22. Edwin van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar made 100 appearances in the Champions League during his 21-year career. He played for four clubs including Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United. Between these teams, van der Sar made 100 Champions league appearances.
The Dutch keeper is considered to be one of the greatest goalies to ever play the game. In his career he stockpiled highlight reel saves that were good enough to drop someone’s jaw. Being pushed out of Juventus by Gianluigi Buffon in 2001 might have been the best possible thing to happen to him as he ended up in the Premier League, where he spent 10 years.
Van der Sar ended up at Old Trafford following a stint at Fulham, and it was as the keeper for Manchester United that he really established his status as a Champions League legend.
The most memorable moment in the Champions League for van der Sar may be his performance in the 2008 final against Chelsea. He came up with multiple saves to keep the game at 1-1 going into extra time. Following extra time, the match would be decided by penalties, Petr Cech vs. van der Sar in net.
After United went up 6-5 with the title in grasp, Nicolas Anelka stepped to the spot. Van der Sar pointed to his left, almost challenging Anelka to put it in the top corner. Instead, Anelka went to van der Sar’s right and he was there to parry the shot away, winning the title for United.
Van der Sar truly sealed his status as one of the best with this extraordinary save with the Champions League title on the line. He is a two-time winner, in 1995 with Ajax and in 2008 with Manchester United, and is truly deserving of 22nd on this list.
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