Vidic excited about Rio reunion

By ESPNSTAR.com staff

The Serbian had been sidelined for the second half of the previous season with a knee injury suffered in a Champions League clash against Basel. But he has made a full recovery and will be fit for United's season opener against Everton next Monday.

Last season, Vidic could only watch on from the sidelines as the Red Devils faltered at the back with Everton's late comeback in the 4-4 draw at Old Trafford being a particularly salient example. The inability of the United defence to muscle away the Everton attackers allowed the Toffees to score through Nikica Jelavic and Steven Piennar within the last ten minutes of the game. 

But Vidic is confident that a backline anchored by the two senior United defenders will once again stand firm and help ensure that the Red Devils have the best defensive record in the new season. 

"I have no doubt Rio and me can again be the best couple of central defenders in the Premier League," Vidic told the Sun.

"That's the way it has been for a few years and now my dream is for us to return to the same level. People can think anything they like. But, all things being equal, it is very difficult for anybody to get the better of us.

"My knee is in perfect condition. My only challenge this season is to avoid more injury.

"I'm still not 100 per cent but this will come with minutes on the field and more hard work.

"I've received a lot of confidence from the manager and this is the main thing for me."

And the Serbian international believes that the young United defence, which includes the likes of David de Gea, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Rafael, all of whom are in their early twenties, will have learnt from their mistakes in the previous campaign.

"We had some young players play a lot of games last season. They'll have learned a lot. We all learned.

"In Europe we've had so much success in recent years and maybe relaxed a bit. We were punished and can't allow that to happen again.

"We had a few injuries last season too. I hope everyone can stay fit this time.

"To lose the league title was hard for us but is forgotten now and we are only thinking of becoming the owners of the English championship again."

The Vidic-Ferdinand partnership has been very effective in recent seasons and the two were part of a famous United back-four that conceded a mere 22 goals in the 2007/08 season. 

In comparison, United conceded 33 goals last season and the statistic would have been a lot worse were it not for the fact that De Gea was the most effective goalkeeper in the league, saving 77.9% of all shots. 

Fancy yourself as the next Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger? Join ESPNSTAR.com's Fantasy Manager to prove yourself. Cash prizes of up to US$ 25,000 to be won!