His kids are in school and he probably has enough money and other interests to not need to go abroad.
Rio - SAF's greatest defender?
- Thread starter Massive Spanner
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this will be his last season as a professional football player, cant see any other option for him. He is just not good enough anymore, plus he clearly is interested in other stuff. He will have 24 hours to tweet all he wants, manage his magazine, and his other business, plus be with his family. Its his best move i reckon.
And fair play to him. His body has told him it's time and he's been smart enough to invert his money and time into something constructive for retirement. He's done his shift at United and has been a supreme defender. In my opinion he was the best defender in Europe between 2007-2011.
The age has finally caught up with him a while ago and he won't be getting back to his best. Some defenders are capable of sustaining good form until their late 30s but they are few and far between, Ferdinand has had his injury problems in the past and even though he's carried himself well he cannot play for much longer. It'll be a sad day when he finally leaves but it's inevitable.
I do think that Ferdinand is probably finished at the highest level after this season. Whether or not he will take a step down is anybody's guess. If he does I guess he'll be able to go for another 2-3 seasons max at a mid-table level club. My money's on him retiring though. He's been a wonderful servant to the club for a long time and by all accounts one of the more positive influences in the dressing room.
I think it is the right time for him to retire citing injuries. No shame on letting go whilst still on top.
Sad to see the end of Rio/Vidic partnership
Sad to see the end of Rio/Vidic partnership
11 years of service at the club. We thank you Rio.
MLS beckons ?? One of the best defenders in his prime.
he'll earn a lot of money appearing on the television and he got stuffs such as his magazine and restaurant. i'm sure he is making a move into the showbiz industry as well so money is not an issue for him.
hope he retire as a united player. fantastic servant to the club and i agree from 2007-2011 he was the best centerback in the world. actually he looked good last season as sir alex used him properly, but his form just never kick off for this season.
hope he retire as a united player. fantastic servant to the club and i agree from 2007-2011 he was the best centerback in the world. actually he looked good last season as sir alex used him properly, but his form just never kick off for this season.
What a defender. A United legend?? I'd say so.
He should have retired in the summer, to be honest.
Great defender in his day, but he's never exactly endeared himself to me as a character.
Great defender in his day, but he's never exactly endeared himself to me as a character.
My favourite defender at united. Just made defending look so easy and classy in his prime. Hopefully he continues to play a part in the background after retirement as he gets along well with everyone and could be an inspiration for the young ones.
United legend. Lucky enough to meet him a few times and he is a very genuine guy.
I just hope this next few months isn't filled with, he is past it, over the hill, time to retire etc. Just let him enjoy the rest of his United days and and enjoy our last time watching him.
Still has a role to play this season.
I just hope this next few months isn't filled with, he is past it, over the hill, time to retire etc. Just let him enjoy the rest of his United days and and enjoy our last time watching him.
Still has a role to play this season.
Amen. I think the argument that he's United's greatest ever defender is very strong.
Indeed it is. Definitely from a winning standpoint. But in terms of ability though, I'd say the honours might just go to Jaap Stam. I think people forget how immense Stam was due to the manner of his exit, but he was a defender who had the best of both Ferdinand and Vidic's attributes.
Rio in his prime was as graceful and classy a defender as I've ever seen, and Vidic at his best is a brick wall. But till date I've never seen anyone absolutely maul and destroy strikers the way Jaap has. He's a beast of a man too if you see him up close; the kind of guy I'd take with me to a bar brawl.
The worst thing about players who are close to retirement is that after every average or simply poor gamephrases like 'past it', 'time to retire' seem to never end. I'm pretty sure he's not going to have a bad time this season again and he's always going to be at least decent for us, and I also know that for a month or two he'll be in an amazing form and people will come back to this thread saying (after 'retire, ffs') he's the best goalkeeper and still amazes at 36.
I never understand why people feel they have to say somebody's greator terrible. Nothing in between. Judgement. Binary code. 0 or 1.
Surely we should just accept it's different for people over 35 and just enjoy watching them when chosen by manager and understand when they have a worse game.
Stam was excellent, but I suppose it's a little hard to compare when he's only had 2.5 years with us (missed half a season in his third year). One of them a treble, while in the next our backline was awful (he was probably holding it together by himself...). Fantastic defender, but we've seen so very little of him compared with Rio.
I recently suffered a bit of a back injury from falling flat on my back whilst playing football. It's been four weeks now and I can't sprint anymore. I was never really fast, but everything over a jogging tempo looks and feels weird and I get a burning pain in my back. Is that what happened to Rio? He was arguably the fastest centre back around and now he can't run it seems. He looks awkward while running and looks less agile than a hippo. I know a back injury kept him out for a bit, but I never thought it would impair his running before I suffered one myself...
Can't say I ever remember him being one of the fastest centre-backs around. He might have been but I don't recall any stand-out moment of him chasing a attacker down, he just seemed to be always in the perfect position to intercept the ball.
Naah, he was very quick at his best. Always read the game brilliantly but he was quick.
