21/10/2019
CAPTAIN.
"Nemanja whoa, Nemanja whoa!
He comes from Serbia, He'll f*cking murder ya!"
The chant by the Manchester United faithfuls show the nasty nature of the Serbian, Nemanja Vidic. The Yugoslavian youth team player rose to prominence in his days with Red star Belgrade in early 2000s. The Serbian made the headlines due to his excellence as a part of the "Famous four" of Serbia and Montenegro that conceded one goal throughout the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign. Soon Manchester United came calling and a deal of £7 million was finalized between Spartak Moscow and United. Vidic soon became an integral part of the team forming a resolute defensive pair with Rio Ferdinand that holds a record of 14 consecutive clean sheets. Fair enough to say the pair was one of the best centre back pairings the world of football has ever seen. He won 5 Premier League medals with the Manchester club cementing his place as one of the PL greats of all time.
Vidic's no nonsense approach made him a feared defender. Strong, robust, aerially dominant, a leader of men, he had all the qualities you'll want from a defender. He used to fearlessly put his head in places others won't dare to put their foot in.
"You can fix a broken nose, but if you let somebody score the goal your pride cannot be fixed."- This became a hallmark of his game, often clattering the opposing strikers or going through both the player and the ball to keep his clean sheet intact. Vidic was in three consecutive PFA Team of the year from 2006-07 to 2008-09 and again in 2010-11. He won the Premier League Player of the season twice in 2008-09, 2010-11 and was also a part of FIFA FIFPro World XI in those two years. 2008-09 was arguably his best season with United winning the Premier League Player of the season making him the first defender to do so and again won it in 2010-11 joining the elite list of Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo who've won the award twice him. He also won the Sir Matt Busby player of the year.
Vidic left the club in 2014 for Inter Milan but he already inducted himself in the hall of fame of legendary United figures.
5 Premier League
1 UEFA Champions League
3 League Cup
1 FIFA Club World Cup
5 FA Community Shields
2 Time Serbian Player of the Year
Happy 38th Birthday to the Serbinator, Nemanja Vidic!
