Rio Ferdinand's Career Should Be Looked Back Upon As One Of The Finest Defenders In The Game

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By Graham Ruthven (@grahamruthven)

When England one day looks back on its golden generation of the past decade one man will most likely be overlooked. David Beckham will be heralded as the icon of a generation, with Paul Scholes labelled the finest midfielder of his era and Steven Gerrard an irrepressible force of nature.

John Terry will probably be hailed as the greatest English defender of such a time, but that accolade should go to another player: Rio Ferdinand.

Certain buzzwords tend to be used when praising a centre-back - bruising, solid, steadfast just to name a few - and while Ferdinand possessed such qualities, there was a refinement to his game that transcended his role as a defender. As Harry Redknapp once said, he was “a Rolls-Royce of a defender.”

His retirement from soccer - announced last week - has prompted a collective recall of Ferdinand’s true validity as a genuine great of the sport.

Sure, there was nobody better than Terry for a last-ditch tackle or a goal-saving header, but Ferdinand has the positional awareness and intelligence to ensure that he never had to make such interventions. He prevented such situations before they could even arise - that’s how good he was.

“He was a great player, without a doubt the best centre-half I have ever played with,” gushed Scholes, Ferdinand’s United teammate for the best part of a decade. “I would say for a time he was the best centre-half in the world. He was such a pleasure to play with and play in front of. To play in front of him, he made your job so easy.”

Sir Alex Ferguson’s greatest teams were always built on the basis of strong centre-back pairings, and in Ferdinand and Vidic the United manager had the greatest of the lot. Gary Pallister and Steve Bruce were good, as were Jaap Stam and Ronny Johnsen but no Man Utd centre-back partnership was as accomplished and as finely balanced as Ferdinand and Vidic. They were the quintessential, modern defensive pairing.

Despite making 455 appearances for United - winning seven Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2008 - Ferdinand was often taken for granted. Certain aspects of his character grated with Ferguson - including one particular instance when the Scot questioned whether meeting with P Diddy would make him a better centre-back. His high-profile Twitter persona never sat well with Fergie - or United as a club - either. But his quality as a player made up for all this. It never truly mattered.

It’s a great shame that Ferdinand never got the send off he deserved. His centre-back partner Vidic was afforded an audience with the Stretford End following his final game at Old Trafford before joining Inter Milan - but with Ferdinand’s own future unresolved at that point he slinked into the United dressing room with little fuss before being told that he would never play for the club again. The club’s fans had to make do with giving the defender a standing ovation on his return with Queens Park Rangers.

However, Ferdinand wasn’t always held in such esteem at United. In fact, Ferguson called him a “big, casual sod” upon his arrival at the club’s training for the first time since his record £30 million transfer from Leeds United. Mancunians didn’t take too kindly to the sight of a flashy Londoner sweeping into Man Utd, with peroxide blond hair and white suit. 

There was also the eight-month suspension for missing a drugs test - which came as something of a blow for a club that had just splurged a record transfer fee on the defender. But upon his return Ferdinand established himself as the player to match his hefty price.

Ferdinand has endured personal heartbreak over the past few weeks, following the death of his wife Rebecca Ellison from cancer. The 36-year-old will now have more time to take care of his family in what will be a very difficult time - providing perspective for what really matters in life.

Soccer eulogies will do little to heal such pain, but in time Ferdinand will look back at a career that can be matched by very few others. The centre-back was often overshadowed for club and country, but in truth neither had any better.