Fulham pulled off a major coup when they signed this giant stopper from Juventus in a £7m deal in August 2001. The Cottagers signalled their intentions by signing him up on a four-year deal.
The Dutch international, who had 57 caps to his name when joining the west London club, started his career with Ajax Amsterdam. There he won the UEFA Cup in 1992, the Champions League in 1995 and the Dutch domestic treble in 1996.
Van der Sar was the first foreign keeper to play for Juventus when he made the move to Serie A.
The deal to bring Van der Sar to Craven Cottage smashed the club's transfer record, and begged the question how long it would take Mohammed Fayed to break that figure yet again.
Van der Sar had been linked with a move to Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal in the past - and the player stated that he had rejected the chance to move to Old Trafford at one point.
Made his debut in a 3-2 defeat at Manchester United on the opening day of the season. Although he was at times at fault for some goals, Van der Sar generally won many plaudits for his debut season in England, making 41 appearances.
- WHO'S WHO