As much as I love VDS theres no question for me.
Better keeper - Schmeichel or Van Der Sar
- Thread starter FujiVice
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I`m not even sure that every United fan would say he is top 10 of all time.
Ajax and Juventus are hardly small clubs. Especially not the Ajax of the mid 90's anyway. He had a rough couple of years that led him to Fulham, where he did brilliantly and Fergue himself said he should have snapped him up sooner. So he was only at a smaller team for a couple of years really.
Anyway obviously the answer to the question is the Great Dane. Love Van Der Sar though, truly world class keeper in his own right.
Didn't say Ajax and Juve as small teams, thus the inclusion of "(again)".
More like 4 years. Even Fergie preferred to buy an unknown Tim Howard after Barthez, before getting VdS.
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I loved watching Schmeichel play and would watch matches just to see him (that is for Denmark)
And VdS made his fair share of errors, only that he had a defence alert enough to ensure that his mistakes weren't remembered.
There is a reason he had to spend 4 seasons at Fulham during the period supposed to be his peak. Still absolutely brilliant but not in the same tier as the Great Dane
And VdS made his fair share of errors, only that he had a defence alert enough to ensure that his mistakes weren't remembered.
There is a reason he had to spend 4 seasons at Fulham during the period supposed to be his peak. Still absolutely brilliant but not in the same tier as the Great Dane
Schmeichel he player / VDS the man.
Lost all respect for the Dane when he celebrated in front of the away fans v City in 2002.
Van Der Sar all the way.
Van Der Sar all the way.
TBH if you ask this question then you're probably young and didn't see Schmeichel's entire United career. Best keeper of all time for me. Scored 9 goals for United too. Only Buffon comes close over the last 30 years. Distribution check, shot stopping check, command of own area and organization of defense check. His mere presence boosted the rest of the team (like Roy Keane). Hands down the best ever goalie or top three definitely.
I prefer VDS (I am just looking at the time at United). He wasn't as attractive as Schmeichel, but he didn't need to, as he made everything the simple way. Also, I think that he made less mistakes than Schmeichel.
Erm ... Maybe you need to see his whole United career, mate.
1 goal, 1 assist. Friendlies?
Schemeichel played over 130 more games for United. It would be natural to see more mistakes from him, but he was far from an error prone goalie
I know and we got VDS probably in his best time, because of huge experience, but still, I loved the simplicity in which VDS did his job (we were also better defensively in his time, because we changed the style we played, so it was easier for him, but still, I just prefer him, even if Schmeichel was one of my heroes
).Too right. Looking at the stats wrong. I blame New year's eve drinking
Kept the clean sheet 180 times in 398 games. That's worthy 100 goals!
The Great Dane.
He was an end of level boss to strikers across Europe.
He was an end of level boss to strikers across Europe.
Neither answer is wrong. Both were fantastic keepers, two of the top 10 keepers e re to play the game. One could make an argument for either.
For most of us, we automatically think of that glorious treble winning side as the greatest United squad, so Schmikes gets the emotional edge. But on the raw merits there really is no daylight between the two keepers.
For most of us, we automatically think of that glorious treble winning side as the greatest United squad, so Schmikes gets the emotional edge. But on the raw merits there really is no daylight between the two keepers.
Schmeichel has to be top 3 for me minimum. Who would you say is definitely better than him in a top ten?
I don't know who would "definitely" be better than Schmikes, but a few who were arguably better are Sepp Maier and Lev Yashin, though none of us here on the caf ever saw Yashin. Others say Banks and Zoff, maybe even Buffon.
What I'm saying is that there's a cluster of incredible keepers over the ages that are all pretty much equal. There's no huge gap between whoever #1 and #10 might be.
As for Edwin, he was slightly better at saving high shots than Peter, but Peter was better at saving low shots. Schmikes was slightly better in 1v1 defending whereas VDS was slightly better with his distribution, at least with his feet. Schmikes was better with his throws. Neither was "definitely" better than the other overall, though I wouldn't have a problem with anyone arguing that either was slightly better than the other. They were both nearly perfect keepers, much like the other keepers I've mentiined.
Schmeichel. Reinvented how keepers deal with one on ones etc...so xharismatic and incredibly agile for such a big presence. Him and Kahn around 2000 were beasts.
Love VDS, great keeper but will always feel he wasn't great in the two Champions League finals against Barca. Harsh but blots his copybook for me.
Love VDS, great keeper but will always feel he wasn't great in the two Champions League finals against Barca. Harsh but blots his copybook for me.
