Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand hoping to make up for lost time
Manchester United centre back Rio Ferdinand puts play time above regaining his coveted Captain’s arm band at Old Trafford. The player made his first appearance for the Red Devils in their frustrating goalless draw at Old Trafford against Glasgow Rangers
in the Champions League opener.
Ferdinand had to face three and a half months on the sideline following his heart breaking ankle injury suffered in the first day of training at South Africa. Ferdinand was the then skipper of the Three Lions, but had to miss out the World Cup owing to the
injury. Emile Heskey’s tackle led to Ferdinand spending three months on crutches but he made his full comeback to form on Tuesday.
His comeback couldn’t have come at a better time for the Red Devils as only a day before, manager Sir Alex Ferguson had announced that right back Gary Neville would never again wear the Captain’s arm band. There is a lot of melodrama surrounding the captain’s
arm band at the Red Devils camp. Owing to the injuries of both Neville and Ferdinand, Vidic performed the duties of the captain in the season so far and did a tremendous job in fulfilling his responsibilities. Vidic has worn the armband on a number of occasions
for the Serbian National side, putting him in the pole position owing to his regular starts for the club.
However, with the return of Ferdinand, many expect the English international to resume his capacity as the club skipper and lead his team into Sunday’s clash against Liverpool. The only thing lacking from this dream scenario is that Ferdinand himself isn’t
sure of his place at the club.
"The manager has a decision to make with the players. There were 10 changes for Rangers and it could be the same again on Sunday. Hopefully I will be picked and part of the team. I have got to get picked first", claimed the English midfielder. The player
also seemed comfortable of newly signed Chris Smalling’s partnership, who made his first start for the Red Devils. The 7 million pound former Fulham player has only made cameo appearances for his new employers in the Premier League thus far.
However, Smalling was content with the patient approach thus far at his new club, knowing that they are still many fixtures to be played in the season. Smalling claimed that when he joined United, he was well aware of the competition he would be facing from
4-5 top central defenders. The defender was glad to have partnered with each of them since the pre-season and hoped to play with all and create constructive partnerships. Smalling claimed that it would be a busy period this season and wants to keep himself
in the race to play in most matches.
Manchester United has had a mixed season so far, as they have drawn 3 of their 5 matches so far. Their shock draws at Fulham and Everton, where, despite being in the lead in the five minutes, failed to extract all three points. That has led them to be 4
points off colour from table leader, Chelsea, who have maintained a 100% win record thus far. With Ferdinand back in the ranks, United would be having the much needed experience at the back. They go into a mega derby match against Liverpool on Sunday, but
would have the advantage of the loving home crowd. The Red Devils managed to embarrass Liverpool last season, when Park Ji Sung’s winning goal ended United’s 4 match losing streak against the Reds. With Berbatov, Scholes and Nani expected to start, a very
exciting encounter can be expected between these two English giants on Sunday.
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