Vincent Kompany is a hero amongst Man City fans.
The Belgian defender was one of the catalysts to the success the Manchester club has experienced over the last decade and a half, with the former defender viewed as one of City’s biggest legends.
Kompany often gets overlooked in the discussion of Man City’s greatest ever player, with Kevin De Bruyne picking David Silva; however, when it comes to defenders, the former centre-back is often said to be the greatest City fans have seen.
Joleon Lescott thinks slightly differently, although the former City star might think Kompany is the best defender Man City have ever had, the Englishman has stated that another used to strike fear into his teammates at training.
Joleon Lescott thinks Micah Richards was better one-on-one than Vincent Kompany
Micah Richards once said that Man City players used to avoid Kompany, as the former defender was the guy who would keep track of the discipline in the team, such as fines for being late.
However, Richards was also a man who was avoided by some of his teammates during his time in Manchester, as Lescott once explained that the forwards in City’s team used to hate going up against the right-back one-on-one.
“Like one-on-one, probably the best around during his time, especially at Man City, would be Micah Richards,” Lescott told Soccer AM. “Just an absolute machine. When we used to do one-on-one sessions, no striker or forward wanted to go against him.
“Obviously, it is a toss-up, in terms of that, with Vincent (Kompany) as well, but Micah for just sheer brutality.
“There was him, Vinny, and Nigel de Jong when I first went there, and it was an eye-opener with the intensity with which they trained at.”
Many never think of Richards when it comes to impressive defenders who played with Man City, most likely because of Pablo Zabaleta’s presence in Manchester, however, the 36-year-old had a decent career at the Etihad Stadium.
Micah Richards’ Man City career
Richards came through the Man City academy before making his debut for the Manchester club in 2005. The defender would spend an impressive 10 years at the Etihad, where he racked up a total of 245 appearances in a sky blue shirt.
The right-back would win the Premier League and FA Cup with City and would see his career in Manchester come to an end in 2015, when the Englishman would then join Aston Villa on a free transfer for four years.
Richards was a good player, but the right-back never reached his potential at Man City due to injuries and several managerial changes, with some not fancying the former City defender in their team.
It would have been interesting to see how the 36-year-old’s career would have played out had he remained injury-free, as the talent was there to be a top defender in the Premier League.
