Rio Ferdinand--Five Star--The Biography (19 page)

Venables continued to put a brave face on the loss of Rio. ‘When I was at Barcelona, that job was as big as it gets anywhere in the world. And my first decision there was whether I kept or sold Maradona. But as soon as I saw the financial situation he just had to go – he couldn’t stay. But we made £4 million on the transfer and we won
the League, so the loss of one player is not necessarily devastating.’

He urged his new Leeds superstars to smash the stranglehold that Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool had on the top of the Premiership. Just like O’Leary before him, Venables said he wanted to make sure his side mounted a serious challenge for the title. He also demanded that his team gain a Champions League place at the end of the season, even without superstar Rio.

The Leeds boss did imply that Rio wouldn’t be missed when he told journalists: ‘As I have said to many of the players here, I don’t look at the opposition. I don’t care who they have signed. I am only concerned about what we are doing … no one else.’

When Rio finally moved to Man United, Venables had been deeply hurt. He’d hoped that the loyalty and patience he’d shown Rio by encouraging him to join the Euro ’96 squad when he was an untried teenager might be repaid. But he was also pragmatic enough to know that there was no sense in dwelling on the past. Within days he was even voicing an interest in buying Rio’s home in Yorkshire, a converted barn.

Still on the house-buying front, Rio was eyeing up a des res close to Old Trafford. Teammate David Beckham had already offered Rio a temporary home at the Beckhams’ flat in Cheshire, which he and pregnant Posh had left for a bigger, family property.

Rio and Rebecca were soon looking over some flashy pads in the picturesque village of Hale Barns, already home to new teammates Roy Keane and Nicky Butt. Rio was particularly taken with a £1.4-million house called Summerfield which had five living rooms, five bedrooms, a huge pond, a 40-foot swimming pool and a massive kitchen.

Despite the warnings from United’s money men, Sir Alex Ferguson was still pushing for a fourth striker to join Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Diego Forlan. He also wanted further cover in defence. ‘It would be nice to have a fourth striker and we’re also a couple of defenders short. We’ve lost three defenders – Denis Irwin, Ronny Johnsen and Ronnie Wallwork – and we’ve only bought Rio.

‘[Chief executive] Peter Kenyon knows there’s weakness and it’s a buyer’s market at the moment. I think any player would want to come to our club. It has a romance about it and an attraction to most players in the game. I get calls all the time from agents saying their players would love to come here and they are good players I’m talking about. But we’re only looking at the very best so, most of the time, I’m not interested. However, if those one or two were available we’d ask ourselves how we could get them.’

Then it seemed as if Rio might be joined at Man United by his other new, young England World Cup teammate Darius Vassell after wage negotiations with his club, Aston Villa, broke down. But that deal ended up on the back burner because of the £15 million price tag Villa put on Vassell.

It was clear at Old Trafford that David Beckham was still feeling the effects of his broken left foot. With United just a few weeks away from their Champions League pre-qualifier, Ferguson was taking no chances. ‘I need them to play in the next couple of games to give me an indication of the right team to pick for our Champions League qualifier. I have a team in mind, subject to how well the England players progress in the next few days. When you have just got back to training and only played a couple of pre-season games, there can be a dip in performances.’

Rio didn’t even fly out with Man United for their next
pre-season friendly against Norwegian side Valarengen. Alex Ferguson believed it better for Rio to stay behind in England and then link up with the squad for a four-team tournament in Amsterdam the following weekend. In that pre-season friendly event, Rio’s full debut for Man United ended in a 2–1 defeat by Ajax. Ironically, Rio made way for his close pal Wes Brown in the fifty-eighth minute. But Alex Ferguson insisted he was pleased with Rio’s performance: ‘Rio looked assured at the back. He read the game well and I’m happy with him.’

Dutch ace Ronald Koeman – now Ajax coach – was not so impressed: ‘It’s a bit too early to call him world-class. You are only that when you have proved yourself over a number of years at the highest level. The whole attention will be on him and everything will be analysed. It’s not every player who can handle that extra pressure. Some so-called quality players can’t handle the life and expectancy of being at a big club.’

Koeman also made a pointed reference to the amount of cash United had paid Leeds for Rio. ‘It’s usually the strikers, the goalscorers, who grab the headlines and who cost the most money. But there was a problem with the Man United defence last season and, with Ferdinand in it, it will be better this time.’

