The veteran Dutchman was unable to provide a fitting climax to his stellar career at Wembley as Manchester United lost 3-1 to Barcelona in the Champions League.
It left him with an overall tally of two wins and three defeats from his five finals and marked the end of two decades at the top of the game.
The 40-year-old goalkeeper has started taking his coaching badges. And he has enrolled on a course in Holland, so he does have the option of completing them both in his adopted home and his real one.
Given his experience, Van der Sar is bound to be a man in demand.
However, his immediate reaction as he headed towards the rest of his life was to take a break.
"I have done some coaching badges in England and have put myself forward to do that in Holland as well but I am not sure if I am going to finish them," he said.
"Maybe it is too soon. I want to take a year out and do some nice things.
"I want to watch some games with friends in a normal situation on a Saturday, have a nice meal on a Saturday night, watch a game on Sunday, play golf and have some family time."
In addition, his wife Annemarie's continuing recovery from a stroke has to be taken into account.
However, how long it will be before Van der Sar starts to get itchy feet for an involvement in the game he knows so well remains to be seen.
"It is not going to be easy," he said. "I never said that.
"I have some friends who retired five or six years ago, so I have exceeded my expectations by two or three seasons anyway. It is not a big problem."
Van der Sar was remarkably emotionless about his retirement, and the fact his final game ended in a defeat.
"I am quite all right," he said.
"It is not too bad. I expected more emotions, or different ones.
"It is the right time for me and I am happy with my decision.
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