Gary Neville facts for kids
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Neville in 2014
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gary Alexander Neville | ||
| Date of birth | 18 February 1975 | ||
| Place of birth | Bury, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Playing position | Right-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1991–1992 | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1992–2011 | Manchester United | 400 | (5) |
| National team | |||
| 1992 | England U16 | 1 | (0) |
| 1992–1993 | England U18 | 8 | (0) |
| 1995–2007 | England | 85 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2012–2016 | England (assistant) | ||
| 2015–2016 | Valencia | ||
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Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football expert, former player, and co-owner of Salford City football club. As a player, Neville was a right-back. He spent his entire career playing for Manchester United. He was also the club's captain for five years.
Gary Neville is one of the most successful English and European footballers ever. He won 20 trophies during his career. These include eight Premier League titles and two UEFA Champions League titles.
Neville first played for the England team in 1995. He was England's main right-back for over 10 years. He played for England in three European Championships and two FIFA World Cups.
After stopping playing football in 2011, Neville became a football expert. He worked as a commentator for Sky Sports. In 2015, he became the head coach of Valencia in Spain. After being let go by Valencia in 2016, he returned to Sky Sports. He also worked as an assistant manager for the England national team from 2012 to 2016.
Gary is the older brother of twin siblings. His brother, Phil Neville, also played for Manchester United for a long time. His sister, Tracey Neville, was a famous netball player.
Contents
Playing Career: Manchester United Star
Joining Manchester United and Early Days
Gary Neville joined Manchester United as a young player in 1991. He was the captain of the youth team that won the FA Youth Cup in his first season. He played his first senior game for United on 16 September 1992. This was a UEFA Cup match against Torpedo Moscow.
Neville was part of a famous group of young players in the 1990s. Manager Alex Ferguson called them Fergie's Fledglings. This group included his brother Phil, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Nicky Butt, and Paul Scholes.
In the 1994–95 season, Neville became Manchester United's main right-back. He kept this position until he retired. He often worked well with David Beckham on the right side of the field. They helped create many goals for the team.
Goals and Captaincy
Gary Neville scored his first goal in 1997 against Middlesbrough. He scored a total of five league goals for United. His last league goal was against Charlton Athletic in April 2004. He also scored two goals in the UEFA Champions League. His last ever goal for United was against Lyon in November 2004.
In January 2005, Neville spoke out about a campaign against racism by Nike. He felt Nike was doing it for good public relations. He refused to wear a training top with the campaign's logo.
After Roy Keane left in November 2005, Neville became the new club captain. In January 2006, he celebrated a winning goal against Liverpool in front of their fans. This caused some controversy. He was fined £5,000 by the FA for his actions. Neville said players should be allowed to show emotion.
Neville had an injury in March 2007. He made his return in a reserve game in January 2008. On 9 April 2008, he made his comeback for the first team. This was in a UEFA Champions League game against Roma. Fans gave him a standing ovation. He was given the captain's armband.
He started his first game in 17 months in August 2008. This was for the 2008 FA Community Shield against Portsmouth. Neville signed a new contract to stay at Old Trafford until June 2010.
In February 2010, Neville won another trophy. He came on as a substitute in the League Cup final win against Aston Villa. He played enough league games that season for what would have been his ninth league title. However, Chelsea won the league by one point.
In September 2010, Neville stepped down as team captain. He wanted a player who played more regularly to be captain. He remained as club captain off the pitch. On 24 October, Neville played his 600th game for United.
Retirement from Football
On 2 February 2011, Gary Neville announced he was retiring from football. He had played for Manchester United for almost 20 years. His last professional game was on New Year's Day 2011 against West Bromwich Albion. Neville later said he knew during that game it would be his last.
By the time he retired, Neville had won many trophies. He won eight Premier League titles, three FA Cups, and two Champions Leagues. He also won the Intercontinental Cup, a FIFA Club World Cup, and two League Cups. The 2006 League Cup was his first trophy as captain.
His special farewell game was played at Old Trafford on 24 May 2011. Manchester United played against Juventus. Many of his old teammates from the "Class of '92" played in the game. These included Phil Neville, Beckham, Butt, Scholes, and Giggs.
