Nemanja Vidić
Serbian footballer / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Nemanja Vidić (Serbian Cyrillic: Немања Видић, Serbian pronunciation: [němaɲa ʋǐːditɕ]; born 21 October 1981) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Widely considered to be one of the greatest defenders in history, Vidić is best known for his time at Manchester United, where he won 15 trophies and served as club captain.[nb 1] He is one of only four players to win the Premier League Player of the Season award twice, alongside Thierry Henry, Kevin De Bruyne and Cristiano Ronaldo.[12][13]
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Nemanja Vidić[1] | ||
Date of birth | (1981-10-21) 21 October 1981 (age 42) | ||
Place of birth | Titovo Užice, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia | ||
Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
Youth career | |||
1989–1994 | Jedinstvo Užice | ||
1994–1996 | Sloboda Užice | ||
1996–2000 | Red Star Belgrade | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2000–2004 | Red Star Belgrade | 67 | (12) |
2000–2001 | → Spartak Subotica (loan) | 27 | (6) |
2004–2006 | Spartak Moscow | 39 | (4) |
2006–2014 | Manchester United | 211 | (15) |
2014–2016 | Inter Milan | 23 | (1) |
Total | 367 | (38) | |
International career | |||
2002–2011 | Serbia | 56 | (2) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
After establishing himself at Red Star Belgrade during the early 2000s, Vidić moved to Spartak Moscow in the summer of 2004. He completed a £7 million transfer to Manchester United in January 2006, where he established a formidable defensive partnership with Rio Ferdinand.[14] Vidić spent eight years at United, during which time he won five Premier League titles, three Football League Cups, five FA Community Shields, the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Champions League. He was appointed club captain in 2010, a position he held for four years until his departure.[15] In 2014, Vidić joined Serie A club Inter Milan on a free transfer. He mainly featured as a rotational player for two seasons before retiring in January 2016 due to injury problems.[16][17]
A Yugoslavian youth international, Vidić made his senior debut on 12 October 2002 against Italy in UEFA Euro 2004 qualification.[18][19] He was part of Serbia and Montenegro's "Famous Four" defence that conceded just one goal during the ten 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification matches, setting a record for the fewest goals conceded.[20] Vidić retired from the Serbia national team in October 2011.[21][22]