Nemanja Vidic established himself as a defensive warrior during his eight-year spell at Manchester United, and his son has just taken the first steps into mimicking him
Nemanja Vidic's 17-year-old son, Luka, has signed his first professional deal in his native Serbia.
Like his father, who enjoyed several spells with Serbian clubs before breaking through at Red Star Belgrade and moving to Manchester United, Luka has penned a contract with top-flight outfit Zeleznicar Pancevo.
The teenage ace differs from his father slightly in his style of play, however, because unlike the impervious centre-half Vidic, he has chosen to pursue a holding midfield role while still utilising some of the defensive nous that may have been passed down.
Zeleznicar are not the younger Vidic's first side, either. He previously spent time with the academy at his father's old club, Red Star, and last played for First League side Vozdovac.
Being the son of a player Sir Alex Ferguson so admired makes for some pretty sizable boots to fill, and the Scottish coach famously stated: "How many centre-halves can you name who actually like defending? Vidic liked it. He loved the challenge of sticking his head in there. You could tell that the thrill of contesting those 50-50 balls animated him."
Vidic spent eight years at Old Trafford under Ferguson and a brief stint under David Moyes. During this time, he served three campaigns as club captain and put together a more-than-respectable trophy cabinet.
The Serbian defender won five Premier League titles and was named a PFA Player of the Year nominee during this spell. He also won a Champions League title in 2008, the final of which took place in Moscow, where Vidic spent four years with Spartak before his move to England.
Upon leaving United, for which he played 300 times, in 2014, Vidic released a statement: "I'm not considering staying in England as the only club I ever wanted to play for here is Manchester United.
"I never could have imagined winning 15 trophies. However, I have decided I will move on at the end of this season. I have had eight wonderful years here.
"My time at this great club will always rank as the best years of my career. I will certainly never forget that fantastic night in Moscow, memories that will live with me and the fans forever."
With his son taking his first fleeting steps into the professional game, perhaps the stars will align so that Luka can also play for the club that Vidic evidently holds so dear.
Luka will in fact face one of his father's former clubs very soon, as he'll take on Red Star later in September and face them again in the return fixture near the end of next February.
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