[2] Vidic interview quotes cause a bit of a stir

[Red News]

from Telegraph

Nemanja Vidic has placed his long-term Manchester United future in doubt after criticising the English way of life and admitting that he hopes eventually to play in another European league.
In a frank interview, the Serbian defender was scathing of the climate in Manchester, and said he had found it hard to adapt. "I will never stay to live in England, that's for sure," said Vidic, 26. "You get only a brief glimpse of sunlight before it's all cloudy again. The winters are mild, but in summer the temperatures seldom go higher than 20C. And it rains, rains, rains.
"In future, I would like to test myself in another top league. I'm thinking of Spain. At least there will be no reason to complain about the weather. In England, they say that Manchester is the city of rain. Its main attraction is considered to be the timetable at the railway station, where trains leave for other, less rainy cities."
Vidic, who joined United from Spartak Moscow in January 2006, also had harsh words for the English approach to work. "It's not only the weather that I'm not happy about here," he told the Russian magazine Football Weekly. "In Russia and Serbia the people's way of life is similar. In England it's totally different. Here they just don't have time to feel the joy of life.
"Throughout the week they all work so hard. They only talk to people at lunch break. Then in the evening they come home and watch the telly, so they can get up early for work the next day.
"The only time to meet friends is at weekends, but for football players it's the busiest time of all. It was much easier for me to adapt to Russia than England. In England I had no one to talk to. The first month was especially hard. I lived alone in a hotel, which I left only for training. I thought I would go crazy inside those four walls."

from Daily Mail

Considering Nemanja Vidic braved the bitter Russian winter during an 18-month spell with Spartak Moscow, bad weather should be the last thing to unsettle Manchester United's fearless defender.

But it seems Vidic is so fed up with our gloomy skies and incessant rain that he is casting envious glances towards sunny Spain. And we thought it was only Cristiano Ronaldo!

Sir Alex Ferguson must hope that although Vidic, 26, has suddenly expressed discontent with life in Manchester, it was all meant in a light-hearted fashion.

The defender's Serbian upbringing, Russian experience and reputation for being as hard as nails since arriving from Spartak for £7million in January 2006 have been vital elements in the part he has played in United's successes.

Never afraid to put his head where it hurts, Vidic added to his battle scars on Monday when a clash of heads with Portsmouth's Sol Campbell left him needing stitches in a cut next to his eye. Spilling blood has never been a problem, it would seem. But rain? That's different.

'I will never stay to live in England, that's for sure,' said Vidic in a Russian magazine.

'The climate here is something special! You get only a brief glimpse of sunlight before it's all cloudy again. The winters are mild but in summer the temperatures seldom go higher than 20 degrees Celsius. And it rains, rains, rains!

'In England they say that Manchester is the city of rain. Its main attraction is considered to be a timetable at the railway station where trains leave for other, less rainy cities!'

As if our rain isn't enough to moan about, he criticises the joyless way of life and admits he misses the social life he enjoyed with his team-mates in Moscow.

'In Russia and Serbia the people's way of life is similar,' he added.

'In England it's totally different. Here they just don't have time to feel the joy of life. Throughout the week they all work so hard. They only talk to people at lunch break. Then in the evening they come home and watch the telly so they can get up early for work the next day.

'The only time to meet friends are at weekends but for football players it's the busiest time of all. At Spartak after training, one of the players would suggest having dinner together, and in the evening we'd meet in a restaurant.

'It was much easier for me to adapt to Russia than England. After I came to Moscow I immediately made friends with other Serbs who live there.

'In future I would like to test myself in another top league. I'm thinking of Spain. At least there will be no reason to complain about the weather.'