Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford has revealed the defender he despises playing against throughout his career.
Bamford is now one of the most experienced attackers in the top four divisions of English football, having faced a wide range of defenders over his career.
The 30-year-old stated earlier this week that he is the happy he has been at Leeds in a long time, possibly even since his first season back in the Premier League, considering the subsequent injury troubles.
Despite just facing him twice, he has named a former Premier League defender. That individual is former Everton player Yerry Mina.
Bamford stated on the most recent episode of the ‘My Mate’s a Footballer Podcast’ that he would leave the field with numerous bruises and scratches on his body after confronting him.
Bamford feels Mina is the worst to play against.
He remarked, “I know someone I despise playing against; he was a decent defender but not the toughest I’ve ever played against, but it was dreadful. I believe Man City and Haaland played against him, and there was a photo after the game in which he appeared to have scored while wearing his top off.
“You could see the scratches and marks in certain places, so I knew. Yerry Mina used to be at Everton. Every time I play against him, he tries to give you some verbals, which I quite appreciate, but then off the ball, you know, like a chicken nip on the back of your arm?
“He’d do it hard and twist for the entire game. You’d come off scratched all over your back and chest, with bruised arms. “As if you’d been wrestling with a cat.”
This is maybe not surprising given Mina’s propensity for rubbing people the wrong way during his career. Even the greatest of all time, Lionel Messi.
Bamford also mentioned a match with Haaland in his comments regarding Mina, which was the same game in which Pep Guardiola chastised the Colombian afterward for some of the techniques he used to halt his teammates.
With that in mind, it’s no wonder that Bamford named Mina as the worst opponent he’s ever faced, but he was a terrific Everton player.
