"Football was very important," he said. "Even while Serbia was being bombed, people were still playing football. Red Star Belgrade still had football matches and people were still going to watch the games, even though there was a war on. It was amazing!
"I remember when the bombing started and for the first month we were too scared to go out and play football because we didn't know what was happening. Nobody knew where the bombs would be.
"But after a month, people relaxed a little more and they realised the targets were military and government buildings, or bridges.
"So then we thought it was OK to go to the stadiums and play football - we knew they wouldn't bomb there. People still wanted to lead their lives and watch football."
And he says that the sport also offered the Serbs - heavily criticised for the war crimes of some of their leaders - a chance to present a human face to the world:
"In the 90s football was everything. It was the best way to show the world who we were. At the time, there were a lot of bad things happening in our country - there were murders, bombings, war - and it was important that Red Star Belgrade and the national team played well to counteract the negative propaganda.
"It was the best way to show that Serbians also love football and sporting events. Today, football is still the No 1 sport in Serbia and everybody wants to play for Red Star Belgrade or one of the top clubs in Europe.
"Football is a big part of life for the country's young people."
Football was blamed for part of the problem - there is even a claim that a strife-torn match between Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb and Vidic's former club Red Star Belgrade in 1990 poured fuel on the flames of trouble.
"There was a big fight at the match - fans tore up seats, some got on to the pitch, even players were involved," said Vidic.
"I remember watching the match on TV and seeing Zvonimir Boban kick a policeman, which caused a lot of trouble.
"At that time, there was a very, very cold relationship between what is now Croatia and Serbia - but now I think most of the bad feelings have stopped and people realise going to war was not the right thing to do.
"I don't have a problem with Croatian people and I don't think they have a problem with Serbians. The 90s was just a very unstable time and politics went very, very wrong. I cannot speak for everyone on this, though. These events are bigger than me and they are bigger than football."
He also admitted he is now playing with his heroes.
"I used to watch Giggsy and Scholesy and now I play with them every day. It's a great feeling. But now I realise Giggsy is just another person - a very professional player, but also just a person and a friend.
"Scholesy's a great player, too. He loves football and he loves having the ball at his feet. He takes a lot of enjoyment from playing passes, scoring goals and even making tackles."
"Players such as Scholesy and Giggs are the kind of people young players need to watch and learn from. They've played at the very top level for so many years and won so many trophies. I think that's very admirable and people should learn to be more like those two. It's great for me to come to the club and learn from them.