For Man United’s friendly with Parma at that same Dutch pre-season tournament, Rio partnered John O’Shea in defence, with Roy Keane on the bench and David Beckham taking over as captain even though regular stand-in skipper Ryan Giggs was in the side. Heavy rain was accompanied by loud claps of thunder, and with the stadium roof open, the players found themselves sloshing around in the mud. United took the lead in the twenty-third minute with a stunning move featuring some
wonderful interplay between Veron, Rio and Beckham before Nicky Butt spread the ball wide on the right to the advancing Wes Brown. He beat one defender and then whipped in a low cross which was steered home by the left foot of Giggs, who’d slipped ahead of his marker.

Minutes later Rio managed a deft feint on the ball before bursting off on the left wing to create space from which he picked out Solskjaer for a speculative overhead kick that stunned the Italians. United eventually coasted home 3–0.

On 10 August Rio wrenched his left ankle after twenty-three minutes of Man United’s 2–0 win over Boca Juniors, leaving Alex Ferguson without his £33 million centre-back for a least two weeks. Rio would definitely miss the first leg of the following week’s Champions League qualifier against Zalaegerszegi in Hungary and he was unlikely to play in United’s first two Premiership matches.

Meanwhile Rio’s interest in acting had turned into a serious hobby. After taking those secret acting lessons while at Leeds, he was delighted to be offered a part in the second series of ITV’s
Footballers’ Wives.
During the summer of 2002 he filmed on Waterloo Bridge in central London, and one member of the production team told reporters: ‘Rio was strolling over the bridge with cameras following him. He was obviously a big hit with the production company. One of them even said if Rio ever thinks of quitting his day job there’s a career for him as an actor – he’s a natural.’

Back in the real world, Alex Ferguson’s pledge to win the Premiership had upset other clubs, such as Newcastle, who insisted the championship was up for grabs – despite the high-profile signing of Rio. Chairman Freddy Shepherd said: ‘One man doesn’t make a team and, no, I don’t think it means the title is definitely set for Old Trafford. Juan
Sebastian Veron came in for £28 million last year and was supposed to guarantee them the title, but they ended up finishing third.’

Rio missed United’s first two Premiership games, home to West Brom and away to Chelsea, through injury. But that didn’t stop him popping over to Peckham to see some of his pals the day after watching United’s 2–2 draw at Stamford Bridge. One of the ‘crew’ he met up with was old friend Leon Simms, who later explained: ‘Rio’s as cool as ever. We all hung out after the Chelsea game. He seems very happy to be at United. The same old Rio. He ain’t ever goin’ to change, man! You gotta remember that this manor is home for Rio and always will be. This is where his real mates are and I can’t see him ever leavin’ all this behind.’

But perhaps surprisingly, there were still very few of Rio’s south-east London friends who knew anything about his live-in love Rebecca Ellison. ‘He didn’t mention her and she’s never been down here with him,’ added Leon. ‘But that’s up to him, he’s a good guy and kept in touch with all of us. He’s never let it all go to his head.’

When Rio was recently asked if Rebecca was ‘the one’, he replied: ‘Well, I can sit in a room with her for more than half an hour and not get fed up.’

Many people, including Rio’s mum, credited Rebecca with being a calming influence on Rio’s character. She seemed very quiet and reserved. One friend explained: ‘Rebecca’s taste seems in great contrast to that of Rio’s love of white disco suits. She prefers an understated dress sense with high-necked Victorian blouse and discreet Fendi handbag and not a blonde highlight in sight.’

While in London for the Chelsea match, Rio also heard from his old friends that Latifah, the girl he was so smitten
by when he was a teenager, was travelling the world as a dancer. ‘He always wants to hear how she’s been,’ adds another close friend.

But Rio’s taste in barbers was slightly less exotic. In the middle of August he took a trip down to Moss Side – in many ways the Manchester equivalent to Peckham – for a haircut that cost £7. He drove to one of the toughest parts of the city in his £180,000 Aston Martin Vanquish, which was never likely to go unnoticed. Barber Joseph Campbell, 43, explained: ‘He went for a low cut on the top, faded even more closely at the sides and back. He wanted some colour too, but we don’t do that, so I suggested somewhere else.’

