With Gary Neville injured and Ryan Giggs only making an appearance from the bench, Rio Ferdinand was entrusted with the captain’s armband for Manchester United’s appearance in the European Cup final last season.
“He dominated on the ground and in the air” read the Manchester Evening News report on Ferdinand in that match. “Heroic defending at times, terrific display” read The Daily Mail.
Ferdinand has emerged from a hate figure for much of the Old Trafford crowd, to a worthy captain, again, for much (not all) of our fans. His maturity is something which has been noted in the press time and again recently, with Ferdinand growing up and growing away from the negative features that previously dogged his character.
His affection for the club has also grown. Whilst before United just seemed to be just something to fund his lifestyle, the new mature Rio is aware of what an honour it is to play for our club.
“To be able to stay at Manchester United for another five years is something I wanted desperately,” Ferdinand said after signing another contract extension. “You see the surroundings, training every day at Carrington and playing in front of 70,000-odd fans every week, what more could you ask for?”
Whilst becoming Manchester United and England captain are things Ferdinand desperately wants, his ability to put others before himself is impressive.
After being tipped to be both the long-term England and United captain, Ferdinand played down the effect captaincy should have on your performance. If you’re a born leader, as Rio is, then nothing need change.
“The way you prepare for a game shouldn’t be dictated by whether or not you have an extra piece of cloth on your arm,” Rio said. “You just go out and do what you normally do. That’s what’s won you the captaincy in the first place, so why change it? It’s a privilege to be the captain and lead the team out, but I don’t change anything. I just try and be myself. I talk quite a bit anyway during the game and in the changing room, so I just try and continue that and obviously lead by example on the pitch. You play to the best of your abilities and give 100 per cent and if your team-mates see you, the captain, doing that then it might inspire them a little more.”
After Fabio Capello named Rio as his captain for England’s friendly against France, he was again very respectful of his team mates and others in the running for the captaincy.
“Being given the duty the other day was a real honour for me, I’d love to be the captain of England, who wouldn’t?” he said. “It’s not going to be the be all and end all, it won’t make or break my career or make me lose sleep at night. I’m still going to have the same thoughts and apply myself the same way regardless of who is being picked as captain. I want to win things and we need eleven captains out there not just the one.“
Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed that it’s in Rio’s “destiny” to become our catapin, following his impressive displays with the armband in place of Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs.
With this is mind though, Rio has against respectfully paid tribute to Neville.
“Gary Neville is the Man United captain. The sooner he gets fit for Manchester United the better because he is a fantastic player,” said Rio yesterday. “We are hoping he’ll be fit for the new season. He’s had a lot of bad luck this year with injuries and we’d like to see him fit. He’s a top player.”
Whilst in the past I made my feelings of dislike for Rio well known, I just find myself becoming more impressed with his attitude. Instead of directing the praise in his path, he is more than happy to praise those around him. Whilst others are concerned with their own status, Rio will sacrifice that for the club. He wants to be captain, but it happy to give 100% for the shirt regardless of who wears the armband. And that is admirable.
no songs about rio yet scott? hes gone from being an immature greedy prick to being someone who we can argue with the scousers with against jamie ‘row z’ carragher, and win! a world reknowned defender, hus pure class!!!
He’s definitely grown up in the last few years. You can tell from his behaviour after the penalties in Moscow that he appreciates being at United much more than he used to. I’ve actually started to like him quite a bit. After Ronaldo, he was our best player last year and didn’t let us down a single time. World class.
totally agree colbert!
His self sacrifice sound so worthy captain to me.
Stephen Colbert: “After Ronaldo, he was our best player”
I beg to differ – Rio was more important that Ronaldo; so was Vidic and so was Rooney and Tevez.
But, the key to UTD’s double last year was on the other side of the score-sheet: best defensive record which was a crucial part of the best goal-difference. Rio and Vidic rarely were beaten; Rooney and Tevez worked both ends of the pitch.
That’s not to denigrate Ronaldo’s fabulous scoring record but he is, ultimately, a “luxury player” and not a team player. With those other guys doing the heavy lifting/hard graft, it was possible for UTD to afford that “luxury” and only a fool would deny that he more than repaid the team with his goals. But he was not the “best player”.
hi denton davey, i totally agree with u. i had an arguement with a barcelona fan who wanted cr7 to leave man united. i asked him who was the best player in man united last two seasons and he said ronaldo.good. i asked him who was the best player in portugal for the last two years, he said ronaldo.good. i asked him what man united had won in those last two years and he said EPL twice and european cup.good. i asked what portugal had won in their last two tournaments, he said nothing. i now asked him why does ronaldo wins things in man united but cannot win in protugal but the guy could not give an answer. the answer is very simple: teh players around ronaldo are very well suited to complementing him and they understand how to make the best use of their team mates. rio and vida are the best center backs in the world. i dont care if anyone has a contrary opinion but if i am to choose, the two will definitely top the list.