Rio Ferdinand highlights Nemanja Vidic as a great centre-back partner, but there was a player different to John Terry that he enjoyed being alongside at England
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Rio Ferdinand enjoyed centre-back partnerships with Nemanja Vidic at Manchester United and John Terry with England during his illustrious career, but there's one player he believes "doesn't get talked about" enough.
While recognising that he played his best football alongside Vidic, due to their different styles complementing one another, Ferdinand highlights that he had a better time with England when he partnered a different centre-back to Terry.
“He [Nemanja Vidic] got the best out me," Ferdinand admitted while speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet. "My partnership with Sol [Campbell], I enjoyed playing that, because again, he was front foot, aggressive, quick and could cover the channels as well.
Campbell and Ferdinand celebrate (Image credit: Getty Images)
"Sol was a top player, and he doesn’t get talked about when you’re talking about top defenders. That period especially, from 1998 onwards, like even the last years at Spurs. You lot were trying to get him to Manchester United. And I’m thinking, ‘Oh no, I’m coming up, don’t let him go there!’
“But some people you gel with. John Terry was good, but it wasn’t as good as with Sol Campbell. I felt like we had a good partnership and were really hard to play against."
The feeling is certainly mutual, too, with Campbell previously suggesting that his favourite England team-mate at centre-back was Ferdinand.
Jamie Carragher agrees with Ferdinand, suggesting that Campbell's name isn't mentioned enough when talking about the top Premier League centre-backs.
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Ferdinand and Vidic won countless trophies together at Manchester United (Image credit: Getty Images)
Indeed, Campbell made 503 Premier League appearances and kept 153 clean sheets during that period, though defenders such as Ferdinand, Terry and Tony Adams often dominate conversations. For Carragher, that fails to recognise the ability of the two-time Premier League champion.
“I think with Sol [Campbell] that he is one of those centre backs that doesn’t get mentioned enough," Jamie Carragher said on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.
"And I think he feels it, doesn’t he, when you look at his Instagram stories? He’s always putting little things in there like, ‘Don’t forget how quick I was,’ and there was a thing with his top speed.”
Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.