From what I have seen - outside of United fanbase, be it on articles or talking with people - the bolded ones are highly rated than Schmeichel. In fact, Yashin seems to be universally accepted as the best ever (though I haven't seen any match of him).
And also, Maier and Banks are at-least as highly rated as Schmeichel.
I feel this is very much similar to a Neuer vs DDG debate, and i would have to side with Edwin VDS.
Fergie was late, VdS gave his word to Fulham he would join them.
VdS was brilliant although you always felt he made the saves he should make but too rarely made truly stunning ones.
I have a feeling that De Gea is going to be better than either.
I have a feeling that De Gea is going to be better than either.
Edwin.
Yashin was great from the little I saw of him and Maier had great reflexes but I am always doubtful that great players from the past would automatically be that great in the modern faster game. Banks was a good keeper but not in the same league as the others mentioned. Schmeichel is probably the best keeper I've seen to date.
According to Giggs, Schmeichel is the best keeper he's played with. Can't say I disagree with him, either.
Yep. It is also difficult to know if the nostalgia for good old times play a part or not.
For me, the best I have ever seen is definitely Buffon. But on the other side haven't seen much of Schmeichel.
Neuer is also playing on a ridiculous level and is arguably the second best I have ever seen. De Gea - if he continues to improve - will be there too.
It also isn't just nostalgia (although I'm sure that is a factor) it is also that the game is very different. The old balls were heavier and slower so merely getting a band to a hard shot may not have been enough and/or what constituted good reaction then may not have cut it now. In the end it is very hard to compare such different eras.
This is a weird thread for me, I grew up watching Chris Turner and Gary Walsh battle it out for number 1 then Jim Leighton arrived followed by Les Sealy until the arrival of the great dane. His early days were worrying but his class was unlike anything i'd ever seen, he was a key figure in our first title for 26 years and as much as I loved Edwin he just couldn't hold a candle to Schmikes.
I love Van Der Saar. But Schmeikes was just above par everywhere and anytime.
Wasn't it the transfer to Juve that Fergie was late?
Anyway, agreed with Revan that Buffon is still the best for me. Then there are the likes of Kahn, Schmeichel, Neuer, and (maybe) Pagliuca.
I can't help but think that Van Der Sar is being hugely overrated here. After Ajax he did ok for Juve before being deemed not good enough and replaced by Buffon. He then played for Fulham for years. Fulham!
He was a right place right time keeper for United. After the procession of failures United needed a good solid experienced keeper who didn't make mistakes. He played behind the best centre back pairing in Europe (Vidic and Rio) for the majority of his career and was the perfect keeper for United at the time. He was a top quality keeper but I wouldn't say he was in the top 10 keepers over the length of his playing career, let alone of all time.
Schmeichel was the best keeper in the world during his time at United. He was an absolute colossus.
Loved VDS but Schmikes is in a different leage. You are comparing a keeper who is in the conversation for greatest ever with a very good, but not "best ever" keeper.
No one will ever touch Schmeichel imo. Unbeatable one-on-one and his command of the penalty area was immense.
As good as Van Der Sar was, the 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal in 2008/09 proved he had a brilliant defence in front him as well.
As good as Van Der Sar was, the 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal in 2008/09 proved he had a brilliant defence in front him as well.
4 years at Fulham, which is no crime. If it 8 or 10 years at a meh club like Fulham, the point would stand better.
I don't know what "right place right time" means. United are a massive club and Edwin was brilliant for us. Yes, he played behind fantastic defenders, but so did Schmikes, so that can't count against either.
It's reasonable to call out Schmikes as the better keeper, but VDS was far more than just a "solid experienced keeper who didn't make mistakes".
I agree. He has more qualities than that but they were the ones that were most important for United at the time. The "right place right time" comment referred to Van Der Sar being so successful due to when he joined - for a multitude of reasons. If it was immediately after Schmeichel then United may have looked for a more spectacular keeper (and after Schmeichel they did). But after the issues United had with keepers, the key was to have a keeper that made sure United didn't lose games due to his howlers, had an air of authority about him and communicated and organised his defence well. He fit in perfectly and joined at just the right time in his own career (he was experienced and knew the league also which made it an easier transition).
I loved "Daisy and Dolly" (although I was never quite sure which was which) but they weren't a patch on Vidic and Rio as a partnership. Stam was clearly the best centre back of the Schmeichel years but even he didn't stay very long.