Quotes from Edwin van der Sar

Jean Tigana wants to go to the top with Fulham, and I like that ambition.

When I left Ajax in 1999, I travelled to Liverpool and spoke to Houllier. I was shown around Anfield and also met with the chairman and a couple of the players. I thought about it, but when Juventus came to the table, I came to the conclusion that it would be a bigger challenge to play in Italy.

Ajax has always been about homegrown players developed in a small country.

Ajax always bring through young players from their academy - we can't pay €20m for a player, so we make sure we develop those players and give them the opportunity to play.

Of course that's Ajax development, giving young players a chance.

It's hard to put your faith in youngsters, but Ajax have always done that.

Being at Manchester United is a great way to play at the highest level and win trophies with a team that is very closely knitted together.

You have to get your motivation from within, and it doesn't matter if you lose in the quarters, the semis, or the final. You must want to have another chance of winning the trophy.

I've never had the experience of 10 years at Unilever and five years at Coca Cola. But I'm not the marketing director who only wants 25 per cent a year on the revenues. In the old days, you sold something, and you would be happy. At Ajax, we thought we needed more from that than selling a seat and making five grand.

We need a solution for European football. You need to help smaller clubs in European competitions get the right distribution of money so they can invest in coaches and attract talent for the level they can play at.

You don't need only your strikers. You need your defenders to be on top of their game. You need a midfield to work hard and track back, and I suppose you need a goalkeeper who makes saves once in a while.

It's hard for the older boys to play twice a week, so it's important for everyone in the squad to play their part.

I think England's always good at making something special.

You see the strength of the Spanish league, the Premier League, Germany, France, and Italy. The TV revenues are so much higher in those countries.

United is a special place.

If you have a love for sport, everybody knows the success of Madrid in the '60s, Ajax in the '70s, Bayern Munich, and so on.

Celtic and Ajax are great names in history. They both have great followings all over the world, not just in Holland and Scotland.

I've been the captain at Ajax and once for the national team - it's nice and makes you an important player.

Craven Cottage is a great stadium, really traditional, going through the rows of houses until a stadium suddenly appears.

Every time I hear that Champions League song, it reminds me of hearing it for the first time in the old Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.

I didn't find it hard to settle at United because there was a great bunch of players, great staff, and a good atmosphere at the club.

I accept that I didn't play very well in Italy for the two years. It was lower than my Ajax standard. I don't know why.

If you are in the Premier League or at Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Bayern Munich, you are at an end station.

We accept that, in one way now, if you are 27, 28 and still playing for Ajax, you are probably not good enough for the top of Europe because players want to go to the top in Europe.