Really a majestic player with and against the ball, one of the complete modern center-backs. As far as my (limited) knowledge on English football history goes, Bobby Moore should be the other mention here.I remember being a bit snide about him being 'lazy' back when he was playing, but it was just because he was a rival team's player. Probably the most cultured defender England has ever produced. His sheer talent alongside Terry's leadership and drive was a pretty special combination, I wish we could have seen it at club level (at Chelsea).
How good was Rio Ferdinand? | …….
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
Rio brought stability to a defence that was in shambles. Vidic played with the likes of Rio, Evra and Gaz in his prime. Rio had to play with Wes, Mickey and frigging OShea as left back
Yeah, you don't really know what you're on about. Just more generalising. Who actually is 'UK football' and what are they failing to comprehend? You don't even know who or what you're referring to. Joe Bloggs on the street? Academy coaches nationwide? Fabio Capello? Roy Hodgson? Gareth Southgate? What is wrong with who?
Or do you just find it to hard to comprehend that there's nothing remotely ridiculous about believing Vidic to be better than Ferdinand, or Gerrard better than Scholes?
That's a very good video. He sort of lost his composure on the ball in the later years though. His passing was wayward and he stopped dribbling past players as he lost his pace but at his peak he was just amazing.From 4:45
Blanc was majestic, just too bad he was too old and slow when he came to United.
I am referring to the FA, its 'coaches' some of whom tend to honour us with their opinion on TV and its supporters. As said I've never seen non UK neutrals debating who was better between Vidic/Gerrard/Lampard and Rio/Scholes. The difference in terms of talent was pretty evident to everybody
Blanc was always slow
Best CBs post-Baresi
1. Stam
2. Nesta
3. Thiago Silva(peak)
4. Thuram
5. Maldini
6. Rio Ferdinand
That is all
1. Stam
2. Nesta
3. Thiago Silva(peak)
4. Thuram
5. Maldini
6. Rio Ferdinand
That is all
He certainly wasn't the right fit when he came. But on the ball he was
As a kid I cried because I wanted Man United to sign Rio Ferdinand but my Dad told me Leeds wouldn't sell him to us
This was before he was even linked or anything. I knew a good defender when i saw one, even then
This was before he was even linked or anything. I knew a good defender when i saw one, even then
True.He certainly wasn't the right fit when he came. But on the ball he was
He was perfect for La Liga/Serie A. But even in his prime I could never see him doing well in the EPL. Not unless, we played him alongside a young defender whose gifted with lightening pace
What coaches? You haven't got a scooby, mate. Please explain how your nationality can impact upon your ability to differentiate between two footballers, particularly two great ones that have contributed heavily to a team of similar ilk?
I find it hard to believe you know everybody in the world, so I am willing to bet that there is some fella' from Bulgaria or Slovakia that does infact believe Vidic to be better than Ferdinand. And I can well imagine his argument is sound. Or are the Slovaks thick as feck, too? Or do they live in caves like us Brits?
To me Rio was the best defender since Maldini and Nesta in the early 00's. As others mentioned Nesta after 06/07 was struggling with injuries and at the time IMO Rio was the best in the world. Since then only Godin stands out, while Rio is comfortably better than Bonucci, Barzagli, Ramos, T.Silva etc.
As for comparing Rio and Vidic it's a hard one, considering Vidic fit the Premiership like a glove. Physical, gets stuck in and great in the air. Rio however was the organizer and main man at the back for me, which I always rate a bit more.
As for comparing Rio and Vidic it's a hard one, considering Vidic fit the Premiership like a glove. Physical, gets stuck in and great in the air. Rio however was the organizer and main man at the back for me, which I always rate a bit more.
Its not nationality mate, its the football philosophy that such country has.In the UK workrate tend to get the edge over talent. When two top quality players are compared, the one whose more physically strong or is more hardworking tend to take the biscuit. Modern football tend to disagree with that.
As said, the Italians passed from pretty a similar shock when the catenacchio became obsolete. Its a shame you don't know Italian as I can send you clips where Sacchi (who was instrumental for Italy to get rid of such mentality) rips the traditional Italian defensive football mentality apart.
Absolute drivel.
I think Rio was better then Nesta
Rio, Maldini >>>> Thaigo Silva.
My best CB Post-Baresi
1. Maldini
2. Rio
3. Stam
4. Blanc
5. Thuram
6. Nesta
1. Maldini
2. Rio
3. Stam
4. Blanc
5. Thuram
6. Nesta
Best defender in the world in 2008. Vidic outshone him for longevity but that was partly due to injury.
One minute in: the customary Suarez crying and diving.
I think you do a huge disservice to the improvements grassroots football has made and is continuing to make in England. Again, you're just generalising the work of thousands of coaches and thousands of children. Ultimately, it has nothing to do with how one rates Vidic and Ferdinand, two fantastic defenders in their own right. I'll go back to my initial argument, there is little between the two of them, and that opinion has nothing to do with where I was born or any abstract football culture.
This.
People seem to value defenders if they're all about 'getting stuck in' more of a Vidic than a Rio.
