‘Micah Richards was on a different planet’… Manchester City icon reveals the one thing that made the defender so special

EXCLUSIVE: Micah Richards left a massive impression on one of his former Manchester City teammates.

While famed today for his comical approach to punditry, at the peak of his powers, the talented athlete was renowned for his ferocious strength and lightning pace.

Richard Dunne says Micah Richards had remarkable athleticism

When Micah Richards burst into the first team at Manchester City, he quickly caught the attention of Richard Dunne, who was blown away by the defender.

The pair developed a tight bond, with the Irishman taking the then-prospect under his wing, and teaching him the ropes of what it took to make it in the greatest league in football.

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In an exclusive interview with Sporf, via Wiz Slots, Dunne reminisced: “Micah was a young lad coming into the team with the potential to be what he became — an England international and a top player. When you have your career, you see a lot of young players come and go at different periods, but when Micah came up and started training with us, he was on a different planet in terms of his athleticism. He could nearly jump over a crossbar; he could run like the wind, he was incredible, he had a little bit of everything.

“For me, as I was getting older, to be able to play with someone like that, who had all the physical attributes of probably one of the best physical specimens in the Premier League, was great. It was a joy. Micah just needed to learn the game. I was the experienced one, like when I started out, I had Dave Watson at Everton, who talked through games and helped me. I was fortunate enough to play alongside Micah and be a guide for him.

“When you’re a young player coming in, you’re always the best player in your youth team, you know everything. You could be quicker and stronger than everyone, but when you play first team, there are clever players and different stuff that you have to do — it takes a little bit of time to learn. But Micah was an outstanding footballer, and he was unfortunate that injuries cut his career short.”

Richard Dunne on what it was really like to play in the last ever Maine Road derby

While playing alongside Richards was certainly a memorable experience for Dunne, perhaps his greatest moment in a Manchester City shirt came in 2002, when his beloved side triumphed over its biggest rivals, 3-1, in the last ever Maine Road derby.

The 46-year-old explained: “When we played United back in the day, they were the best team in the world. They had the best players, they were used to winning the Premier League, they’d won the treble not long before that. This was the last time they were going to come to Maine Road. Something that we wanted to have is a memory. It was Shaun Goater on the day who was the main man and scored a couple of goals. The atmosphere and the whole occasion were just incredible. Maine Road is long gone now, but it lives fondly in everyone’s memories. That is, when you think about it, certainly for my generation of players, the game that comes up most.”

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