International Career: Playing for England
Gary Neville first played for the England team in 1995. This was in a friendly game against Japan. On 23 May 1996, his brother Phil Neville also played for England. They were the first brothers to play together in an FA Cup-winning team and for England in the same season since 1877.
Neville was chosen as England's right-back by five different coaches. He was the youngest first-choice player for England at Euro 96. He played in every game until the semi-final. England lost to Germany in a penalty shootout.
He also played in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. A broken foot meant Neville missed the 2002 World Cup. But he returned to the team and was the main right-back for Euro 2004.
Neville missed some games before the 2006 World Cup due to injury. He returned for the World Cup squad. He played in England's first game against Paraguay. He then missed three games due to a calf injury. He played the full game in England's quarter-final loss to Portugal. This was his 81st game for England.
During the game against Portugal, Neville briefly became England captain. This happened after David Beckham was substituted due to injury.
In October 2006, Neville was involved in an unusual moment. His backpass to the goalkeeper bounced badly. This caused the ball to go into the net, resulting in an own goal. It was his second own goal for England. He never scored a goal for England himself.
On 7 February 2007, Neville played his 85th game for England. This was in a friendly against Spain. An ankle injury in March 2007 stopped him from playing more games. These injuries made people wonder if his international career was over.
However, on 24 May 2009, Gary Neville was surprisingly called back to the England squad. This was for World Cup qualifier games. He did not play in those games.
Gary Neville holds some England records:
- He broke the record for a right-back with 51 games for England in 2002.
- He has played 11 games for England in European Championship finals. This is a record.
- With his brother Phil, the Nevilles have played 142 games for England combined. This is the record for brothers.
- The Nevilles also hold the record for playing together in the same England team 31 times.
Neville once wrote that he sometimes felt his international career was "a massive waste of time." He said that success with Manchester United was "always the most important thing."
Playing Style
Gary Neville was known as one of England's best right-backs. He was a tough and determined player. He was known for working very hard and being consistent. He could also play as a centre-back sometimes.
He was not the fastest or strongest player. But he was very smart tactically. He could read the game well. He also had great stamina and was a strong leader on the field. He was seen as an "old-fashioned" defender.
Neville had a great partnership with David Beckham on the right side for Manchester United. He would often run forward and pass the ball to Beckham. Then he would run past him to get into good attacking positions. From there, he could send accurate crosses into the box.
His former manager, Alex Ferguson, called him "the best English right-back of his generation."
Life After Playing: Manager, Owner, and Pundit
England Assistant Manager
Gary Neville has special coaching licenses. He was appointed to the England senior team coaching staff on 14 May 2012. He worked as an assistant manager for England through the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016 qualifying.
Managing Valencia
Neville became the head coach at Valencia in Spain on 2 December 2015. His brother Phil was already working there and stayed to help him. Neville also kept his assistant coaching role with England. Many people in Spain were surprised by his appointment. He did not have much coaching experience and did not speak Spanish fluently.
On 3 February 2016, Valencia lost 7–0 to Barcelona in a cup game. This happened after the team had not won a league game in eight matches under Neville. Fans and the media criticized him. Valencia was knocked out of the cup a week later.
Valencia got their first league win under Neville on 13 February 2016. They beat Espanyol 2–1. On 30 March 2016, Neville was let go by the club. At that time, Valencia was 14th in the league. They had only won three of 16 league games under him.
Club Ownership
In 2014, Gary Neville and other Manchester United legends bought Salford City football club. These legends included Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, and Phil Neville. They wanted to help the club reach The Football League. In September, they sold half of the club to a billionaire named Peter Lim. Salford City won promotion in their first season with the new owners.
Outside Football: Business and Media
Property Projects
Before his farewell game in 2011, Neville said he would use the money to build a supporters' club and hotel near Old Trafford. His plans were approved in 2012. In 2013, Neville and Ryan Giggs started a company called GG Hospitality. They planned to build football-themed hotels and cafés. Their first project was a restaurant called Café Football in London. Then, Hotel Football opened in late 2014.
In 2015, Neville and Ryan Giggs got permission for a second hotel in Manchester. They are turning an old stock exchange building into a fancy hotel. They bought the building in 2013. It will have 35 rooms, a gym, spa, and a rooftop restaurant.
