Profile
Nemanja Vidic arrived in January 2006 from Spartak Moscow, having earlier made his name with Red Star Belgrade. He did not enter English football as a glamour signing, but he became one of the defining defenders of Ferguson's final great United team.
Vidic defended with appetite. He attacked headers, blocked shots, met centre-forwards early and treated the six-yard box as territory to be protected rather than shared. That made him a natural counterweight to Rio Ferdinand. Where Ferdinand brought cover and composure, Vidic brought contact, command and penalty-area certainty.
The partnership helped United win league titles and the 2008 Champions League, with Edwin van der Sar behind them and Patrice Evra, Gary Neville, Wes Brown or Rafael around them. Vidic also became a set-piece threat, scoring enough goals to remind opponents that his aggression travelled into their box too.
There were difficult match-ups and injuries, including knee trouble that reduced his later years. He left for Inter Milan in 2014 after his physical peak had clearly passed. At his best, though, Vidic gave United a kind of defensive courage that supporters could see immediately: simple, brave and brutally effective.