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Rio Ferdinand has become a mainstay at Manchester United in the 11 seasons he has been a part of the Red Devils’ squad; since his lucrative move from Leeds United, the central defender has established himself as one of the best defenders of the Premier League era and the partnership which he formed with Nemanja Vidic was one of the most formidable in Europe at its peak.
Now 35 years of age, it appears Ferdinand is nearing the end of his career; ‘I won’t look any further than the end of the season and then re-evaluate it [his career] around that time,’ the Englishman recently said, with Metro reporting that this season could be the last we see of Ferdinand.
Ferdinand possesses attributes which would make his retirement a significant loss for Man United. In recent years, the defender’s positional awareness and anticipation has increased to compensate for his reduced speed; this is evident from the 53 clearances which Ferdinand has made so far this season, a high number when once considers that he has not featured in five matches already this year. Add to this the 13 interceptions made by the 35-year-old, and it is evident that Ferdinand possesses an excellent footballing brain which would be sorely missed by the Old Trafford faithful.
Ferdinand is also a calming influence on the core of Man United’s defence. His experience coupled with his on-the-ball ability ensures that the Red Devils have a solid foundation; the English defender ensures that his team retains possession when he is on the ball, as proven by his 89% pass completion rate so far in 2013-14. This is a valuable skill for a central defender to possess and enables United to build attacks from the back of their team.
Rio Ferdinand Passes
However, Ferdinand’s basic defensive abilities appear to be on the decline – whilst he won 74% of tackles last season, this year that figure is down to just 55%. From this statistic, it is evident that Ferdinand’s skils are decreasing and that he may not be the defensive boulder which we have become accustomed to any longer. This idea is furthered by the weak percentage of headers which Ferdinand wins, just 52%, and it may be that he cannot be relied upon to hold the Man Utd defence together.
Ferdinand’s experience and footballing awareness are vital components of a fully functioning defence, and the calming influence which he has upon his peers ensure that the Englishman is a necessary part of the Man United team. Whilst Ferdinand’s tackling and heading skills may be waning, his anticipation and passing abilities remain at a high level and the aforementioned experience which he contributes to the dressing room is a quality which is difficult to overstate; he would be a big miss for the current Premier League champions, if he were to retire.
