Rio Ferdinand

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rio Ferdinand
Rio Ferdinand by Walterlan Papetti.jpg
Rio Ferdinand (2015)
Personnel
Surname Rio Gavin Ferdinand
birthday November 7, 1978
place of birth Peckham , London ,  England
size 189 cm
position Central defender
Juniors
Years station
1992-1995 West Ham United
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1995-2000 West Ham United 127 (2)
1996-1997 →  AFC Bournemouth  (loan) 10 (0)
2000-2002 Leeds United 54 (2)
2002-2014 Manchester United 312 (7)
2014-2015 Queens Park Rangers 11 (0)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1997-2000 England U-21 5 (0)
1997-2011 England 81 (3)
1 Only league games are given.

Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born November 7, 1978 in Peckham , London ) is a former English football player . Former international striker Les Ferdinand is a cousin of Rio, brother Anton is also a professional footballer.

Career

Adolescence

Rio Ferdinand comes from a large family and is the son of Janice, a woman of Irish-English descent, and Julian Ferdinand, who was born in the Caribbean state of St. Lucia . Both parents worked in their own home in Peckham; Janice in childcare and Julian as tailor. When Rio was 14, his unmarried parents separated. However, the father's connection with his children remained close even after he moved out and he regularly took the offspring to soccer training and to nearby green spaces. There was little prosperity in the Ferdinand house and Rio spent his youth in a life without luxury in Peckham, a part of London where nearly half of the residents lived either poor or on the verge of poverty. The violence was omnipresent, but Ferdinand's parents managed to keep their own children away from the dark corners. Rio himself was equally interested in math and theater as well as football at school.

He attended Blue Coats High School in Blackheath - the school that gained notoriety in 1994 for the nationally sensational, allegedly racially motivated murder of Stephen Lawrence , a schoolmate of Ferdinand's four years older than him. Even at a young age, Ferdinand showed himself to be very talented; he auditioned for the Queens Park Rangers at the age of ten and was accepted into London's prestigious Central School of Ballet the following year . For four years he took ballet lessons four days a week, but it turned out that his passion was more football. At his youth club Eltham Town, he initially acted in the attacking midfield role, but the talent scouts saw more potential in central defense in him early on. Among the clubs, with whom he trained as a teenager, were not only the London-based Charlton Athletic , Chelsea , Millwall and Queens Park Rangers, but also the northern English Middlesbrough FC , for Ferdinand even a majority sacrificed his holiday season. In 1992 he became part of the renowned youth department of West Ham United and in January 1994 he signed his first youth player contract here with the academy, where other national players such as Frank Lampard were maturing at this time . As one of the best players in his age group, he was appointed to the junior national team for the first time at the age of 16 and gained his first international tournament experience at the U-17 European Championship .

Professional career

West Ham United

Ferdinand, originally discovered by Frank Lampard senior , developed positively in the junior teams and then received a professional contract with West Ham United. He made his debut in the first team on May 5, 1996, when he was substituted on in the 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday - the last league game of the 1995/96 season. Even in his teenage years, Ferdinand became a key player with the "Hammers" and after the 1997/98 season he received the club's internal award for best player of the past season.

Leeds United

In November 2000 he moved from West Ham to Leeds United for the then British record fee of £ 18 million ; at the same time he was the most expensive defender in the world at the time. Despite a 3-0 false start against Leicester City on Elland Road , Ferdinand quickly acclimatized to the new environment and moved into the semi-finals of the Champions League after a quarter-final header against Deportivo La Coruña .

In August 2001 Ferdinand replaced Lucas Radebe as team captain and the performance remained at a consistently high level in the second year, although he missed the targeted renewed qualification for the European premier class with Leeds in fifth place in the final table. This had a significant impact on the club's financial planning; During the 2002 World Cup, rumors grew about the economic problems in Leeds and the possible impact on new coach Terry Venables of having to sell his leading player Ferdinand for a large sum. After he had shown himself in good shape at the World Cup, Leeds United and Manchester United agreed on a transfer deal.

Manchester United

Rio Ferdinand in the Manchester United shirt.

On July 22, 2002 Ferdinand signed a five-year contract in Manchester and was again both the most expensive player in Great Britain and the world's most expensive defender - the two top marks had meanwhile conquered Juan Sebastián Verón and Lilian Thuram . The fact that it was possible to speak of a transfer of “over £ 30 million” in Leeds was due to the fact that the modalities provided for additional performance-related payments in addition to the purchase price of over £ 20 million. However, due to the massive financial problems, the management of Leeds United quickly favored a higher "instant transfer fee", which, minus various fees, amounted to £ 29.1 million in foregoing future payments.

