Nemanja Vidić

Nemanja Vidić
Vidić with Serbia in 2010
Personal information
Full name Nemanja Vidić[1]
Date of birth (1981-10-21) 21 October 1981
Place of birth 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[note 1] 56 (2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

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 as one of the greatest defenders of all time,[3][4][5] Vidić is best known for his time at Manchester United, where he won 15 trophies and served as club captain. He is one of only five players to win the Premier League Player of the Season award twice, alongside Thierry Henry, Kevin De Bruyne, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah.[6][7]

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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10][11]

A Yugoslavian youth international, Vidić made his senior debut on 12 October 2002 against Italy in UEFA Euro 2004 qualification.[12][13] 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.[14] Vidić retired from the Serbia national team in October 2011.[15][16]

  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Nemanja Vidic". Inter Milan. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  3. ^ Multiple sources:
  4. ^ "Ranking The 50 Best Soccer Defenders Of All Time". SI. 17 December 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  5. ^ Tom Hancock (30 July 2024). "The best centre-backs ever". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
  6. ^ "Read Barclays Premier League Latest Football Team News & Features". Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Hall of Fame nominee: Nemanja Vidic". premierleague.com. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  8. ^ Taylor, Daniel (10 January 2006). "Ferguson to make do with his £13m spend on Vidic and Evra". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
  9. ^ Coppack, Nick (17 September 2010). "Vidic retains armband". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 17 September 2010.
  10. ^ "Vidić contract terminated by mutual consent". Inter Milan. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  11. ^ Bleacher Report [@brfootball] (29 January 2016). "Breaking news: Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic has announced his retirement from football #mufc" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference uefaprofile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ "Zasmetale mu kuloarske priče / Vidić se i zvanično povukao iz reprezentacije Srbije". Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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