It is nonsensical to discuss whether Manchester United miss Nemanja Vidic, but, looking back at his stunning career at Old Trafford which puts him as one of Sir Alex Ferguson's best ever defenders, some specific attributes are missed.
Vidic retired on Friday to great sadness from the footballing world. The ex-United captain drew applause from all across the globe, having earned a great amount of respect during his eight years in the Premier League.
Vidic retires, football world united in respect
The Serbian is one of those rare players, a figure like Frank Lampard or Iker Casillas, whom everyone feels a certain sense of respect to and misses when they eventually hang up their boots. For Vidic, it was hardly just his boots. Having been released from Inter Milan in January, it was more a question of finally allowing his body to rest. A good challenge for a doctor would be to find an area on Vidic's well-built 6ft 2" body that he did not put on the line for club and country.
Vidic arrived at United from Spartak Moscow. He began his senior career with Red Star Belgrade in the turn of the millennium, making his international debut just two years after breaking through for Red Star. 18 months at Spartak saw United keep their eye on him and pick him up in January 2006, the same time as Patrice Evra.
Vidic struggled in debut, - Manchester City
He struggled, and there is no doubt about that. Unknown by most, barring the Serbian community, in England, Vidic had no respect yet. But boy did he earn it in the following years.
Making his debut in the Manchester derby, Vidic looked out of place. Yet, alongside Evra, he became one of the biggest fan favourites and greatest United players of all time.
The 2006 World Cup with Serbia saw Vidic line up alongside a very good defence, conceding only one goal throughout all qualification matches. As he did with his international teammates, he formed the best Premier League centre-back partnership ever alongside Rio Ferdinand, who also retired recently.
Now, the attributes of Vidic are no longer at the heart of United's defence, nor team. Perhaps most importantly, Vidic was a quiet figure. On the pitch, he was a monstrous centre-back who would leave a mark on you, although he would have left one on the ball first such was his timing. Contrastingly, off the pitch, he was never on the back pages. That is no longer a theme at United.
Vidic remained silent off the pitch, but vocal on it
For all Wayne Rooney's maturing since becoming captain, the video of him being knocked out in his kitchen last year was not needed by the club. On social media, United's players tweet, Instagram and Facebook daily, letting us into their worlds. Being able to see Juan Mata's love of Manchester's Northern Quarter is fantastic, and probably more so for United's many fans abroad.
Yet the quietness, the lack of celebration and the lack of controversy from Vidic in the media should, in fact, be celebrated because it doesn't happen at United anymore. With so many sponsors at the club, interviews are out with a player a day, unhelpful in a time of crisis for Louis van Gaal.
Vidic's no-nonsense nature, of course combined with Ferdinand's ability to play the ball out of defence calmly, could also be necessary. Looking for a bit of excitement, United's fans at home groan with the possession football. Even as a defender, as easy as it is to say this with no evidence years after his departure, you'd be unlikely to see Vidic conform to the new 'philosophy'.
The fans' love of the big Serbian was perhaps what he will remembered for most, more so than the multiple Premier Leagues, the Champions League trophy, the League Cups and Community Shields, as well as the Club World Cup. Passion has become an overused word, a meaningless one at that. Supposedly, some players are passionate and some are not. That is hard to agree with, given almost every player for United loves the game and loves to win. However, Vidic's public desire to win and his connection with the support is hard to create again. Vidic did not need to sit with the fans at Anfield to show his connection, the United fans knew it.
That is why of all the players to leave the club in the summer of 2014 Vidic's very small speech in his final Old Trafford game was received by three standing ovations and chants of his song for minutes on end.
You can talk about trophies all you want but the current players at United can't use that argument. What they can't match Vidic for is the connection with the support, the quality, the greatness of one of the league's greatest players.