The initial phase in Manchester was initially bumpy; especially his performances in the Champions League against Real Madrid and the six goals conceded in the two quarter-finals as well as the appearance in the 0-1 defeat against his ex-club from Leeds were the subject of criticism. Nevertheless, in his first year for "United" he won the English championship, the first important title of his career. The problems at the beginning in Manchester were not only of a sporting nature, as Ferdinand made headlines in 2003 because of a doping offense. He forgot to take a doping test, for which he blamed stress when moving house. Although a doping test carried out afterwards showed no particular values, it was then banned for eight months, since according to the regulations, failure to submit the sample or refusal was to be equated with doping abuse. He was replaced on the national team by John Terry and missed the 2004 European Championship in Portugal. Despite many protests by Manchester United, which were based on comparatively lower sentences in similar cases, the suspension was not shortened afterwards. However, the penalty came into force on January 12, 2004, so that Ferdinand could deny the first half of the 2003/04 season.

Ferdinand celebrating his goal with his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo .

The next sporting success did not follow until 2006. The English championship went to London three times between 2004 and 2006 and after two cup final defeats in 2003 ( League Cup ) and 2005 ( FA Cup ) Ferdinand secured the League Cup with a 4-0 final triumph over Wigan Athletic on February 26, 2006. Against the same opponent he had scored his first goal for United a good two months earlier - the final result was also a 4-0 win; Ferdinand finally “arrived” in Manchester with his last-minute winning goal against Liverpool , which was an important step on the way to direct qualification for the Champions League. Around Ferdinand United then found back to their old strength, which was demonstrated in the 2006/07 season by the return of the championship title to the English northwest; That's one of the reasons why no fewer than eight United players (including Ferdinand) were voted into the “Team of the Season”.

Ferdinand and Olof Mellberg ( Juventus Turin )

In an eventful 2007/08 season, the United defense around Ferdinand showed itself to be very stable early on and did not allow for a goal in six consecutive games. On March 8, 2008 Ferdinand had to briefly guard the goal in the FA Cup quarter-finals against FC Portsmouth after both Edwin van der Sar had to leave the field with a groin injury and his Polish representative Tomasz Kuszczak after an emergency brake - the due penalty of the opposing Sulley Muntari he could not parry and United was eliminated with a 0-1 defeat from the competition. Four days after winning his third English championship, Ferdinand extended his contract in Manchester for another five years and led his team onto the field on May 21, 2008 in the Champions League final against Chelsea . Ferdinand collected further trophies shortly afterwards by winning the Club World Cup and in 2009 with the renewed Premier League title along with another league cup. In the aspired to defend the Champions League title , he and his team failed against final opponents FC Barcelona . The next few years should not be unsuccessful for him and Manchester, because two championships followed ( 2010/11 and 2012/13 ), a league cup win ( 2009/10 ) and an English Super Cup victory ( 2011 ). Another triumph in the Champions League was not granted to Ferdinand when he failed in the final in 2011 as in 2009 at FC Barcelona.

Queens Park Rangers

After the 2013/14 season, Ferdinand decided not to extend the contract that was running out at United and to take on a new role in the Premier League or abroad after twelve years. He moved to the Queens Park Rangers . After a season in which Ferdinand could only play twelve games due to injuries, he announced his retirement from active professional football on May 30, 2015.

English national team

Eight days after his 19th birthday, then national coach Glenn Hoddle Ferdinand changed for the first time in a friendly match between England and Cameroon , making him the youngest defender for the "Three Lions" - it was not until 2006 that a younger English defender came with Micah Richards Trains. Ferdinand's debut against Moldova had already existed two months earlier in September 1997 ; This was prevented due to increasing pressure from large parts of the English tabloids, which demanded that Hoddle renounce Ferdinand, as Ferdinand had been guilty of a drunk driving offense - a circumstance that found particular resonance in the public after the death of Princess Diana . The emerging talent was quickly part of the English senior team and was nominated for the upcoming 1998 World Cup in France . Although not a few experts attributed good chances of a place in the starting eleven due to the performance shown at West Ham United, he stayed at the tournament itself without playing minutes.

