Ferdinand won't rest on laurels
Rio Ferdinand has admitted he is still in awe of his Manchester United team-mates’ hunger for success after so many trophy-laden years.
Ferdinand collected his first major honour last term as United reclaimed their Premiership title after appearing to be out of contention for much of the campaign.
Apart from justifying his British record £29.3m (€41.4m) move from Leeds the previous summer, it also provided the 24-year-old with an insight into the insatiable desire which has driven the Old Trafford club to so much success down the years.
Happily for Alex Ferguson, Britain’s costliest player has enveloped the same attitude, so much so that he has already cast his championship medal to one side in the determined pursuit of more honours.
“You look around at the number of players at this club who have won so many trophies in their careers and you see the hunger for success is still as strong as when they were 18,” said the Londoner.
“You can’t help but be impressed by that attitude and I feel exactly the same way.
“To win the championship was fantastic, especially when you consider how far we were behind at one stage, but it means nothing to me now.
“We have to put it in the past and look forward because the next goal is to try and win it again.”
Although Ferdinand might not have won over every sceptical United fan in the 12 months since his controversial switch from Leeds, he does have a powerful ally in Alex Ferguson.
The United boss believes it will be at least another couple of years before Ferdinand matures into what he anticipates will be one of the most accomplished defenders in the world.
A few niggling injuries at the start of his United career meant the former West Ham man took longer to settle in than he would have liked.
The player himself knows further improvement is required but Ferguson can see the talent shining through and, in the absence of Roy Keane and Gary Neville, handed Ferdinand the United captaincy for Sunday’s encounter with Club America in Los Angeles even though Old Trafford stalwarts Phil Neville and Nicky Butt also started the 3-1 victory.
“I am not prepared just to sit back and relax,” said Ferdinand.
“I am always thinking about my performance levels and I know at this stage of my career I need to keep improving.
“I have set myself high standards and if I am to become the player I want to be that improvement has to be across every aspect of my game. I won’t be satisfied until I have achieved it.”
Having scored seven goals and conceded just one in the opening two matches of their US trip, attracting over 120,000 fans in the process, Ferguson and his team winged their way into New York yesterday for the most important few days of the entire trip.
Making the same kind of impression in a largely indifferent Los Angeles as they had done in their opening game in Seattle was always going to be difficult, but United’s commercial team will be looking to take a sizeable bite out of the Big Apple this week if they are to judge the tour to be a success.
The charm offensive will click into overdrive later today when Ferguson leads a deputation to the United Nations headquarters, where secretary general Kofi Annan is set to greet them as part of a UNICEF project aimed at trying to end child exploitation.
At simultaneous events tomorrow, Ferguson will make a community visit to the borough of Queens, where he will hand out assorted football equipment to help the local clubs, while Sir Bobby Charlton and Ryan Giggs will travel to Ground Zero where they will lay the foundations to a memorial for the victims of the September 11 terrorist atrocity.
Then, on Thursday morning, United chief executive Peter Kenyon will ring the bell to open the New York Stock Exchange.
On top of that, there is the small matter of taking on Juventus in front of a sell-out crowd at the Giants Stadium.
Having beaten the Italian outfit twice in the second group stage of last season’s Champions League, United will be anxious not to concede any psychological points ahead of this year’s competition.
Juve were beaten on penalties by Barcelona in their opening game of the Champions World series, although Marcello Lippi’s side should improve on that performance.
As Ferdinand acknowledges though, United have slipped into gear pretty quickly despite the summer departure of David Beckham.
“We have to put the whole David Beckham issue behind us now,” said Ferdinand.
“The most important thing is the club and how well we do. The team as a whole are looking sharp and we are looking forward to Thursday’s game.”
