A legion of fantastic footballers have contributed to Manchester United’s success in the last 25 years. David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Peter Schmeichel, Rio Ferdinand and Roy Keane are just some among their celebrated number.
But bar Cristiano Ronaldo, none of the legendary figures which have passed through Old Trafford are missed more than Nemanja Vidic. This is the greatest tribute which can be paid to the Serbia warrior, who took to his former club’s website on Friday to announce he had fought his last battle on the pitch less than a month since he left Italy’s Internazionale by mutual consent.
What Louis van Gaal would give to possess such a player chiselled from pure granite at the heart of his defence.
“The time has come for me to hang up my boots,” said the 34-year-old. “The injuries I have had in the last few years have taken their toll. I would like to thank all the players I have played with, all the managers and staff I have worked with, and say a big ‘thank you’ to the fans for their support over the years.”
Forget the punch-drunk figure who ambled through a miserable season and a half at the San Siro.
Instead, fans should remember the redoubtable defender who is rightly in the mix for a place in an all-time Premier League XI. Vidic’s statistics at United from January 2006 to May 2014 are sensational and say everything about the former skipper.
The £7 million (Dh36.7m) signing from Spartak Moscow lifted five Premier League titles, one Champions League, one FIFA Club World Cup and three League Cups.
During his 211 top-flight appearances, 95 clean sheets were achieved. At 68 per cent, his win ratio is also the highest of any United player with more than 100 games for the club. He was a truly-committed player, whose supreme talent and desire to bleed for the cause make him a club legend.
In tandem with Ferdinand and in front of giant goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, manager Sir Alex Ferguson had the foundations for his last great side. The failure to replace Vidic by Van Gaal and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has contributed enormously to an unbalanced team which can either defend or attack with aplomb, but is never able to carry out both basic functions.
Phil Jones has proven far-too injury prone and erratic to make any comparison favourable, while the fact lightweight left-back Daley Blind has played regular games in the position is an embarrassment to the fearsome legacy left by Vidic.
Van Gaal’s negative football and even duller tactics have received fierce criticism. They come from an acknowledgement two defensive midfielders are needed to protect a flimsy rearguard in which only Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw have emerged with credit. If the former was partnered by Vidic rather than Blind – a player who began the season donning a hipster ‘bun’ haircut – he would be at an even higher level.
The decision to pursue Sergio Ramos alone last summer and park any other attempts to find an appropriate foil for Smalling has proven to be the most damaging of the series of awful decisions made by Van Gaal since his July 2014 arrival.
Memories of Vidic sparked by his retirement only seek to further highlight the Dutchman’s plentiful inadequacies.