Ferdinand celebrated his breakthrough on the international stage during the Soccer World Cup in Japan and South Korea in 2002 , where he and Sol Campbell formed a robust defense center and received widespread praise from experts. During his doping ban in 2004, John Terry represented him at the European Championships in Portugal ; at the World Cup in Germany , which took place two years later , he was again a regular at Terry's side in the English central defense. When Fabio Capello took over the English national team in 2008, Ferdinand took on the role of team captain in his second game. The final decision on this position had not yet been made and so Capello chose John Terry as captain in August 2008. After successfully qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa , Ferdinand, who had meanwhile acted as vice-captain, received Terry's team captain's armband back in February 2010. However, Ferdinand was unable to take part in this World Cup due to a knee injury he suffered during training. For him, Michael Dawson of Tottenham Hotspur , who had previously been removed from the provisional squad, was nominated.

On March 20, 2011, his predecessor Terry was again the new captain of the national team, as Ferdinand was rarely able to exercise his position due to injury. For the EM 2012, the new England coach Roy Hodgson did without Ferdinand. This was preceded by the affair around Terry, who was accused of having racially insulted Ferdinand's brother Anton. However, Hodgson made it clear that his decision was based on athletic aspects and nothing else. In March 2013, Hodgson nominated him again for two World Cup qualifiers for the English squad, but Ferdinand had to cancel them due to an injury. On May 15, 2013 Ferdinand announced his resignation from the national team; He made his last appearance on June 4, 2011 in a 2-2 draw against Switzerland . He played ten of his 81 international matches on the highest stage in global football, the World Cup finals.

Achievements / titles

society

Personal awards

social commitment

Away from the field of play, Ferdinand often takes a position against racism and homophobia in (international) football and demands tougher penalties in the form of point deductions compared to the usual measures such as fines. Ferdinand is an ambassador for Show Racism the Red Card .

Web links

Commons : Rio Ferdinand  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d "His name is Rio" (The Observer)
  2. ^ "Caribbean property: Rio Ferdinand is ahead of the game" (Daily Telegraph)
  3. ↑ "The Best Possible Life Chances" ( Memento of the original from December 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Southwark Council) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.southwark.gov.uk
  4. ↑ a b c d e f "A united front" (The Observer)
  5. ↑ a b "Rio Ferdinand: The silver lining" (BBC Sport)
  6. ^ "Old boys' reunion will not prevent Cole from taking care of business" (The Guardian)
  7. ↑ "Hammer of the Year" ( memento of the original from March 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (West Ham United Supporters Club) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.westham-supporters.co.uk
  8. ↑ "Spaniards humbled by Leeds" (BBC Sport)
  9. ↑ "Ronaldo kills United's dreams" (The Guardian)
  10. ↑ "Leeds punish Man Utd" (BBC Sport)
  11. ↑ "Ferdinand banned for eight months" (BBC Sport)
  12. ↑ "Ferdinand ban upheld" (BBC Sport)
  13. ^ "Ronaldo secures PFA award double" (BBC Sport)
  14. ↑ "Man Utd 0-1 Portsmouth" (BBC Sport)
  15. ^ "Ferdinand signs new Man Utd deal" (BBC Sport)
  16. ↑ "Report: MU 1 (6) Chelsea 1 (5)" ( memento of the original from June 4, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (ManUtd.com) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.manutd.com
  17. ↑ Rio Ferdinand leaves Manchester United after glittering 12-year career , Guardian article , May 12, 2014
  18. ↑ Rio Ferdinand announces retirement from football , Guardian article , May 30, 2015
  19. ↑ "John Terry stripped of England captaincy by Capello" (BBC Sport)
  20. ↑ "World Cup for England captain Ferdinand" (FIFA.com)
  21. ↑ Terry's pride (thefa.com)
  22. ↑ Rio Ferdinand's England recall: how Roy Hodgson changed his tune , Guardian article , March 14, 2013
  23. ↑ "England's national team: Ferdinand celebrates surprising return" (SPIEGEL Online)
  24. ↑ Transfermarkt.de : Match report England vs. Switzerland from June 4, 2011, accessed on May 3, 2015
  25. ^ Matthias Arnhold: Rio Gavin Ferdinand - International Appearances . Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. December 3, 2015. Accessed December 3, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Ferdinand condemns Fifa on racism" (BBC Sport)
  27. ↑ Show Racism the Red Card-Player`s Views- Rio Ferdinand ( Memento of the original from December 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.srtrc.org
personal data
SURNAME Ferdinand, Rio
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ferdinand, Rio Gavin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH November 7, 1978
PLACE OF BIRTH Peckham , London