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Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic has told FourFourTwo about what it was like facing Fernando Torres.
With Manchester United and Liverpool squaring off for the biggest prizes in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the rivalry stepped up a notch, as Vidic faced Torres in numerous battles – with the Serbian and the Spaniard's rivalry defining an era of the Premier League.
Vidic was speaking to FourFourTwo ahead of the Champions League final, courtesy of Heineken – whose Fans Have More Friends campaign gets the average supporter closer to the action and connected with their fellow supporters to bring the atmosphere.
Nemanja Vidic: 'I'm not saying I kept Fernando Torres quiet…'
“I think sometimes the media will create different opinions about different things,” Vidic now tells FourFourTwo about the rivalry with Torres.
“I think Torres was a fantastic player, but I never feared playing against him. Liverpool was always the derby match, and the only thing people can say is, ‘Yeah, you had a few red cards against Liverpool.’
“But I think two or three of them were in the last minutes of the game, the 89th minute, so to be fair, it's not something that affected the outcome of the match. If you look at the games played against Torres, I think he scored a few goals, but if you look at the total games he played, it was not that many.”
Interestingly, Vidic now says that there were other players who gave him more trouble than the Liverpool star.
“Liverpool vs United is the game fans have to talk about and the media has to create narratives around, which I like,” the centre-back continues. “In certain times I get maybe more praise than actually I should; this is life.
“But I think overall there are players that I found more difficult playing against – Drogba, Aguero I would say as well, and of course Messi. Those are the players where you find yourself thinking, ‘Oh, OK.’
“Torres was fantastic; for one or two years he played fantastically for Liverpool. He was amazing and he lifted Liverpool a lot.”
Looking back on that fixture, too, Vidic says that the early kick-offs were particularly tough against the Reds.
“Yeah, it's great to watch that game, Liverpool, especially going to Anfield,” he says, ”That's a tough game, especially playing at 12:30.
“I always find it difficult playing those games. At 12:30 you're still sleeping!”
