1 week Ago By [email protected] (Ben Crawford)
Ex-Manchester United and Bayern Munich ace Owen Hargreaves was the quickest man at Old Trafford, much to the amazement of his team-mates. Born in Canada to English parents, Hargreaves moved to Bavaria at 16 and, having established himself as a regular in Munich, won a Champions League, four Bundesliga titles, and a range of domestic cups. Courted by Sir Alex Ferguson and his Red Devils in the summer of 2007, the versatile midfielder moved for roughly £17million – and it didn’t take long for a player often seen as one of the Scotsman's worst signings to make an impact.
Chewing the fat with former team-mate Rio Ferdinand, Hargreaves recalled his arrival at United – which would develop into a trio of Premier League trophies and a Champions League to boot despite underwhelming performances – and how many of the first-team were stunned by his pace. “People didn’t know I was that quick, so I could always surprise them,” Hargreaves began, speaking to Ferdinand on his Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel. The former United defender responded: “He came into the training ground when he signed, and we done [sic] testing, and he blew everyone out of the water.
He blew everyone away; we used to do like 10 yards, 20 yards, and he won every race. Wayne Rooney used to go to the guy, ‘Who’s playing with the machine? Owen can’t be the fastest.’” Hargreaves, who would also go on to play for rivals Manchester City after his lacklustre Old Trafford spell, admitted he would dominate the sprints at Carrington despite nursing a knee injury that would eventually require surgery.
“I had just started with my knee. I wasn’t healthy,” Hargreaves continued. “Five, 10, 15, 20, 25 yards.
Easy money; everyone would try and put bets to race me out on the pitches because they weren’t accepting it. “I remember Ando [Anderson], I said, ‘I’ll bet your car.’ That Audi, the white one, a nice car.
I said ‘Ando, you ain’t gonna beat me, man, just leave it.’” Brazilian midfielder Anderson evidently couldn’t handle the fact that Hargreaves was the quickest at the club, but Ferdinand clarified: “He didn’t bet it. He knew - he saw a couple of spirits, and he said, ‘No, not for me.
’” When called upon by Ferguson, the former England star elaborated on his role as both a defensive midfielder and a wide pacey player - something Hargreaves revealed played a pivotal role in the Red Devils’ 2008 Champions League success. “Because I played as a defensive midfield player, it [being fast] actually went against my attributes,” he added. “That’s why in, say, a big game, the manager would want me on the wing, say in the Champions League final [against Chelsea] or in the semi-final against Barcelona.
“I played against, Ashley Cole, Thierry [Henry] or [Andres] Iniesta because the gaffer knew that I could slow people down, you ain’t gonna run beyond me. It comes down to personnel; who you’re playing with dictates how you're gonna play the game.” Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content.
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