Latest news with #Vidic
Daily Mirror
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Paul Scholes dubbed Soccer Aid rival 'moody' and 'lunatic' who he avoided
Paul Scholes is one of many Manchester United legends playing at Old Trafford on Sunday evening for Soccer Aid 2025, and he's already made his feelings clear on one rival who he will face off against Paul Scholes branded former Manchester United team-mate Nemanja Vidic a "lunatic" as he prepares to face him at Soccer Aid. The pair of Red Devils legends are among a number of famous faces from the Sir Alex Ferguson era who will return to Old Trafford on Sunday evening to raise money for Unicef through a friendly kickabout. And while Scholes and Vidic worked brilliantly alongside one another during their Premier League glory days, they will be playing for separate teams at Soccer Aid. Scholes is representing England with Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and Gary Neville, while Vidic will play for the World XI with the likes of John O'Shea, Carlos Tevez and Edwin van der Sar. Despite coming across as a fun-filled spectacle between former players and celebrities, Scholes may head into the fray a little anxious if his past comments on Vidic are anything to go by. That's because the Serbian national was one of the many hard-men in Manchester United's ranks during his playing days. Speaking to the UTD podcast about what Vidic was like as a team-mate, the 50-year-old said: "I was fairly good at tackling. It was all calculated. I was just getting people back. That's all I was doing. "I never instigated. If someone got me, there's a chance I'd get them back. Vida [Vidic] had some tackles in the box, he could be a lunatic." He added: "He didn't play as a centre half in five-a-side. He was one of those defenders that thought he could play a bit as a No. 10. You know what I mean? "When you get to a five-a-side a he does anything but play in his position, 'Give it to me' all that stuff. But when it came to a game he would head and kick everything. "In training he could be a bit moody and a nuisance in the box especially but a great centre half. He was perfect for English football. He could head the ball, tackle, he was great, a really good player." After forming a formidable partnership with Rio Ferdinand quickly after arriving at Old Trafford in 2006, Vidic made 300 appearances for the Red Devils. He lifted five Premier League titles, three League Cups and a Champions League. Vidic left United in 2014 to play for Inter Milan, before calling time on an illustrious career in January 2016. Scholes, meanwhile, spent the entirety of his professional footballing career with United, racking up 155 goals and 82 assists from 716 games primarily as a central-midfielder. Alongside Vidic, he is part of a wealth of household names who will play at Soccer Aid on Sunday from content creators like Morgan Burtwhistle (AKA AngryGinge) to fellow athletes like Sir Mo Farah and Tony Bellew. Football fans can catch all of the action live on ITV1 and ITVX from 6pm onwards. Kick-off is slated for 7:30pm. Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
BBC News
01-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'I grew up watching Vidic videos' - Forest's Serb star Milenkovic
A Serbian central defender starring at Old Trafford is bound to trigger comparisons with Manchester United legend Nemanja December, Nikola Milenkovic scored in the second minute to help Nottingham Forest to a 3-2 win over United and record their first victory at Old Trafford in almost 30 Tuesday, third-placed Forest host United, who sit in 13th, in the return game and BBC Sport asked both players about the obvious similarities."It is natural," Vidic told BBC Sport. "Maybe I set the bar higher for defenders. But the bar I put there is to be broken. "The new generation from Serbia will look at the way I played, but their target is to do better than I did in my career."Vidic won five Premier League titles, three FA Cups, a Champions League and a Club World Cup with United. Individually, he was twice named Premier League player of the year – only Kevin de Bruyne, Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry have also achieved that – and was named in the top flight's team of the year on four who has previously described Vidic as his childhood "idol", knows he almost certainly won't achieve all that in his playing a starring role in taking Forest into the Champions League would be "an incredible thing", the 27-year-old told BBC the Vidic connection, he said: "He set the standards for defenders in Serbia. He is our best player ever and I grew up watching the videos of his games."It was his leadership on the pitch and the way he played. He was willing to sacrifice for other players, to do everything not to concede a goal, to live for a clean sheet. This is what I took from him."Also, his reading of the game was very good. He was a very intelligent player and really aggressive on the pitch."Vidic has never met Milenkovic but followed his fortunes, initially as a youngster with Partizan Belgrade and then seven seasons in Serie A with Fiorentina before he joined Forest in a £12m deal last has been nominated for the Premier League's player of the month for March, alongside Forest's progression to the FA Cup semi-final."He is a great representative for Serbian football," said Vidic. "He is a great example for how players should behave and work hard to try and succeed and maintain their careers."He likes to defend and has improved a lot in terms of the tactical side because he played in Italy."It is not fair to compare [with me]. He has his own abilities and has a good career. He is 27 and for a defender that is still young. "It is good to say 'when I was young, Vidic was the target I wanted to aim for'. But players should push themselves to go even higher than their idols and the people they are being compared to. "He is 27. I came to England when I was 24 or 25. He has much more to give."
