Quieroz praises Ferdinand
RIO Ferdinand has been hailed as the best central defender in the world by Manchester United assistant boss Carlos Queiroz.
Ferdinand has stunned seasoned observers by the ease with which he has returned to senior action for club and country after his eight-month ban.
United have felt the benefit with two clean sheets in their first three outings since Ferdinand ended his suspension, while England gained maximum points from their two World Cup qualifiers without conceding a goal after the Londoner was restored to Sven-Goran Eriksson´s line-up alongside Sol Campbell.
Ferdinand was even made United captain against Fenerbahce in the absence of Roy Keane even though Red Devils´ stalwarts Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs were in the side that destroyed the Turks.
The 25-year-old´s form is in marked contrast to the stuttering displays he produced two years ago after becoming the world´s most expensive defender when he completed his £29million move to Old Trafford from Leeds.
Then, as Queiroz freely admits, Ferdinand looked nothing like the composed figure he is today. And the wily coach, now back with the Red Devils after a personally frustrating and unsuccessful 12 months at Real Madrid, has outlined the significant changes that have taken place.
" People often forget that Rio picked up a couple of injuries during his first few months at the club, including one against Boca Juniors before the season had even started," he said.
" That meant his fitness wasn´t as good as it could have been, which in turn affected his confidence.
" But even towards the end of that season, his performance levels started to grow and he looked more like the player we knew him to be.
" Now I would say without hesitation he is the best player in his position in the world and will be one of the rocks upon which the next Manchester United team is built."
During that first difficult season, Ferdinand revealed the struggles he had adapting to life with one of the world´s biggest clubs.
A star at West Ham and Leeds, the stylish Peckham-born defender found the demands of Old Trafford a totally different proposition and seemed to get weighed down by the heavy expectation placed upon his shoulders.
Queiroz believes the problem was simple. Ferdinand found himself unable to escape the burden of his huge price tag and as a consequence thought about his situation and the wisdom of his move far too much.
" It didn´t matter what the context was, whenever anyone mentioned Rio, the amount of money his transfer cost was always brought into it," said Queiroz.
" Even if he went on holiday it was, `the £30million player did this´. That doesn´t happen so much on the continent, but because of it, I think Rio felt an extra degree of responsibility.
" Sometimes we can all think about things too much. When you make any important decision, you have to accept it could be the right one or the wrong one, but what you must not do is spend time worrying about which it is. Once you have made a decision, there is no point dwelling on it. It´s just wasted energy.
" Things are totally different for him now. He has been here two years and though he has been out of the game for eight months, he doesn´t have any doubts about himself.
" And just as importantly, neither does he have to win the hearts of the United fans. That job is done."
Ferdinand will look to maintain his impressive form on Tuesday, when Sir Alex Ferguson takes his side to Prague looking to consolidate their position at the top of Champions League Group D by claiming victory over currently pointless Sparta.
Not that their position at the bottom of the table should lure United into a false sense of security as they have already established a clear lead at the head of the Czech table, collecting 20 points from their opening eight games.
And, in United old boy Karel Poborsky, they have a supreme dangerman, even if he never produced his best form during an ill-fated two seasons at Old Trafford.
Gardiens: Van der Sarr*, Schwarzer*, Cudicini, Friedel, Jaaskelainen, Niemi, Marshall, Robert Green, Frey, Casillas, Kameni.