5 Nemanja Vidic
After a less than settled start at Old Trafford, after moving there from Spartak Moscow in 2006, Vidic got down to his trademark solid defending in the 2006/7 season. Taking advantage of Wes Brown's absence due to injuries, he formed a reliable partnership with Rio Ferdinand in central defence, and even scored a few crucial goals. He is good in the air and strong on the ground, but also capable of getting forward and scoring goals, making him one of the side's most valuable players. He was part of the defensive quartet that saw United break Chelsea's clean sheet record in January 2009, going 12 league games without conceding a goal. Vidic plays for the Serbian national team, and played in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers, where his team conceded only one goal during their 10 qualification matches. Unfortunately though he was injured before the main competition and was unable to participate in any of his country's matches.
