Eric Bailly determined to emulate Manchester United greats Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic
ERIC BAILLY’s journey from emptying public phoneboxes in his native Ivory Coast to coining in the trophies with Manchester United would have made an excellent episode of Pennies From Heaven.
Eric Bailly is keen to emulate Manchester United legends such as Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic
Now the defender is on a mission to fill the void left by Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic and become an Old Trafford legend.
Bailly, 23, was a surprise £30m signing by Jose Mourinho from Villareal last summer but despite missing six weeks with a knee injury, he enjoyed an impressive first season helping them to win three trophies, although he was suspended from the Europa League final.
His success in the Premier League is in stark contrast to his humble upbringing in Bingerville where, in a family of four children, he took several part-time jobs to earn much-needed cash, including emptying phoneboxes.
“I am not going to complain about the life I’ve had so far,” he said. “In Africa, there are people that live in more difficult situations.
“I’ve had the luck of having parents that work and have helped me out. They’ve done everything possible for me to get here.
“My dream was like all the other kids to get to the best possible level, which means professional football. I have made that dream come true, thanks to God.
“As a child I started working. I had a programme after training in the afternoon in which I would go in front of my house to do various things.
“The phoneboxes was something I did to earn some money. I couldn’t always rely on my parents.”
Bailly, who had only had one full season in La Liga helping Villareal reach the Europa League semi-finals, admits he didn’t believe it when he first heard United were interested.
“I was waiting for something more after the great season we had had in Villareal,” he said. “I found out about the move to United when I was in the Ivory Coast and I didn’t believe it was true. I thought it was a dream.
Ferdinand says Eric Bailly has 'tools to become top defender'
It is my ambition to be thought of in the same way as those players [Vidic and Ferdinand]
Eric Bailly
“Afterwards I found it was true that the team was interested in me and it was something big for me. I have to thank the manager who had the confidence in me to bring me in as his first signing.
“It is something that is not easy. It was a bigger step going to Manchester than moving to Villareal [from Espanyol]. When you come to the team there are players that have more experience in the English league and I had to see how the football was played. But my team-mates helped me settle.”
Mourinho has always had warrior-like centre backs at his previous clubs, including John Terry at Chelsea, Marco Materazzi at Inter Milan and Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid – Bailly’s boyhood hero.
And he aspires to fill the centre-back void left when Ferdinand and Vidic left the club in 2014, even though he knows he has a long way to go.
“It is my ambition to be thought of in the same way as those players,” he said. “In order to achieve this you also have to take the example of who has played here, like Vidic and Ferdinand.
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Eric Bailly wants to fill the void left by Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at Manchester United
“I have to try to follow in their steps. It is very difficult but everything is achieved with hard work, keeping my head high to keep moving forward and I hope that happens in my case.”
Rather than Vidic and Ferdiand, Bailly’s role model was the swashbuckling Ramos.
“Once I started growing up and seeing professional football was a step closer, I would look at Ramos,” he said.
“You always need an example to try to be like. I always looked up to Ramos and watched him a lot.”
Bailly is convinced Mourinho will return United to their former glories. “The team has always been at a world-class level, they have just had some bad moments,” he said.
“But now it’s time to give Manchester United its value. That comes with our hard work and if we put that in we are going to demonstrate that we are again a world-class club.”
“You always need an example to try to be like. I always looked up to Ramos and watched him a lot.”
Bailly is convinced Mourinho will return United to their former glories. “The team has always been at a world-class level, they have just had some bad moments,” he said.
“But now it’s time to give Manchester United its value. That comes with our hard work and if we put that in we are going to demonstrate that we are again a world-class club.”
