Nemanja Vidic vs Vincent Kompany - at their best, who was better?

 

We return with the latest edition of our fantasy head-to-head series, as we look back across the last decade of football and compare the standout campaign's of some of Europe's elite footballers. Alexis Sanchez vs Eden Hazard, Mohamaed Salah vs Luis Suarez and Arjen Robben vs Gareth Bale are just some of the match-ups we have disected over the last month, as requested by our Twitter followers.

 

This Tuesday feature is about to take a turn, however, as for the first time we will now pit two of the Premier League's best ever centre-backs against one and other. This article will be of particular interest to supporters of Manchester City and Manchester United, as after taking 29.4% of the votes on our Twitter poll, it's time to assess the best league campaign in the WhoScored database (2009 onwards) of Vincent Kompany (10/11) versus Nemanja Vidic (09/10).

 

 

Before we take a deep dive into their statistics, it goes without saying these two are not only colossal figures for their respective clubs but also revered around the Premier League. Both were captains, albeit leaders in different ways. Kompany was an authoritative figure on the pitch and great communicator, whereas Vidic led by example. Niggling injuries would get the better of both towards the end of their time in the Premier League, more so for Kompany, but at their peaks they were goliath characters.

 

Neither player finished on the title-winning side in the campaigns in question. United lost out to Chelsea to a point in 2009/10 before City finished behind United the following campaign. They did at least each win a domestic cup competition, with United lifting the League Cup and City celebrating their first FA Cup success in 42 years.
 

From personal perpective, both were at the peak of their powers. Komapny missed just one league game in the 2010/11 campaign, which seems strange to think after watching his final four years at City ravaged by injuries. Vidic, meanwhile, was limited to just 24 league appearances in 2009/10 and United will argue they would have beaten Chelsea to the title had the Serbian been available more.

 

Nemanja Vidic vs Vincent Kompany - at their best, who was better?

 

The statistics back that notion up. United lost more league games from the 14 matches Vidic missed (4) compared to the 24 matches he featured in (3). Goals conceded per game also went to 0.86 when Vidic did not start from 0.67 when he did. With the assurance of Vidic at the foundation of the team, it gave greater confidence to those in front of him, as goals scored per game increased from 1.93 without Vidic in the starting XI to 2.46 with him in the team that season.

 

The former Serbia international was renowned for his no-nonsense approach to defending. He would regularly throw his body in the firing line if it meant preventing a goal. Indeed, in 2009/10 only a handful of defenders averaged more shots blocked than the United legend (1.1) in the Premier League. What he lacked in pace he made up for with timing and precision. Vidic wasn't just a tough tackler but he knew the right time to go to ground. He was dribbled past just six times across his 24 league appearancs with a tackle success rate of 89.8%. The now-38-year-old also won 73.8% of his aerial duels that season.

 

As a great communicator it would not be a shock if Kompany ended up in politics or as the head of FIFA and like all great leaders he had a tremendous ruthless streak. Kompany's tackle success rate in 2010/11 was 90.1%. In other terms, he was unsuccessful with just 11 of his attempted 111 tackles that year. It's no surprise given Kompany's strength. He was intimadting to opposition strikers and still had great pace at that point in his career. While he marginally out-performed Vidic in that statistic, he came out on the wrong side in their head-to-head in terms of aerial duel success rate (70.2%).

 

Neither player across the respective Premier League campaigns made an individual mistake that directly led to an opposition goal, either. Positioning is a key trait for all great defenders, knowing where to be and at the right time is a difficult skill but both Vidic and Kompany were certainly good in that respect. Illutrated by high clearance returns of 9.3 per game for Vidic in 09/10 and 9.1 per game for Kompany the following season.

 

While Vidic and Kompany shared many Manchester derbies together it is a shame few coincided while they were both at their best. Vidic was no longer the same animal when City emerged as more than just United's noisy neighbours. As Vidic's career started to wind down, Kompany's was just beginning in England but there is no doubt both will go down as all-time greats of Premier League history, even if Vidic wins this contest.

Nemanja Vidic vs Vincent Kompany - at their best, who was better?