Jamaican-born Mr Campbell – who’d previously cut former Man United star Andy Cole’s hair – described Rio ‘as a very nice chap – very down-to-earth’. Tactfully, he refused to reveal the size of the tip Rio left, except to say it had been more than the cost of the haircut.

Rio finally made his competitive match debut for Man United in their second-leg Champions League qualifier at Old Trafford against Zalaegerszegi on Tuesday 27 August. Trailing by 1–0 after a late goal by the Hungarians in the first away leg, United were undoubtedly facing their most important match of the new season. If they didn’t progress into the Champions League proper, then it could cost the club as much as £40 million in lost revenue.

As it turned out, the opposition were thrashed 5–0, but Rio looked far from comfortable at the back of the United defence. Halfway through the second half he made a terrible blunder, giving the ball away in front of his own goal, but was saved by a superb tackle by Laurent Blanc. Shortly afterwards Alex Ferguson took Rio off and he was given ice treatment on a swollen ankle although many in
the crowd wondered if he had been substituted before any more disasters occurred.

Rio produced a solid display for England in their 1–1 draw with Portugal in a friendly at Villa Park on Saturday, 8 September. England’s goal was scored by Rio’s former Leeds teammate Alan Smith. The game was somewhat overshadowed by the inclusion in the England squad of Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate after their two-and-half-year ban because of the Leeds assault case.

But the most significant event happened a few hours after the game. Rio couldn’t resist motoring down the M1 from Villa Park for a night out in London’s sleazy Soho. He arrived at the trendy Sugar Reef bar with five friends. Yet again, Rebecca was nowhere to be seen. Now all this might have happened without Rio’s bosses at England and Man United ever knowing about it except that a terrifying brawl broke out in the middle of the club and worldly Rio helped break up the scuffle.

Rio was sitting quietly in the VIP area with his friends when one of them got into an argument with another clubber. The row then escalated and Rio’s other pals joined in as the player remained seated. It soon developed into a free-for-all with tables and glasses flying in all directions. One clubber was injured and needed first-aid as a team of bouncers rushed over to split up the nasty confrontation. Rio disappeared into the night minutes after the trouble had flared up. A customer, 29-year-old Rosil Bento, said afterwards: ‘I couldn’t believe what was happening and that an England player was there. The fight was really scary and women were running and screaming trying to get out of the way.’

It seemed that despite all the pledges and the ‘calming influence’ of Rebecca, Rio still couldn’t resist the lure of the
bright lights of his home city. As one friend pointed out: ‘We all know Rio’s still the same dude he always was and that also means he has the same habits. The guy likes to see his old friends from Peckham and he doesn’t often take Rebecca out with him in London.’

But Rio’s first big test of character on the pitch would come the following Saturday, 14 September, when Man United were travelling to Elland Road for an important Premiership clash. Many in Leeds had compared Rio’s departure with that of Eric Cantona 10 years earlier. In fact it was said that Rio’s much-hyped return to his old club would prompt a new bitter song from the most ardent Leeds fans: ‘The old Judas is dead, long live the new Judas.’

David O’Leary – Rio’s old boss at Leeds – predicted that Rio would brush off the crowd’s anger and get on what he does best – play football. And O’Leary provided a fascinating insight into Rio’s character: ‘The great thing that impresses me about him is his mental strength. And I think he’s getting stronger and stronger.’

As it happened, Man United lost 1–0 to Leeds, but their defeat couldn’t in any way be blamed on Rio, who gave a faultless display, despite non-stop heckling from the crowd. The names didn’t seem to hurt Rio, although he did appear slightly edgy on the ball. More hurtful was the fact that many pundits at the ground came away applauding Jonathan Woodgate’s performance at the heart of the Leeds defence. As Matt Lawton wrote in the
Daily Mail:
‘Of the two defenders Woodgate was by far the superior on an afternoon that proved a touch traumatic for the former Leeds captain.’

But the question on everyone’s lips following United’s second defeat of the season, which left them tenth in the
Premiership, was whether the Old Trafford bubble had burst. After five matches the team had managed its worst-ever start to the Premiership. And those who assumed the arrival of Rio would see Alex Ferguson’s side return to the top of the League already appeared to be very much mistaken. It really looked as if Ferguson’s empire was starting to fall apart. The biggest test of Rio’s character was yet to come.