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Rio Ferdinand (born on November 7, 1978 in
Peckham, South London) is a Manchester United and
an England national football team|England
international Football (soccer)|football player in
his usual position is central defence. 

Ferdinand signed as schoolboy for West Ham United
F.C.|West Ham United in 1992 and became a
professional player under youth training scheme
and showed immense promise, and was likened to the
late Bobby Moore, the former West Ham and England
captain. He made his first team debut on 5 May
1996 as a substitute in 1-1 home draw against
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.|Sheffield Wednesday.
Ferdinand earned his full England cap as a
substitute in a friendly against Cameroon national
football team|Cameroon in 1998. He played for his
country at the Football World Cup 1998|1998 and
Wc|2002.

He joined FA Premier League|Premier League
football club Leeds United F.C.|Leeds United on
November 2000 for £18 million, then a United
Kingdom|British record. In August 2001, he became
the captain of Leeds.

Ferdinand fulfilled his promise as a world-class
defender during the 2002 World Cup, where his
partnership with Sol Campbell boasts the stingiest
defence during the tournament and he was
immediately hailed as the finished product as a
result for his confident marshalling of the
English defence.  On 22 July 2002, Ferdinand
joined another Premier League club, Manchester
United F.C.|Manchester United, on a £30 million
fee with a five year deal to become the most
expensive British footballer in history. 

The Duran Duran song "Rio (album)|Rio" has been
used in football chants both for and against
Ferdinand; in fact in 2002, fan Simon Le Bon
(Duran Duran's lead singer) promised to re-record
one of the football chants if the team won.  (They
didn't.)

Rio's cousin is former English international
striker Les Ferdinand, while his brother Anton
Ferdinand|Anton is currently a first choice
central defender for West Ham.

==Drug test controversy==
In 2003 he failed to attend a drugs test, claiming
he had forgotten because he was preoccupied with
moving house. The The Football Association|FA
imposed an eight month ban from January 2004 at
club and international level, meaning he would
miss the rest of the league season and some of the
next along with all of 2004 European Football
Championship|Euro 2004. Manchester United's
appeals to have the ban reduced were turned down. 
John Terry replaced him in the England side until
his return on 9 October 2004 in their Football
World Cup|World Cup qualifier against Wales
national football team|Wales.

The Rio Ferdinand drugs test saga has caused a
huge debate over how footballers found guilty of
drug offences (failing or missing tests) should be
treated. One of Manchester United's reasons for
appealing against the ban was that a Manchester
City player had also missed a drugs test but
escaped with just a £2,000 fine. Several seasons
earlier, Ipswich Town F.C.|Ipswich midfielder Adam
Tanner had been banned for just three months after
failing a drugs test. In March 1995, Chris
Armstrong had become the first Premiership
footballer to fail a drugs test yet had returned
to the game within a month after attending a brief
rehab programme.