Premier League stalwart Phil Bardsley has stated that while he faced both Cristiano Ronaldo and Eden Hazard, he considers Steven Pienaar to be the toughest winger he ever came up against.
Bardsley, who can play on either flank as a full-back, battled many opponents over his 20-year career, featuring for various clubs across England, Scotland, and Belgium. He is best known for his time at Manchester United and Sunderland, making 303 Premier League appearances and scoring seven goals. The 39-year-old retired last summer, ending his career at Stockport County, his ninth and final club.
In an interview with talkSPORT, Bardsley said: “I do miss the old days of facing a proper left-winger. Obviously, the game and formations changed, but in the early part of my career, you’d usually face a 4-4-2 formation and a left-winger.”
“That changed with the emergence of Steven Pienaar and Leighton Baines at Everton. People talk about opponents, but Pienaar was one of the toughest I’ve come up against. He always drags you into places. He’s like a No.10 operating from the left. He drags you into places where you’re thinking ‘do I close him down or stay off him?’ Pienaar and Hazard are that type of player. But I do miss those old-school battles with a proper left-winger and full-back.”
Pienaar joined Everton from Borussia Dortmund in 2008 for £2 million, later moving to Tottenham Hotspur for a similar fee. Bardsley admits that one of the joys of playing in the Premier League was the challenge of facing the best players, including former Man United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.
When asked if he ever felt he had the upper hand in duels, Bardsley replied: “No, but I always believed I played better when up against better players. I’m not saying we won those games, but I always felt like I had something to prove when facing better players; you don’t want to be embarrassed. You see the battles between Cristiano Ronaldo and Ashley Cole, back and forth, neither giving an inch. As a player, you want to give your all on the pitch.”