Q&A: Edwin Van der Sar

The Manchester United hero previews Sunday's Red Heart United match at Old Trafford and explains why he's looking forward to linking up with Messrs Scholes, Johnsen and Stam...

How’s your fitness ahead of kick-off?
I had a quick game of 5-a-side before the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley, which was quite quick and good for me. The players didn’t move as well as they did before but they did well, so it was a good game. I have also trained with the Under-19s at Ajax, so I hope it will be enough for Sunday. I saw the trailer with the lads training in the park and they look good. I also saw Figo recently and he said he is looking forward to the game. I just hope we can overturn the deficit from last year's game in Madrid.

Speaking of the first leg, it wasn’t your usual charity match was it?
It was very competitive. Of course it is for a good cause and everyone likes to play, but you always get a little bit competitive if somebody kicks you for example, or beats you to the ball, so that winning mentality always shows itself. It never leaves you. It drives you to do well and please the supporters. We all want to make a good impression of ourselves also.

Presumably, you must be keen to play behind Ronny Johnsen and your compatriot Jaap Stam?
Yes. Of course, I never played with them in 1999 when they were in their heydays but I played with Jaap last year at Soccer Aid. He looked good, he was sharp, his tackling was okay and he was still aggressive on the ball when he had to be. So I’m looking forward to playing with him again and hopefully we can get our partnership that we had with the national team back.

What do you make of both squads this time around?
Last year, I think they brought about 30 players onto the pitch with the likes of Roberto Carlos, Zidane and Figo, so it’s hard to believe they’ve strengthened this time around. But we have a good team - I just hope we can keep Scholesy on the pitch for as long as we can because he’ll probably be our fittest player. It will be great to play with him at Old Trafford again.

And how excited are you to return to Old Trafford?
I was here for the last game when the manager left and the team lifted the trophy so it was a great atmosphere, if we can get anywhere near those levels I will be delighted. Manchester is known for supporting good causes like the Foundation and watching great football players, so it will be a great day for the whole family. Ticket prices can sometimes be a little bit high for Premier League games so this is a great opportunity for everybody to have a good time.

Edwin van der Sar was speaking exclusively to ManUtd.com and the Red Heart United matchday programme, which can be bought at Old Trafford on Sunday 2 June.