'Van Dijk is good... But Vidic was a beast' - compilation shows Serbian was in another league

Watching an incredible compilation of Nemanja Vidic's defending feels like the perfect way to celebrate the Serbian's birthday.

In March of 2021, 'Teo Cri' posted a 10 minute clip of Vidic's best bits - captioning it 'Van Dijk is good... but Vidic was a beast".

The whole video is Vidic being an absolute warrior of a defender. He wasn't exactly a sexy centre-back in the way he played; his partner Rio Ferdinand was better on the ball and easier on the eye - but Vidic was a winner in all senses of the word.

A no-nonsense defender, he gave absolutely everything whenever he was on the pitch and loved a big tackle (just ask Kyle Walker) and putting his head where it hurt.

While Fernando Torres did give him a tough time on more than one occasion, Vidic was able to nullify the very best attackers in the Premier League, where he won five titles with Manchester United.

An exceptional leader as well as a commanding centre-back, the former Spartak Moscow man is the only defender to win the Premier League Player of the Season.

In addition, of all central defenders with at least a century of appearances, Vidic has the highest win percentage in the history of the Premier League.

United paid just £7 million for his services back in December 2005 and he went on to make 300 appearances before departing for Inter Milan in 2014.

He was very different stylistically to Van Dijk, who often gets described as a 'Rolls Royce' of a centre-back, but in terms of his way of doing things, there weren't many better than Vidic.

The compilation only reminds us what an incredible defender Vidic was and just how important he was in United's success under Sir Alex Ferguson.