Rio hails Terry
Friday, 14 April, 2006
Rio Ferdinand has hailed England teammate John Terry for his outstanding performances this season.
Rio Ferdinand has hailed England teammate John Terry for his outstanding performances this season - and also welcomed Sol Campbell back to action.
Ferdinand has played alongside both players for the Three Lions and arguments rage in pubs across the country over which is the best partnership.
Should Head Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson go for the Terry-Ferdinand partnership that has flourished recently? After all, the skilful style and clever positioning of the United man seems to fit so well with Terry’s more robust and athletic game.
Or should he go for the Ferdinand-Campbell partnership that was hailed as the best defensive unit of the last World Cup in Japan four years ago? It’s a tough call, especially when you consider Jamie Carragher, Ledley King, Wes Brown and Jonathan Woodgate could also be included in the equation!
But the ever-diplomatic Ferdinand says he is a huge admirer of all his international teammates. Speaking at a fans' forum organised by England sponsors Nationwide Building Society he said: "I think with all the England defenders, we’ve all got to be able to play together.
"If you can’t do that then we’re not going to be as good a team as we can be. I don’t mind who is alongside me as long as I’m there on the pitch because they are all great players.
"John has been doing fantastically well with Chelsea. Their defensive record speaks for itself and he’s played a very big part in that. I think his all-round defending is very good, it’s what you admire most.
"He heads the ball away, he makes block tackles, he blocks shots, he defends right. He puts himself where it hurts and that’s what you need. But as I say, I’m ready to play with whoever the manager chooses."
In fact, Ferdinand was delighted to see Arsenal man Campbell back in action against Portsmouth last night and is wishing him all the best - even if it means extra competition for places with England! Campbell broke his nose at Fratton Park, yet another set-back in a frustrating season.
But at least he proved his overall fitness and put himself back in the reckoning. Ferdinand said: "It’s big for England that’s Sol is back. His experience is definitely something that would be good to have in the squad, but again that’s up to the manager.
"You have to leave it to the manager to decide, we trust in him to do it and we’ll have to wait and see. Somebody is going to be very unfortunate not to go. So we’re all on our toes."