Van der Sar urges Manchester United to never underestimate their opponents

History dictates a firm lesson that you should never underestimate your opponent, and victory favors the brave..well almost, in this instance, for Hull City. Manchester United and Dutch goalkeeping legend Edwin van der Sar has suggested that his team mates should learn from the close call experienced with their recent clash against Hull City, which almost cost Machester United three points.

Van der Sar has suggested that although Manchester United may be a force to be reckoned with, the 4-3 result against Hull City was too close for comfort:

“We got a warning on Saturday,” he told MUTV. “We have to make sure we finish teams off.”

He added: “We must not stop halfway through the second half and start thinking about the next game.

“You have to take it one game at a time, win it with confidence and then move on.”

The above statement resonates the need for goalkeepers to never rest on their laurels, whether they have a world class defense or not. One of the key mistakes a goalkeeper can make is to fall asleep during an uneventful game. Surprises ensue, even when you think that you have a large upper hand against your opponent.

So how do we counteract a lapse in concentration? How does a goalkeeper stay alert for 90 minutes and beyond? If we look back at another Manchester United legend, Danish powerhouse Peter Schmeichel, we can see that his success relied on communication, sure he was a brilliant goalkeeper all round, but he made sure that his back line were on a razors edge of concentration throughout the game.

Communication is a process that starts from a single source, and works it’s way up the chain so that it embraces the team unit as a whole, and world class goalkeepers have a knack for brilliant communication skills. Keepers like Schmeichel and van der Sar know that to win a game in the top flight means keeping communication between themselves and their back line on full throttle for a full 90 minutes and beyond.

Apart from all of this Manchester United talk, what about Hull City! I’m quickly becoming a huge fan, and respecting what they have accomplished in the Premiership season thus far with their no holds barred approach. Huge kudos to goalkeeper Boaz Myhill whom decided to stick with Hull City for so long. I always say luck is labors reward, and Hull may well be staying around the top flight of English football for a long while to come.

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