The big Dutchman and his back-four have managed to move a stage closer to surpassing Danny Verlinden's 19 year old European clean sheet record against Fulham tonight.Edwin van der Sar this evening managed to add another layer of achievement to what could turn out to be an epoch defining season for Manchester United when he moved closer to the 19-year-old record for time played without conceding a goal, with the help of his defenders of course.
The record had previously been established at an almost incredible 1,390 minutes back in 1990 by Dany Verlinden, who was playing for Belgian outfit Club Brugge at the time.
It had been thought that Abel Resino's stint of 1,275 goalless minutes for Atletico Madrid was the European best, but further research found that Verlinden's mark was the one to be reached for. Surpassing Resino's mark is still significant, as it is the longest shut-out in a major European league.
The world record stands at 1,816 minutes, and is held by Brazilian Mazaropi, who went unbeaten between May 1977 and Sept 1978 for Vasco da Gama, though the heavily regionalised nature of Brazilian domestic football means that he was up against sides who varied widely in quality.
The Dutchman's achievement should not be sniffed at though, especially with the quality of attacking talent on show every week in the Premier League. Tellingly, United have only conceded goals recently, to Derby County in the League and FA Cups, when van der Sar hasn't been playing.
With the Red Devils challenging on every front for trophies as they seek a domestic treble and the European Champions League to add to their crown as World Club Champions, there really is an awesome aura of invincibility surrounding the Red Devils as they sweep all before them.
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