5. Rio Ferdinand
Friday, 05 September 08, 08:06 PM · Comments(0)
Armed with elegance, pace and an incredible reading of the game, Rio Ferdinand is undoubtedly one of the finest defenders in world football.
The Peckham-born star burst onto the Premiership scene with West Ham United under the guidance of Harry Redknapp before being snapped up by Leeds United for £18million in November 2000.
The 2002 World Cup provided Rio with the stage to make the transformation from budding talent to accomplished defender, and his performances in Japan convinced Sir Alex Ferguson to part with
a massive £30million.
Although
initially hampered by injury and loss of form, Rio found his feet towards the end of his first season, as United came back from the dead to overtake Arsenal and win their fifteenth League
title.
In September 2003 disaster struck. The defender missed a routine drugs test and, despite appealing, was banned from football for 8 months in January 2004.
Since returning from his suspension, Rio has consistently justified his tag as a world-class defender. He also rediscovered his goal touch, most dramatically with an injury-time winner
against Liverpool in January 2006.
Although an increasingly potent threat from set-pieces, Rio’s main asset remains his leadership in defence – a skill that has made him a solid foundation for both United and England and seen
him handed the captaincy for club and country on numerous occasions.
In May 2008, Ferdinand signed a new five-year contract with the Reds until 2013. Just six days later he went on to captain United to Champions League glory in Moscow.
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