Neville also helped start a higher education school called University Academy 92. It offers different types of courses. It aims to help students who might not usually go to university. It opened in September 2019.
In January 2022, a large building project called St Michael's began in Manchester city centre. It will include a new public space, hotel rooms, apartments, and a rooftop restaurant.
Media Career
Gary Neville joined Sky Sports as a football expert at the start of the 2011–12 season. He became a match analyst on Monday Night Football. He had done some expert work before, for ITV Sport during the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2008. In 2014, he started presenting Monday Night Football with Ed Chamberlin. Later, former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher joined them. Neville and Carragher are praised for their analysis. Their old rivalry on the field makes their TV show interesting.
His excited commentary for a Fernando Torres goal in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League semi-finals became very famous. In August 2014, The Daily Telegraph announced Neville would write a column for them.
When he took the Valencia job in December 2015, Neville left his role at Sky Sports. After being let go by Valencia, he returned to Sky Sports in 2016. Neville also worked as an expert for ITV's coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2020 UEFA European Championship. In 2021, Neville started his own YouTube channel called The Overlap. On this channel, he interviews sports figures.
Neville is often praised for his fair and well-researched analysis. Many people think he is one of the best football experts on British TV. However, he has also faced some criticism. Some people think he is too opinionated or harsh. In 2011, Chelsea manager André Villas-Boas said Neville was "biased." In 2016, Hernán Crespo criticized Neville's expert work and his time as Valencia manager.
Neville has spoken out about too many foreign players in the Premier League. He believes English football needs to give more chances to its own players. In 2018, he spoke about the idea of selling Wembley Stadium. He thought it would be a bad idea. He suggested other ways to fund grassroots football.
In 2021, when some big European clubs tried to form a new European Super League, Neville strongly opposed it. He supported protests against the plan. The European Super League quickly failed due to strong opposition.
In 2024, Neville started appearing as a guest on the TV show Dragons' Den. He has invested in several businesses.
Personal Life
Gary Neville's father, Neville Neville, was a former cricket player. His mother, Jill, played netball and worked for Bury football club.
Gary Neville was a talented cricketer when he was at school. He played with future England cricket captain Michael Vaughan. He also played for Lancashire's Under-14 team.
In 1999, Neville was the best man at the wedding of his teammate David Beckham and Victoria Adams. Gary Neville married Emma Hadfield on 16 June 2007. They have two daughters.
In July 2009, he received an honorary degree from the University of Bolton. This was for his great contributions to football.
In January 2010, Neville applied to build an eco-friendly home. It would be the first zero-carbon house in northwest England. His farewell game was also planned to be very eco-friendly.
Gary Neville supports the Labour Party. He joined the party in 2022. He has spoken about political issues. Gary Neville also had a minor issue with his driving license, which led to a temporary ban.
Gary Neville faced some criticism for his work during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Some people disagreed with his involvement because of concerns about human rights in the country.
Honours
Manchester United
- Premier League: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07, 2008–09
- FA Cup: 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
- Football League Cup: 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10
- FA Community Shield: 1996, 1997, 2008
- UEFA Champions League: 1998–99, 2007–08
- Intercontinental Cup: 1999
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2008
England U18
- UEFA under-18 Championship: 1993
England
- Tournoi de France: 1997
Individual Awards
- PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2004–05, 2006–07
- PFA Team of the Century (1997–2007): 2007
- ESM Team of the Year: 1997–98
- FWA Tribute Award: 2012
- Premier League 10 Seasons Awards: Domestic & Overall Team of the Decade
- Premier League 20 Seasons Awards: Fantasy Teams of the 20 Seasons (Panel & Public choice)
- English Football Hall of Fame Inductee: 2015
- Awarded Doctor of Arts (D.Arts) by the University of Bolton in 2009.
- Awarded Doctor of Science (D.Sc) by the University of Salford on 18 July 2014.
Images for kids
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Neville in 2014
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Neville playing for Manchester United in 2006
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Neville (wearing No.2) lining up for England against Paraguay at the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
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Neville receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Salford in 2014
See also
In Spanish: Gary Neville para niños
- List of footballers with 100 or more UEFA Champions League appearances
- List of one-club men in association football
