'Hard to survive' - Nemanja Vidic reveals secret about his Manchester United career
Nemanja Vidic did not train and just played matches for spells of his Manchester United career due to a back injury.
Sir Alex Ferguson signed Vidic in December 2005 for around £7million, but he was worth every penny and established himself as one of the finest defenders in the Premier League.
Vidic won 15 trophies during his time in Manchester, which included five Premier League titles, and he was eventually let go by Louis van Gaal following injuries and a slump in form.
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The former Serbian international signed for Inter Milan but retired just 18 months later, as injuries had taken their toll on his body and his contract had been ended by mutual agreement.
“The time has come for me to hang up my boots. The injuries I have had in the last few years have taken their toll," said Vidic when he retired. It was no secret that Vidic had struggled with back pain, but he's now revealed that he sometimes didn't train and just played matches for United.
In an interview with France Football, Vidic said: "I had the impression that I wasn't the same player, that I couldn't do the same things as before. I couldn't see myself staying in England because the Premier League is very demanding and I didn't want to play for any club other than United.
"When you're a footballer, you shouldn't talk about your injuries... I had a herniated disc when I was at Red Star and I've had it my whole career. In Manchester, there were even periods when I didn't train, I just played the matches."
Vidic also reflected on his successful time with United and discussed the greats he played with. "When I arrived, I was more scared of training sessions than matches. At Carrington, I was up against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Louis Saha and Ruud Van Nistelrooy," he said.
"It was hard to survive! I love defending. I could read the action well and knew how to position myself to avoid having to sprint. Some people like to take part in the game, but I was happy if I didn't let my opponent take the ball.
"Even against a small team, I prepared as if I was going to face the best in the world. But I played against some fantastic players: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba... I'm also thinking of Alessandro Del Piero and Filippo Inzaghi, who I played against in my first game for Serbia."
Vidic wants to explore coaching once his children have grown up and added: "I'm still very interested, and I'd like to give it a go. But I'm not going to take on a club in the next few years because I have three young children, all of whom are footballers by the way. I'm not ready to leave them yet."
