Gary Neville

Gary Neville is a former English footballer, born on 18th February 1975 in Bury, England. Neville was a right-back during his playing days but has also fulfilled the duties of a centre-back or a defensive midfielder when required. He preferred his right foot while playing the game.

Neville was a part of the famed Class of 92 of Manchester United.

Background

Neville joined Manchester United in 1991. He captained the youth team to FA Youth Cup glory in his first season with the club.

He was handed his debut by manager Sir Alex Ferguson in 1992. He was part of the youth revolution Sir Alex brought about at the club during the 1990s. This group which also included the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Nicky Butt came to be known as Fergie’s Fledglings.

After Paul Parker suffered an injury, Neville found himself as the right back of the Manchester United first eleven in the 1994-95 season.

Debut

Neville played his first game for the English national side in 1995. He made his debut under manager Terry Venables against Japan.

He represented his nation in the 1998 and 2006 FIFA World Cups.

Rise to Glory

Neville scored the first goal of his career in 1997 in a 3-3 draw against Middlesbrough. He scored a total of five league goals during his career. But more than his scoring ability, he formed a successful combination with David Beckham and later Cristiano Ronaldo on the right wing.

Since the 1995-96 season, Neville would make more than 20 appearances in the league for 12 consecutive seasons. He continued to bring silverware to the club and formed an important part of the most successful period in the club’s history.

By 2006, Neville had won eight Premier Leagues, four FA Cups and one League Cup and one Champions League. In March 2007, Neville suffered an injury against Bolton Wanderers. Since then, he found it tough to play regularly.

Neville made 400 appearances in the Premier League and helped his club keep a clean sheet in 148 of those.

Low Points

Neville was not selected for the 2007 UEFA Champions League final matchday squad. He did join the celebrations later but could not lift the trophy inspite of being the captain of the team. Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand lifted the trophy since they had captained the side during his long absence due to injury.

Club Career

Gary Neville has played for Manchester United FC throughout his career. He joined the team in 1991 and stayed at the club till 2011.

Captaincy

Neville was named as the captain of Manchester United after Roy Keane left the club in November 2005. The club won three Premier Leagues, two League Cups and one Champions League under his captaincy.

He stayed as the club captain till his retirement.

Records

Gary Neville along with his brother Phil Neville holds the record for England’s most capped brothers. They made a total of 142 appearances.

Neville has made the most appearances for his national side as a right back.

Neville’s 11 appearances for the England team in the European Championship finals is a record.

Retirement

Neville announced his decision to retire from the game at the end of the season on 2nd February 2011. He made 602 appearances for Manchester United during his stay as a player and scored seven goals. He had also played in 85 matches for England.

After retirement, Neville has continued to be associated with the game of football. He was the assistant manager of the England national side under Roy Hodgson from 2012. He continued to hold the post as England participated in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Neville was appointed as the manager of Valencia in December 2015. He was sacked in March 2016 after a string of unimpressive performances by the club under him.

Currently, Neville works as a popular football pundit of English channel Sky Sports.