I think it takes more talent and reading of the game to keep your shorts clean like you said, not dive in or make rash decisions etc.
On topic.
Rio was world class, no doubt about it, he did it on the European stage repeatedly, even while he was at Leeds he performed well in Europe.
For me, he was better than Vidic, better than Terry, better than Carvalho. Best defender in the PL and best English defender too.
I am aware that things are changing and thank god for that. I am also aware that most pundits/managers etc are products of a coaching system of 10-20 years ago, ie a system which was tried and proven to be flawed. However I believe that more need to be done
PS: As a United supporter I have an interest to see UK football improve. Clubs in the EPL are spending ridiculous amount of money and are barely getting the dividend they deserve out of it. The best clubs in the world (Bayern, Barcelona etc) have a core of top quality homegrown talent to rely on. Hopefully we'll soon have that again too
Not neccessarily. There is many ways to win the ball. Carrick was a magnificent DM and he was hardly a Robbie Savage (or in need of one).
But seriously I remember as a kid the media frenzy when he signed for us. Was brilliant.
Nah to me Nesta was the better one of the two especially in the early 00's when it was his peak. He and Maldini formed a great partnership barring some odd games like that Istanbul final they were rock solid in the CL winning 2 out of the three finals they got to. He also stood out as an absolute leader at the back in Lazio Seria A winning campaign in 00.
If since Baresi means from the early 90's I'd have several more than Maldini, Nesta and Thuram in front of Rio.
Namely Kohler, Sammer, Desailly and possibly Bergomi if we include his peak.
I don't rate Blanc that high. At the NT he was flanked by some incredible defenders in Thuram, Desailly and Lizarazu and protected by Vieira, Deschamps, Karembeau, Petit etc..
I agree on Stam, for me he was basically Vidic with pace.
I totally agree with this. Vidic and Rio were both great defenders and the best partnership was the best United have had but Stam was the best individual defender united have had in the premiership years. He was almost an amalgam of Rio and Vidic's best qualities.
He replaced Laurent Blanc in defence (who was barely mobile). If he didn't improve that defence it would have been worrying. I was disappointed with Rio when he first joined. He seemed to have made huge strides in leadership and consistency at Leeds but went back a level after joining United.
Rio was a very good defender but your "look at the defence with and without him" argument does him no favours, especially when you consider the success or otherwise of the Vidic/Evans and Rio/Evans combinations.
In what way? Did you rate those combinations?
I thought about that too and figured the original post could only have meant post-1997, when Baresi ended his career. This way the names listed would make sense, but of course I can't say for sure.
You think Vidic would have been a good combo with Silvestre or O'Shea?
O'Shea no. Silvestre or Brown yes.
Rio was magnificent. Always seemed so composed and assured and was nearly always in a position where he didn't need to throw himself in to a last ditch tackle. I feel this is the reason Terry was always rated higher than Rio by some, just because Terry was a ''proper defender''.
Doesn't matter if you think he was or wasn't better than Vidic, both were simply fantastic. When it looked like Rio was past it in 2009/2010 when notably he got torn to shreds by Torres at Anfield he came back stronger and smarter from the back injury and managed it a lot better and was brilliant in 2012/2013.
Great leader as well.
Doesn't matter if you think he was or wasn't better than Vidic, both were simply fantastic. When it looked like Rio was past it in 2009/2010 when notably he got torn to shreds by Torres at Anfield he came back stronger and smarter from the back injury and managed it a lot better and was brilliant in 2012/2013.
Great leader as well.
Silvestre... really? Now you're having a complete mare. So shit was he that we happily sold him to a rival.
Brown was an injury nightmare before Vidic's arrival so we rarely got to see him partnered up for long at CB.
Rio actually won a PL title playing alongside old man Blanc & Silvestre, with P. Nev at full back, that's how good he was.
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Definitely world class and up there with the best defenders I think.
Also he was a big team player
Also he was a big team player
That makes sense then. It's a pity Fergie sold Stam(as he admits as well). Stam/young Rio would've been a one helluva partnership that would've brought 1-2 premiership titles more methinks.
To an extent yes but still better than most defenders on the ball even in his later years. For someone to say they never felt comfortable with Rio on the ball and that he was a donkey and comparing him to Jones is ridiculous.
Is Stam a bit over-rated? Great for us no doubt, but only for three years. Then he failed a drug test at Lazio (which nobody ever seems to mention, perhaps it wasn't particularly serious) and joined the OAPs at Milan. How did he get on in Serie A, was he one of the best players in the league during his time there?
Silvestre and Brown were both gifted athletically but made mistakes, some absolute howlers. Vidic's style complements both better than Rio's did.
Vidic joined in a 6 month period when we also signed Evra and VDS. Before that United's defence wasn't amazing granted and it became immense between 06-09 but that wasn't all down to Vidic.
I think for one or two years Rio was the best defender in the world (and remember saying so at the time) so pretty fecking good.
Vidic was also very good, but not quite that level.
Vidic was also very good, but not quite that level.