”

“Off the field, Ronaldo was also focusing on everything extensively, such as resting up properly and strengthening his body. After training sessions, he would often work on his free-kicks and then come to me and say, 'Edwin, can you go in goal?'”

“If you are in the Premier League or at Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Bayern Munich, you are at an end station.”

“Matthijs is very mature for his age: he has the physique of a 24-year-old. He is also strong with both feet, has an extremely good range of passing, can head the ball, scores goals, and is a real leader at the back already at the age of 18.”

“I would like Ajax to be people's favourite second team. Like in Spain, if you are a Real Madrid fan, then you can't be a Barcelona supporter. It's the same in Italy. But you can be an Ajax fan.”

“It's always hard the moment you decide to stop playing. It doesn't matter if you're at a small club or a big club: it's the end of your playing career, so that's always going to be a big moment for any player.”