United had tried to sign the Dutchman previously without success, and considering their goalkeeping problems in the interim it was certainly a mistake to miss out.
Van der Sar showed in his first few months at Old Trafford that he is an immense goalkeeper, commanding in his area and athletic and agile for such a giant of a player.
A couple of uncharacteristic errors towards the end of the year, when he was beaten at his near post against Everton and Birmingham City, were certainly masked by the match-winning performances he had already produced for the Red Devils in 2005/06.
Granted, Van der Sar's age - he was 34 when joining the Red Devils - means he is more of a stop-gap measure than the long-term answer. But it is a situation most United fans would settle for after the wayward years with Mark Bosnich, Fabien Barthez, Tim Howard and Roy Carroll.
The Holland international moved to Old Trafford for an undisclosed fee on a two-year deal after spending four years with Fulham.
A goalkeeper with great agility for one so tall, he is a reliable and commanding figure between the sticks - one of Schmeichel's main attributes.
He began his career with Ajax Amsterdam. There he won the UEFA Cup in 1992, the Champions League in 1995 and the Dutch domestic treble in 1996.
Van der Sar was the first foreign keeper to play for Juventus when he made the move to Serie A.
And the unfashionable Cottagers pulled off a major coup when they signed Van der Sar from Juventus in a £7million deal in August 2001. The deal smashed the club's transfer record.
Van der Sar had been linked with a move to Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal before signing for Fulham, with the player stating that he had rejected the chance to move to Old Trafford.
He made his debut, coincidentally, in a 3-2 defeat at Manchester United on the opening day of the 2001/02 season.
The player missed only one match in 2003/04, being as dependable as ever and holding the record for the most shots saved over the campaign. He passed 100 Fulham appearances that term - and was also named Fulham's Player of the Year.
He was linked with a return to PSV, but remained with Fulham and was also named in the Dutch squad for Euro 2004.
With his contract due to expire in the summer of 2005, Fulham managed to tie him to a new two-year contact in January. That was despite much talk of a transfer window move to Manchester United.
But at the end of the campaign he finally agreed to move to Old Trafford after the two clubs settled on a fee.
Van der Sar played 154 games for Fulham.
He made his United debut in a 3-0 Champions League qualifying victory at home to Debrecen and soon settled into life at Old Trafford, a colossus between the sticks.
His arrival at United coincided with an improvement in the team's defensive performances. And he was rewarded with a League Cup medal in 2006 and the return of the Premiership title after four years in 2007 in which he was a virtual everpresent.
And in 2008 he celebrated another Champions League success with the Red Devils.
United's task may now lie in replacing their latest big Dutchman.
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