PLAYER PROFILE

Nemanja Vidic

Position: Defence

Height: 6'2

Weight: 13st 0lbs

Date of Birth: 1981-10-21 Uzice, Serbia

Nemanja Vidic

When Nemanja Vidic joined Manchester United in January 2006 for £7m from Spartak Moscow, he was a relative unknown in European football.

He has since established himself as a regular in the United starting line-up and is one of the most highly-rated defenders in Europe.

When he originally joined the club, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson told MUTV: "Good defenders win you things. This lad is really natural and athletic. You need good defenders and that is exactly what this lad is."

Vidic began his career in his home country Serbia, signing for Red Star Belgrade as a 14 year-old. In 2000 he spent a season on-loan at Spartak Subotica before returning to Belgrade to establish himself as a regular starter at the club.

He made a 67 apperances and scored 12 goals for Red Star before Russian side Spartak Moscow signed him for £6 million in 2004.

It wasn't long before Ferguson's scouting network noticed his impressive performances at Spartak and after just one season at the club, he was snapped up by United.

He made his debut as a late substitute in the Carling Cup semi-final second leg win over Blackburn Rovers. He also appeared as a substitute in the final of the same tournament as Manchester United beat Wigan 4-0. By the end of the season, he had begun to establish himself as a regular alongside Rio Ferdinand at the back.

However, the season ended on a low point for him as he missed Serbia and Montenegro's World Cup campaign through a combination of suspension and injury.

The impressive form shown towards the end of the 2005/2006 season continued into the new campaign as he moved ahead of Wes Brown in the pecking order at the heart of United's defence. Many of his all-action displays brought comparisons to those of a former United hero, Steve Bruce. He has also begun to show an ability to score important goals for the club and is a constant threat on set-pieces.