Diego Maradona, regarded as one of the finest of them
all, has proved an inspiration to three United players...
Rio Ferdinand
My inspiration to play football was
probably Diego Maradona. He’s the first memory I have of someone
doing something really great. I had all his videos and loved
watching him. He was a great player - a great team player and a
great individual player. In my eyes, he's the best ever. I remember
in the 1986 World Cup he took on the whole England team and scored.
Obviously I wasn’t happy that he scored against England but you had
to admire the skill and say, ‘I’d love to be able to do that one
day’. I tried my hardest but never really reached that level and
obviously I’m a defender now. Maradona came down to Carrington to
watch us train last season and we were all like school kids around
him! I think the gaffer might like him to come down every day given
the way it raised everyone's standards – we were all trying to
impress him! We were all clamouring to get pictures taken with him
and it was nice to shake his hand and get a cuddle off him; it made
my day.
Wayne Rooney
My favourite player is Maradona.
I’ve watched lots of videos of him in action and I just love the
way he played. In my eyes he’s the best player of all time.
Ryan Giggs
I always used to look out for
left-footers. John Barnes and Diego Maradona were always the ones
that I looked up to when I was a kid; Barnes because he played in
the same position as me and Maradona just because he was such a
great player. I remember Maradona in the ’86 World Cup. That goal
he scored against England – not that goal! (Hand of God one) – was
absolutely amazing. Whenever Liverpool played United in the 80s,
I'd watch John Barnes pretty closely. During that period at the end
of the 1980s, he was probably the best and most exciting player in
Britain.