He used to have blistering pace. Coupled with his positional sense it was killer.
In terms of reading the game he is probably the best ive seen play for United. His positioning was brilliant and it showed when he went that long period without conceding a foul. In a time where defenders were celebrated for their last ditch tackles (which was often caused by an initial mistake but never talked about) his ability to read, intercept and until recently drive out with the ball and find a good pass, made him my favourite long term defender for United (Still have love for Stam hence long term :P)
I think the way that Fergie finally found him a partner in Vidic was just amazing. We were blessed to have a partnership like that (especially considering we had Stam/Johsnon and more celebrated Bruce/Pally before that)
I think the way that Fergie finally found him a partner in Vidic was just amazing. We were blessed to have a partnership like that (especially considering we had Stam/Johsnon and more celebrated Bruce/Pally before that)
He used to be really fast for someone of his build. Now he can't even move quickly enough to push up the pitch behind his midfield, which people like John Terry can still do with no real problems. There's definitely something happened there beyond just ageing and given what he's said aboout his back in the past it's pretty silly not to think it's had a detrimental effect in some way.
The fact he's consistently acted like a bellend over the years prevents me from having much love for him however.
The fact he's consistently acted like a bellend over the years prevents me from having much love for him however.
Got to be Rio yeah, with Stam a close second, he was a absolute colossus.
I thought this thread had been bumped because he was promoting his #5 brand around the time of the Munich anniversary today albeit having tweeted a remembrance message before that. Still, not great Rio.
Hang him.
I'd go with Bruce, Pallister, Rio, and Stam; in that order.
Not for me. Bruce & Pallister were great PL defenders and a top partnership but we dominated Europe with Stam and then Rio. Bruce and Pally struggled in Europe as neither were that mobile.
I think Rio takes it for me, just ahead of Stam. But if Stam had stayed longer I would probably be saying him. Stam was the ultimate defender. He had everything.
Rios reading of the game was and still is awesome but sadly injuries have taken their toll. Was the best I the world at his peak IMHO, thanks for everything rio, and it still sickens me how he got shafted with that 9 month ban. It also sickens me how many people have laughably claimed terry is better than rio, when he isn't even in the same fecking league as our jar jar
Stam was immense but for me, Brucie's my favourite. A real warrior who scored some really vital goals for us. Pally not mobile? Looks can be deceiving. Pally could turn on a tanner. Saw him beaten by Shearer once, turn round, make up 20 yards on him and take the ball cleanly. I'd have to agree that Rio has been great for us and I always felt safer when he's been playing. On the European issue, I think it was the foreigner rule that hampered us more than the inclusion of Bruce and Pallister.
The fact that he outpaced Eto'o at his prime is not evidence for you? I don't think anyone else could do that as Eto'o was considered one of the fastest players in the world at that time. Rio also completely owned Torres for pace and strength every time they met, up until that injury that is. I never could believe a back injury could impair your running so much - strength sure, speed, huh...
Rio was a terrific defender. I also like him because he isn't one of those automaton's in front of the camera saying exactly what 90% of the other footballers say. Heck, I don't even think he's that controversial, and I do think he gives a damn about the club. To me, he's the best defender I've seen.
I wonder though, how highly do you guys rate Ronny Johnsen? (he also had blistering pace - outpaced Owen I recall - a great header of the ball and had decent technique. I really think he and Stam clicked well together)
Rio was quicker than a lot think he was but more importantly, he was quicker than anyone upstairs. The way he reads the game is unbelievable.
With that opinion I'd question whether you think at all.
He's a tough one to assess, as injuries basically ruined him. At his best he didn't really have any obvious weaknesses though. Strong, very fast, good anticipation, good clean tackler, good on the ball. Just an excellent player, but its hard to know where to rank him in comparison to our other centre-backs in the Fergie era.
I thought he was terrific yesterday; wasn't caught out for pace and was great on the ball. That little chip he did after 20 seconds or so into the first half, then to sweep in behind Jones to prevent an attack one minute afterwards set the tone for his play.
I think it's about math for this guy. At his current very best, he is 80% of what he once was. He once said that United only had to play at 80% to win matches against the lesser sides. His problem is that he plays 80% of that 80% which, forgive me if I'm wrong, equates to 64%, which I think he too would agree is far too poor. If he can play at his best level, then he is a good option, but I think he relaxes too much against lesser opposition. Play like he did yesterday, and I for one would welcome his experience for next season.
I think it's about math for this guy. At his current very best, he is 80% of what he once was. He once said that United only had to play at 80% to win matches against the lesser sides. His problem is that he plays 80% of that 80% which, forgive me if I'm wrong, equates to 64%, which I think he too would agree is far too poor. If he can play at his best level, then he is a good option, but I think he relaxes too much against lesser opposition. Play like he did yesterday, and I for one would welcome his experience for next season.
Easy to say that now. The guy was in the PFA Team of the Year last year. Few would have thought he would slide so quickly.
In fairness that was because we sat so deep, pace didn't matter. However it was a lovely flash of the old days, Rio and Vida commanding the box.