Van der Sar and the ambition to win the Europa League with a squad of young stars

The former Dutch goalkeeper was an icon at Man Utd and has been CEO of Ajax for eight months. The two clubs will play in the Europa League final today, May 24.

* The Ajax - Man Utd match takes place at 1:45 a.m. on Thursday, May 25, Hanoi time.

On May 24, 22 years ago, Edwin van der Sar was the goalkeeper of Ajax winning the Champions League when he defeated AC Milan. Today, he is the CEO of the most prestigious club in the Netherlands, preparing to compete for the 2017 Europa League title with Man Utd - the team he played for in the 2008 Champions League campaign.

The person who convinced Van der Sar to take the opportunity to become Ajax's CEO was former Man Utd CEO David Gill, one of the world's most prestigious football managers.

Van der Sar has won the Champions League Cup with both Ajax and Man Utd.

When he hung up his gloves after his last professional match (in the Man Utd shirt in the 2011 Champions League final lost to Barca), Van der Sar did not feel any interest in the work of a coach or football pundit on television like other former colleagues.

The former player took a break before becoming Ajax's marketing director in November 2012. He enjoyed the job, but eight months ago he was offered the new Ajax CEO position. Van der Sar knew the new job would involve more responsibility and pressure, so he called David Gill for advice.

Van der Sar told Sport Mail (UK): "I asked Gill 'What should I do now? Can my wife talk to your wife about it?' Gill replied 'I'll give you a piece of advice: don't let Annemarie call my wife Vicky! If she does, you won't become CEO! That job takes a lot of time, even more than when you were a player'. And Gill was right."

* Van der Sar's talent when he was a goalkeeper for Ajax.

Van der Sar has been working seven days a week since he was appointed CEO of Ajax eight months ago, busy with meetings, brokering deals, and above all, overseeing the progress of young players. He is always at his desk around 9am, and never leaves the office before 7pm. But the former goalkeeper doesn’t see it as a burden. He holds the fate of one of Europe’s great clubs in his hands. And in Stockholm, Sweden, on Wednesday night, May 24, Van der Sar’s new managerial dream could come true.

Van der Sar had a glorious career with 25 titles in Ajax and Man Utd colors. His future ambition is to show the whole European football world that "The giant Ajax has awakened".

"We had to reinvent Ajax," said Van der Sar. "For 21 years we have been empty-handed in Europe. It took too long to get this club back. Now we hope to reap the benefits of having reached the Europa League final with a group of talented young players. We think Ajax is the perfect example of a club that is willing to give young players a chance."

Van der Sar studied for a PhD in International Sports Management to become a manager at Ajax. Here he is with the late Ajax legend Johan Cruyff at his graduation ceremony.

Ajax are now financially strong. Van der Sar found a way to further improve the club's financial foundation. "I signed a contract with a commercial partner. We wanted $14.5 million in advertising on the kit, but we couldn't get that amount from one sponsor alone. So we managed to get $10.5 million from one sponsor, and another $4.5 million from another. It was a proud moment," Van der Sar recalls.

"When I was a goalkeeper, I needed good players around me, needed Nemanja Vidic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. As a CEO, I need the same thing. But now the players, the coach and the club members directly create the results. Personally, I just have to make sure everything else works in the right rhythm," he added about his job.

And things have been going well for Ajax this season. They finished runners-up in the Netherlands (one point behind champions Feyenoord), but have reached the Europa League final. If they beat Man Utd tonight, Ajax will be in next season’s Champions League and send a message of a club reborn through smart signings and a solid youth system.

Van der Sar and Director of Football and a teammate from the 1996 Ajax team, Marc Overmars (right), take on important management positions in the mission to revive the Amsterdam team.

Amin Younes, the German winger who arrived from Monchengladbach for just over $2.5 million, is a recent example of Ajax’s shrewd scouting, as is Andre Onana, the Cameroonian goalkeeper Ajax signed from Barca’s academy in 2015.

Other notable young talents at Ajax include Kasper Dolberg (a 19-year-old striker valued at nearly $26 million, coached by Bergkamp and with finishing skills similar to Van Basten and Ibrahimovic), 18-year-old winger Justin Kluivert (son of Patrick Kluivert), and 24-year-old captain Davy Klaassen (a transfer target for Tottenham and Everton).

But has success come too soon and affected the career development of these rough diamonds? Van der Sar replied: "Someone also said 22 years ago that Ajax players were too young, when we beat Milan in the 1995 Champions League final."

* Ajax 1-0 Milan in the 2005 Champions League final.

Van der Sar is not worried about Ajax's young average age ahead of Wednesday night's game. "Absolutely no worries," said the 46-year-old CEO. "We changed our formation after losing to Rostov in the Champions League qualifiers. And since then, everything has worked well. I saw that positive side in the games against Schalke and Lyon. In both games I saw that these young guys can play in the final." In last week's final league game, Ajax started a squad with an average age of just over 20, the youngest in the history of the Dutch league.

This year’s Europa League final is a clash between two clubs that gave Van der Sar a spectacular medal haul during his playing career. But does he have mixed feelings ahead of tonight’s game? “Not at all,” Van der Sar said. “We wanted to play Man Utd in the pre-final rounds, so they would come to Amsterdam and we would go to Old Trafford. I have a very warm feeling for Man Utd, but not on 24 May.”

Regarding Jose Mourinho's team, Van der Sar assessed: "They have had too many draws this season. But they have won two titles (English Community Shield and League Cup), and now are in another final."

Man Utd are rated higher before this final match.But a young Ajax side were also underdogs in the Champions League final on 24 May 1995, and they defied all odds to beat Milan 1-0. Could history repeat itself on 24 May 2017? “I think it is possible,” Van der Sar told Sports Mail with a twinkle in his eye. “Ajax can overcome the barriers that have held us back over the years. This time we want to achieve something special.”

Van der Sar reached the final, helped Ajax beat AC Milan and won the Champions League at the age of just 24.

According to VNE