Sander Westerveld

Early career and Liverpool

Westerveld's first professional match was for Twente in 1994. After two seasons there, he moved to Vitesse for free. Following the 1998–99 season, during which he helped Vitesse to qualify for Europe, Westerveld was sold to Liverpool, where he succeeded David James. He became the most expensive goalkeeper in British football when he joined the Reds for a reported fee of £4 million during the summer of 1999. Westerveld made his Liverpool debut against Sheffield Wednesday on 7 August 1999 in a 2–1 away win. Then, on 28 August 1999, he saved a Davor Šuker penalty, as Liverpool beat Arsenal 2–0. He was Gérard Houllier's first choice to succeed James as Anfield's number one, and Westerveld fully justified the manager's confidence by playing a leading role in Liverpool's return to Europe, conceding the fewest goals in the 1999–2000 Premier League season. He played a key role in the treble season of 2000–01 for Liverpool, emerging as the hero of the League Cup final victory over Birmingham City, making the winning save from Andrew Johnson in the penalty shoot-out. However, towards the end of his two-season spell at Liverpool, he was often subjected to criticism from the media. After a major mistake in a match against Bolton Wanderers on 27 August 2001, he was put on the bench by Houllier, who promptly signed two new goalkeepers, Jerzy Dudek and Chris Kirkland. He did not play again after the Bolton error, and was sold to Real Sociedad of La Liga…

Westerveld made his debut for the Netherlands on 8 June 1999, in an away friendly 3–1 defeat to Brazil in Goiânia. He was included in the Dutch squad for Euro 2000, and played the last group match against France, both teams being already qualified. The last of his six caps came on 28 February 2001, in a 0–0 friendly home draw with Turkey, although he did make the squad for Euro 2004.

Notes

Son Sem Westerveld who is playing for Jong AZ, is also a professional football goalkeeper.