Rio Ferdinand believes Sol Campbell is not mentioned enough as one of the excellent defenders in the Premier League, praising his partnership with the Arsenal legend for England.
The 49-year-old was definitely one of the finest centre-backs in the top division during his time with Tottenham and then Arsenal, where he won the Premier League title twice.
He continued to excel for Portsmouth later in his career and even made brief appearances with the Gunners and Newcastle before officially retiring in 2012.
Campbell won 73 England caps from 1996-2007, with some of those matches played alongside Ferdinand and the Manchester United hero remembers the partnership fondly.
Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are often praised as a great partnership at centre-back, but Rio also held his pairing with Campbell in high regard.
‘He [Nemanja Vidić] got the best out me,’ Ferdinand told the Stick to Football podcast with Sky Bet. ‘My partnership with Sol [Campbell], I enjoyed playing that, because again, he was aggressive, quick and could cover the channels as well.
‘Sol was a top player, and he isn’t recognized when you’re talking about top defenders. That period especially, from 1998 onwards, like even the last years at Spurs. You lot were trying to get him to Manchester United. And I’m thinking, “Oh no, I’m coming up, don’t let him go there!”
‘But some people you gel with. John Terry was good, but it wasn’t as good as with Sol Campbell. I felt like we had a good partnership and were really hard to play against.
‘Nemanja wasn’t the fastest, but he was quick enough. He was just so aggressive on that first ball. In the end, you build that reputation that people end up not going near you. They end up playing wide.
‘How many times would people like Kevin Davies be playing against Pat [Evra] or you [Gary Neville]? And we used to think, “Wow,” but that’s the reputation being built over time.’
Rio Ferdinand was talking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.
.
.
