Rio Ferdinand
theplayerstribune.com
United Kingdom
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Past articles by Rio:
Letter to My Younger Self
Dear 12-year-old Rio, Keep walking. Keep your head down. And just keep walking. The pitch is just on the other side of the path. Only 100 yards away. Not much farther to go. You just have to get through this gypsy camp. People are gonna call out to you. They’re gonna say shit when you walk by. You know what these camps are like. They’re hairy. They’re dangerous. And filled with dogs. I know, you… → Read More
Monaco v Juventus: England's young defenders should watch Leonardo Bonucci for a masterclass, writes Rio Ferdinand
John Stones, Michael Keane and Ben Gibson should all tune in to watch Juventus tomorrow night because they can learn from one of the best centre-backs in the business. Leonardo Bonucci has not only been a consistent performer at the highest level at Juventus for a number of years but for Italy as well. → Read More
England's young defenders should watch Leonardo Bonucci for a masterclass, writes Rio Ferdinand
John Stones, Michael Keane and Ben Gibson should all tune in to watch Juventus tomorrow night because they can learn from one of the best centre-backs in the business. Leonardo Bonucci has not only been a consistent performer at the highest level at Juventus for a number of years but for Italy as well. → Read More
Serial winner Wayne Rooney will be hungry for silverware in the Europa League, writes Rio Ferdinand
Wayne Rooney is a huge asset for Manchester United to call upon right now to clinch the Europa League trophy. Everyone knows about Jose Mourinho’s injury problems, but United have a serial winner in the dressing room to help get them past Celta Vigo in the semi-finals. → Read More
Leicester City vs Atletico Madrid: Wes Morgan must do everything to get on the pitch, says Rio Ferdinand
If I was Wes Morgan, I’d be willing to do anything to make sure I was fit for Leicester’s Champions League quarter-final against Atletico Madrid tonight. He has missed the past six games with a back problem and apparently the club will leave it until the last minute to see if he’s ready to play. → Read More
Atletico Madrid v Leicester: Foxes can shock Atleti because they sacked Claudio Ranieri, says Rio Ferdinand
The decision to sack Claudio Ranieri has proved to be a fantastic move by Leicester’s owners and the players are now in the form to upset Atletico in the Champions League. Forget the defeat to Everton at the weekend, where they rested a few. Craig Shakespeare, who replaced Ranieri, has got Leicester back doing what they’re best at and they can make things difficult for the hosts tomorrow. → Read More
Atletico Madrid v Leicester: Foxes can shock Atleti because they sacked Claudio Ranieri, says Rio Ferdinand
The decision to sack Claudio Ranieri has proved to be a fantastic move by Leicester’s owners and the players are now in the form to upset Atletico in the Champions League. Forget the defeat to Everton at the weekend, where they rested a few. Craig Shakespeare, who replaced Ranieri, has got Leicester back doing what they’re best at and they can make things difficult for the hosts tomorrow. → Read More
Rio Ferdinand: Five Monaco players who could thrive in the Premier League
After an eight-goal Champions League thriller at the Etihad two weeks ago, all eyes with be on Manchester City's last-16 decider against Monaco tonight. → Read More
Rio Ferdinand: Reborn Sergio Aguero can fire Manchester City past Monaco
Getting dropped is never a nice thing for any professional, but it has proved to be a blessing in disguise for Sergio Aguero. Gabriel Jesus took his place at Manchester City and if the Brazilian hadn’t suffered an injury last month, then Aguero might still not be playing much now. But he has responded in the best possible way, with six goals in his last five matches. More importantly, Aguero… → Read More
Arsenal fire only when Alexis Sanchez is on the pitch, says Rio Ferdinand
Whatever is going on behind the scenes with Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal need him on the pitch from the start against Bayern Munich tonight because we saw on Saturday how bad they are without him. → Read More
Arsenal vs Bayern Munich: Arsenal fire only when Alexis Sanchez is on the pitch, says Rio Ferdinand
Whatever is going on behind the scenes with Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal need him on the pitch from the start against Bayern Munich tonight because we saw on Saturday how bad they are without him. → Read More
Yaya Toure has got hunger in his eyes after adapting to Pep Guardiola's style, writes Rio Ferdinand
I interviewed Yaya Toure for BT Sport ahead of Manchester City's game against Monaco tonight and he gave me great insight on what it's like to play for Pep Guardiola. Yaya wasn't in the Champions League squad for the group stage, but he's back now and I could see the hunger in his eyes. → Read More
Tottenham must make Wembley home or it will cost them next season, writes Rio Ferdinand
Tottenham must get over their psychological problem of playing at Wembley or it will cost them this season and the next. Spurs have the second leg of their last-32 Europa League tie against Gent in the national stadium on Thursday and it will be understandable if past failures are still on their mind. They lost two Champions League group games there this season, which is the main reason why they… → Read More
Mauricio Pochettino simply can't afford to pick and choose
Tottenham will be making a big mistake if they decide that the Europa League is an inconvenience they can do without again this year. Last season, coach Mauricio Pochettino played a weakened side when they were knocked out at the last-16 stage by Borussia Dortmund as he saw the Premier League as a bigger priority. But when you’re at this end of the season, there should be no picking and… → Read More
It's wrong to make Mesut Ozil the scapegoat for everything that's going on at Arsenal, writes Rio Ferdinand
Mesut Ozil has become an easy scapegoat when things are going wrong at Arsenal. It’s not fair and it’s not right. There will be a lot of scrutiny on the midfielder when he returns to Germany with Arsenal to face Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League tomorrow night. It’s true that he has gone off the boil of late and Arsenal do need him to step up in what is an enormous game but,… → Read More
It's wrong to make Mesut Ozil the scapegoat for everything that's going on at Arsenal, writes Rio Ferdinand
Mesut Ozil has become an easy scapegoat when things are going wrong at Arsenal. It’s not fair and it’s not right. There will be a lot of scrutiny on the midfielder when he returns to Germany with Arsenal to face Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League tomorrow night. It’s true that he has gone off the boil of late and Arsenal do need him to step up in what is an enormous game but,… → Read More
Champions League predictions: Rio Ferdinand says Arsenal should not expect a miracle from Paris Saint-Germain on matchday 6
With matchday six finally upon us, Standard Sport's Champions League columnist Rio Ferdinand makes five key predictions as the group stages comes to a close... PSG v Ludogorets (Tuesday) PSG just need to match Arsenal’s result in Basle to secure top spot in Group A and I can’t see them making any mistake at home. → Read More
Europa League spot will provide chance for Tottenham’s kids, writes Rio Ferdinand
Tottenham should do their utmost to salvage some pride and secure qualification to the Europa League against CSKA Moscow tomorrow night. They have already failed to progress to the last 16 of the Champions League, but a → Read More
Arsene Wenger is wrong to rest Arsenal’s Petr Cech in the Champions League, writes Rio Ferdinand
David Ospina is expected to start in goal for Arsenal again in the Champions League at Basle tonight and I just don’t understand it. Ospina is clearly a good keeper and one that manager Arsene Wenger rates highly but Petr Cech is the No1 at the club and should have been playing in the group games. Instead, he has sat out every single one so far, while Ospina has stood between the posts. → Read More
Arsenal are not soft touches anymore but they cannot miss chance to top Champions League group, says Rio Ferdinand
Arsenal have a great opportunity to finish top of their Champions League group this year and it’s one they can’t afford to miss. They have finished runners-up for four successive seasons, been given a tough draw in the last 16 and gone out. → Read More