Edwin van der Sar's life was turned upside down in July last year when he suffered a brain hemorrhage during a holiday in Croatia.
In an exclusive interview, former Manchester United and Dutch goalkeeper Van der Sar spoke to Sky Sports News' senior reporter Tim Thornton in Amsterdam to discuss the moment his life changed, his journey back to health, his future and the appointment of Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford.
Edwin, can we take you back to July last year? You were on holiday in Croatia. Can you explain to us what happened?
I woke up and it was the last day of the vacation, and we were planning to leave that day. I felt like a certain thing in my neck, the back of my shoulder blades.
I threw up in the toilet and came back to the room where the curtains were open and I couldn't get any light in my eyes. I lay down in bed and said, 'I have to call a doctor, I don't feel well.' That turned out to be a brain hemorrhage.
It was a bit of a shock to be honest, because you all think you are healthy, strong and of course not as fit as during your career, but you never expect something like that to happen to a fit 52 year old man.
Your wife Annemarie also had a brain haemorrhage. Did she recognize the signals very quickly?
I think we are a bit experienced in that regard. I was there when it happened to her, and she was in the room when it happened to me. We also have a foundation, we care for people with a brain haemorrhage and young children.
So she recognized the signs and contacted the hotel's general manager. They were fantastic in Croatia, got the doctor, got the ambulance and from then on it was off to the hospital for checks and things like that. I just lay down and rested and let other people do what they needed to do or needed to do and that worked pretty well.
Were you aware of the expressions of support from the football world?
No, because my wife didn't get my phone for about two weeks. The first week I was in hospital in Croatia and then we were transported to the Netherlands, to The Hague, for another four or five days in the ICU. From then on I went to a normal room and that's when I got my phone back.
So in that part you see how many messages you have, but I think the first thing you need to do is get better. There is a lot of attention, many people are sympathetic, but you have to take care of yourself, your family and your children and just recover.
That's what I did in the first period. Of course all the congratulations, the flowers, the Instagram posts, the support, that's nice to have and great to see.
Is it quite a long process from hospitalization to getting back to normal?
It all depends. I personally think it was a lighter version, but your whole body still gets a jolt. I had to work on my conditionals, balance, all that stuff. But that was okay, say after two weeks, to talk, exercise, that kind of thing.
Have you now fully recovered?
I think so, yes. Some things have probably changed in my thinking, but only my wife and my children notice that, for example. But let's say a conversation like this isn't a problem.
Has it changed your outlook on life?
Probably. I resigned from Ajax at the end of May, about five weeks before my episodes. I thought I'd take a year off.
I'm going to travel, rest, recover and then take on a new challenge. When you're dealing with health issues, when you're at work, you think, 'well, my work is the most important thing. I have to do the interviews, we have to make sure we sign the best players, we have to manage the club and all that.'
That's not really important if your health is at risk or lurking. So on that level I think I enjoy life and take things as they come. I'm not really looking for a new challenge or anything, because what I did as a footballer, I played until I was 40 or 41.
At the age of 52 I was a director at Ajax. I think we have had incredible success in bringing the club back to European level. The quality of the players we have developed, the players we have scouted, the ambition we have shown to the club to really bring Ajax up to standard again.
That didn't go unnoticed and that was great. To really jump into a new adventure, I'm not sure that will be the next one.
But we recently saw you back on the court in a Legends match. What was it like putting the boots back on?
Sometimes I tell my friends what I've really missed, maybe just sitting on a small field and kicking a ball about 30 yards and just playing football. To do that again with players you respected, played with, played against.
For example, I had a nice conversation with Didier Drogba. When we were playing he was difficult. He always scored. He was right over Rio [Ferdinand] and Vida [Nemanja Vidic]. He's tough, but you talk to him for half an hour or forty minutes about his ambition to become president of his country's football federation. He's a great, gentle guy.
When you play, all you have to do is work for yourself, work for your club, score for your club and perform at the highest level. The opponent does the same, otherwise it is not top level. In that respect, it's great to now have more time to have those conversations in a very respectful way, compared to the head-to-head confrontations as a player.
Do you feel like you're done with football now?
No, I don't think so. Of course I enjoyed the game. I haven't been to many games, but I think what I've accomplished, what I've learned in eleven years as a marketing director and as a CEO, I'm sure there's going to be a challenge somewhere. It will be a possibility.
Is it the one for me? I'm not sure yet. I haven't made a decision at this point.
I do things that I like. I like to go on holiday, walk the dog, get a newspaper, get a sandwich. Small things that I enjoy at the moment, but maybe in a year, six months, you want to take on another challenge.
The lure of the world of football, the smell of success or working with a team to achieve something, I think that will become a draw at some point in the coming years.
You've touched on your role as CEO at Ajax, so what do you think of the restructuring at Manchester United? How important is it to have that leadership from the top?
It is of utmost importance that all things are connected. I also experienced at Ajax that if one radar, one little thing, does not work, this can have an effect in the long term.
I think that happened at United too. I think the structure has been very clear, with the Glazers as owners. I think the football structure and the position of the CEO have also changed a few times.
I think what I feel, what I hear, what I read, I think they're all signed in a way so that they can support each other. Unfortunately for Erik ten Hag, the results didn't work. I now think, let's say, that the people who should be appointing a manager have appointed their manager, so that would probably work better than the situation a few months ago.
Your first impressions of Ruben Amorim: does he have the character, the personality?
Many things are needed at Manchester United. I think what Erik achieved with Ajax, the success in Europe, the way we played, that he was able to get the tactics right, that's what I expected at Manchester United.
I met Ruben four or five years ago. I think we played against Sporting Lisbon, and he was the manager at the time. I was watching the U19 Youth League match and he was there too, so I had a nice chat with him. I think he is an open man, I think his humor is open, his English is good.
I have not followed Sporting all the time and I am sure that the homework has been done by the scouts, by the technical people of the club, to find a successor and hopefully bring success to the club.
And when you're trying to build success, is the greatest commodity time? Will he need time?
Time is always nice to have, but at some point you have to get results. I'm sure those results will come.
I think the club has huge support around the world. They have attracted enough players and at some point you have to stop chopping left and right.
Now they are going to play a new system. Of course, a manager probably wants one or two players to arrive in January. I think the most important thing is to have a line with the technical director, the football director, so that they can know what situation needs to be replaced, changed, added.
I'm sure there will be that discussion, but in the meantime a manager has to perform and win games because the position he is in now is not great.
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