Former Liverpool goalkeeper Sander Westerveld has spoken about his time at Anfield and admitted he is still not sure why Gerard Houllier sold him.
The Dutchman was signed by Vitesse in the summer of 1999 for a British record fee for a goalkeeper (£4m) and was part of the famous treble-winning team in 2001.
But following the arrival of Jerzy Dudek and Chris Kirkland on Merseyside, the goalkeeper fell down the pecking order, eventually being sold to Real Sociedad in the winter of 2001.
“I know what happened, but I still don’t understand it,” says Westerveld (quoted by Planet Football). “From day one, Houllier told me and the press that you need time to adjust to the English league. Obviously, I was criticized like all goalkeepers. They are under a lot of pressure, especially in Liverpool.
“I never felt the pressure, but I could see and hear the criticism. I started well in my first year, when I was 24, and goalkeepers tend to get better every year. In the first year we had the best defense in the Premier League and in the second year we won the treble.
“I was getting better, but already, from the first day of pre-season, I heard rumors that Liverpool would bring a new goalkeeper. That is normal. He was not nervous, nor was he afraid of losing my place, because he felt that he was doing good things ”.
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Both Dudek and Kirkland were signed after Liverpool lost to Bolton Wanderers and Westerveld made a big mistake.
That would be his last game for the Anfield side and he knew it was written on the wall after being left out of the entire squad for a Champions League game.
“I made a mistake,” says Westerveld. “Then I went with the national team and Liverpool bought two goalkeepers instead of one. That was obviously a big blow to me.
“I never thought I would have to leave Liverpool. I always had a lot of confidence. I knew what he was doing. All goalkeepers make mistakes, but I also earned points.
“If they had brought in a goalkeeper, even Dudek, I would still be fighting for my spot. Nobody knows what would have happened. But when they buy two goalkeepers and they don’t even take you on a Champions League trip as number three, you know you’re number four.
“From number one to number four. That was just a nightmare. There was nothing I could do. I had no chance to come back and they made it very clear to me. I thought it was very hard, but what can you do? That’s how things happen in football.”
The 48-year-old was very happy at Liverpool and playing in England was his ‘dream’, so to hear about the whole situation and how his career with the Reds came to an end is pretty sad.
“Everything was going very well for me and the icing on the cake was Liverpool. English football is very popular in the Netherlands and when I was a child it was Liverpool who won everything. My dream was always to play in England and Liverpool was my club.”
Although he believed the end of his Merseyside career was premature, he can be proud of his achievements – the treble-winning campaign and team will be remembered for a long, long time.
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