Van der Sar pursuing orange dream

RECORD-BREAKER Edwin van der Sar wants to celebrate becoming the most-capped Dutch player of all time by turning the world orange.

If England have endured 40 years of World Cup hurt, imagine how Holland must feel. A country that has produced the legendary talents of Johan Cruyff, Johan Neeskens, Ruud Gullit and current national team boss Marco van Basten, has yet to collect the ultimate prize.

They fell to hosts West Germany and Argentina in the finals of 1974 and 1978, and on their last appearance eight years ago, were beaten on penalties in the semi-final by Brazil.

Along with midfielder Phillip Cocu, Van der Sar is one of two survivors from that heart-breaking night in Marseille.

Following Holland’s win over the Ivory Coast on Friday, the Manchester United goalkeeper knows he will break Frank de Boer’s record of 112 caps when he appears in the first knockout round.

But Van der Sar is desperate to ensure a last 16 outing is nothing more than a stepping stone to a night of glory which would eclipse anything else he has achieved.

“Without doubt, the World Cup is the biggest thing you can win,” said the 35-year-old, who includes a 1995 Champions League honour with Ajax among his collection of medals.

“It is bigger than the Champions League. That competition is held every year. It is the same with the domestic championships. The World Cup is every four years and no-one from Holland has ever won it, so it is easy to understand what an achievement it would be.”

Van der Sar admitted he had De Boer’s record in his sights before the tournament, which may be his last, began.

“I have been involved with the Holland squad for 11 years now, so I was quite determined to break Frank’s record and maybe I have been a little bit more focused than usual in getting through to the second round.”

Cocu and Johnny Heitinga are nursing minor knocks but both should be available for the Group C decider against Argentina in Frankfurt, which represents the biggest test to date for Van Basten’s young side.

“Everyone would say Argentina are the strongest team in our group and we did not want to go into the game having to get something out of it,” explained Van der Sar.

“The game is not as important as it might have been but we have been on a winning streak and, for the sake of our confidence as much as anything else, we want to maintain it.”