Rio Ferdinand has been discussing his spell with Leeds United, underlining the initial doubts he had about the move to Elland Road on the back of a defeat on debut.
Leeds forked out a club-record £18m to sign Ferdinand from West Ham United towards the end of 2000, as David O’Leary’s side chased Premier League and European glory.
Yet, on Ferdinand’s debut, O’Leary made a decision to switch to a three-man defence, accommodating Ferdinand, Lucas Radebe and Jonathan Woodgate, which backfired as Leeds were picked to pieces by Leicester City.
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Discussing that bizarre O’Leary decision and the instant doubt he had about the move, Ferdinand told BBC Radio 5 Live: “David O’Leary changed the formation. They’d never played three at the back in their life and I turn up.
“West Ham played three at the back. He thought ‘big money signing and I’ve got to make it easier for Rio, we’ll play three at the back’.
“It destroyed the whole team, everyone was confused. We got beat 3-1 by an unbelievably good and aggressive Leicester team.
“West Ham won that day and I thought ‘have I made the right decision here?’
“West Ham went above Leeds in the league, I thought ‘I’ve made a right pig’s ear of this’.
“It turned out all right in the end.”
That season, Leeds went on to finish fourth in the Premier League, but, ultimately, missed out on qualification for the Champions League, a competition Leeds had just reached the last four in.
Ferdinand stayed with Leeds through the 2001/02 season, but moved to Manchester United on the back of the World Cup in Japan and South Korea having made 73 appearances for the Whites.
The Verdict
Accommodating Ferdinand was a priority for O’Leary at the time of his arrival, but he also had some very good players in the heart of defence. On paper, Ferdinand, Radebe and Woodgate should’ve been some unit, but as we all know, football isn’t as simple as that.
He eventually got it right with Ferdinand in defence, although his best partner would turn out to be Dom Matteo, who partnered him for the bulk of Leeds’ Champions League run.
In the end, Leeds proved to be Ferdinand’s stepping stone to becoming one of Europe’s best defenders and although he had a few doubts after a heavy defeat at Leicester, there's no denying he needed them as much as they needed him at the time.
You rarely hear Ferdinand discussing his time at Leeds, but when he does, you begin to realise how that spell helped him.
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