There must be something in the water over in Serbia, as the standard model of centre-back that comes from the country is nothing short of remarkable. The powerful frames, the bustling attitude and the fearless approach to football has seen the nation gain a resilient reputation, and they don’t come much tougher than Nemanja Vidic – the national side’s skipper.
The Manchester United centre-half epitomises everything that defenders should be about. He will never bottle a challenge, he will never pull out of a header and he will not think twice about throwing his body in the way of a shot.
When he arrived at Old Trafford from Spartak Moscow back in 2006 few could have envisaged just what an impact he would make on the club. Nearly 300 appearances later, the 32-year-old is renowned as one of the best Premier League centre-backs of his era, and his trophy cabinet supports that label.
Having achieved five Premier League titles, five Community Shields, three League Cup trophies, one Champions League and a Club World Cup to boot, Vidic has been a revelation over the years and is a firm fan favourite.
It will be gut-wrenching for those fans to be reading that he could be on his way out though, as reports suggest he will join Inter Milan this summer when his contract runs out. I’m gutted, and I have no links to the club whatsoever.
Fear not though, as I have put together a small list of three centre-backs who David Moyes should be looking at to replace the tough-tackling captain. Click on the start button below.