Manchester United vs Liverpool: Nemanja Vidic on the ‘energy’ of a rivalry which runs deeper than football

It was around two or three years after moving to Old Trafford that someone told Nemanja Vidic the story of the Manchester Ship Canal. Built in 1894 by Manchester merchants as a means of circumventing the port of Liverpool and its import duties, it is often regarded as the foundation stone of the rivalry between the two cities. And though Vidic already knew from his years watching English football as a child in Belgrade that Manchester United vs Liverpool was a fixture of great sporting import, now he truly understood. This was a rivalry that went deeper than football.

Vidic is still just 37. It’s only three years since a string of injuries forced him into a reluctant retirement. It’s only five since he was standing, imposing and indomitable, at the heart of the United defence. And for a player who spent almost a decade in English football, winning almost everything there was to win at club level, somehow it was his multiple tussles with Liverpool that, for better or worse, still stick in the memory. From scoring the winning goal in front of the Stretford End to his four red cards and a chastening afternoon against Fernando Torres, Vidic always seemed to be the centre of a rivalry that, for all the animosity towards their neighbours across the city, remains the biggest of all.

“History,” he replies when asked to explain why. “You see the amount of trophies the two clubs have won. Obviously the rivalry between the cities as well. I think that’s enough. City are growing as a club, they’ve won a few trophies and they have a great team now. But historically, United and Liverpool are the biggest.”

The tenor of the rivalry has subtly changed in the 30 years Vidic has been watching it. When he first saw them play, as a child on a flickering television in Yugoslavia, it was Liverpool who were the alpha partner. “My father actually remembered Liverpool more than Manchester United,” he says. “When I came to England, they explained the rivalry between the two cities as well. About the canal.

“But sometimes you don’t even have to understand that. You go to the match, and you feel the atmosphere in the stands. The energy from the fans. You know how important it is. Listen, I respected the Liverpool players. They had some great players: Carragher, Gerrard, Torres, Suarez. But I never really had friends from Liverpool.”

Interestingly, Vidic discloses that, despite his personal antipathy towards Liverpool, his former manager Alex Ferguson would spend the build-up trying to calm his players down rather than charge them up. “He didn’t want to put that much pressure on the players,” Vidic remembers. “For me, I think he wanted more to relax me than to encourage. Because I did some stupid things against Liverpool.”

You’re talking about… “The red cards, yeah,” he says, with just the hint of a chuckle.

There were four in all: a lusty elbow on Xabi Alonso in 2008, a professional foul on Steven Gerrard in 2009, a pair of bookings at Anfield in 2010, and again at Old Trafford in 2013. Was it the unique emotion of the fixture that got to him? “Not the emotion, the energy,” he says. “If you’re losing the game, sometimes you lose your temper. And sometimes, referees can react as well. Especially at Anfield, where the stands are on top of the pitch, very close to the players.”

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That balance between stimulation and overstimulation seems to be the key in these games. Vidic talks about the importance of setting the tone: the first tackle, the first pass, the first save. “When I was young and starting to play football, that’s what the coaches taught,” he says. “You have to build your confidence as soon as possible. You don’t want to lose the first two balls.”

Of course, Vidic grew up in Belgrade with his own bitter rivalry: the Eternal Derby between Partizan and Red Star, with whom he began his professional career in the early 2000s. How does the fever and the fervour of United v Liverpool compare?

“It’s the same,” he replies. “Red Star and Belgrade is a city derby, so it’s hostile. Here, it’s different because 25 years ago they changed it so fans cannot stand and sing for the whole game. In Serbia, they still do that. It’s a different atmosphere, I would say. But the importance is the same.”

There’s a story that after one derby defeat, Vidic had his car destroyed by furious Red Star fans. “Yeah, that’s true,” he says. “It wasn’t just mine, it was the whole football team. We lost the match, and after the game we went to the hotel, and the fans weren’t happy with the way we played. They told us we didn’t give our best. And sometimes they want to… express themselves. That’s how it happened. Our cars were smashed.”

The mood at United these days, by contrast, is far happier. After the dismal start to the season under Jose Mourinho, United are beginning to look themselves again under the interim stewardship of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with big wins against Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham. Bigger tests await. But Vidic reckons he can see the start of something.

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“I think he’s doing a fantastic job,” he says of Solskjaer. “It seems like everything is positive now. Even players who were criticised before, they’re different players now. They’re playing some great football, and tactically he’s done well. The players know they are good enough to get into the Champions League. Next year, with a few signings, maybe even challenge for the title. I want us to win that trophy again.”

These days, Vidic divides his time between his home in Milan, where he finished his career in 2016, and the television studio. In the long run, management is the goal, and last summer he completed his Uefa Pro Licence at St George’s Park. But on Sunday, he will be at Old Trafford as a fan, watching his old team-mate Solskjaer try to thwart Liverpool’s title challenge. “I’m very glad for him,” Vidic says. “They’ve shown how good they are. They’ve shown they can play good football. Hopefully I’ll see him on Sunday.”

Nemanja Vidic was speaking on behalf of TAG Heuer, Official Timekeeping Partner of the Premier League to promote the TAG Heuer Premier League Pressure Test.