After a successful career with Vitesse in his native Netherlands, and well into his 30s, he moved to Manchester United where he made 61 appearances over six seasons and won two Premier League titles as well as a host of other honours as backup goalkeeper.

[6] In European competition, as Vitesse reached the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, Van der Gouw kept four consecutive clean sheets, before the side eventually lost to Sporting CP.

[7] Having played more than 350 league games in the Netherlands, Van der Gouw was an experienced choice for taking Tony Coton's place when the latter departed to Sunderland, and joined Manchester United for a fee of £500,000.

In a spirited performance, he denied several clear chances for the opposition, and the 34-year-old Dutchman would have kept a clean sheet were it not for a powerful long range goal early on from David Trezeguet.

Ever the teacher, Van der Gouw coached United's young goalkeepers for a while, but relinquished this role in 1998–99 when Coton rejoined the club, in the same capacity, although not with a playing contract.

[14] Following the arrival of Fabien Barthez, Van der Gouw resumed his role as a backup goalkeeper in 2000–01, being sent off for the only time in English competition, against Watford in the League Cup, on 31 October 2000.

[16] Van der Gouw made his last appearance for the club on 11 May 2002, against Charlton Athletic in a goalless draw at Old Trafford on the final day of the season, and in the process became the oldest United player since the end of the Second World War, two months after his 39th birthday.

[22] In June 2007, Van der Gouw returned to England as goalkeeping coach at Sunderland, linking up with former Manchester United teammate Roy Keane.

After Ricky Sbragia resigned at the end of the 2008–09 season, and Steve Bruce was subsequently appointed as the new manager, Van der Gouw left Sunderland to return to his old club Vitesse, also as goalkeeping coach.