Gary Alexander Neville is an English former footballer who currently serves as a coach
for the England national football team, and as co-owner of Salford City.
Since retiring from football in the middle of the 2010–11 season, Neville has gone
into punditry and is a commentator for Sky Sports.
He is England's most-capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five
years.
Neville spent his entire playing career at Old Trafford, making him a rare one-club man.
At the time of his retirement in 2011, he was United's second longest serving player
in the squad, behind his long-time team-mate Ryan Giggs.
He made his international debut in 1995 and was first-choice right-back for club and country
for more than ten years.
He is the older brother of twin siblings, former Manchester United and Everton player
Phil Neville and sister Tracey Neville, a retired netball international.
Manchester United Neville joined Manchester United as an apprentice
upon leaving school in 1991, and captained the youth side to FA Youth Cup glory in his
first season.
He made his senior debut for United in September 1992 against Torpedo Moscow in the UEFA Cup.
Neville emerged as part of Alex Ferguson's youth-oriented side of the 1990s that included
his brother Phil, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes.
In the 1994–95 season, Neville became United's first-choice right-back when Paul Parker was
ruled out by injury, and remained so until his retirement, although in his first season
as a regular player he often found himself on the sidelines as Denis Irwin was switched
to right-back with Lee Sharpe filling the left-back role.
Neville scored the first goal of his career in 1997 against Middlesbrough in a 3–3 draw,
and he went on to score a total of five league goals for United; against Everton in 1999,
Aston Villa in a 2–0 victory on 20 January 2001, the sole goal against Leicester City
on 13 April 2004, and his final league goal came a week later when he scored the second
in a 2–0 victory over Charlton Athletic on 20 April 2004.
Neville also scored two goals in the UEFA Champions League, the first on 12 March 2003,
when he scored the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with FC Basel, and his seventh and final ever
United goal against Olympique Lyonnais on 23 November 2004 in Alex Ferguson's 1,000th
game in charge of the club, a 2–1 victory.
Neville formed a partnership with Beckham on the right wing, regularly contributing
assists.
Following Roy Keane's departure in November 2005, Neville was appointed the new club captain.
In January 2006, his actions were the subject of some controversy after his celebration
in front of the visiting Liverpool fans at Old Trafford, when he was seen to run from
the halfway line towards the opposing fans to celebrate the 90th minute injury-time winning
headed goal by United defender Rio Ferdinand.
His actions were criticised by Liverpool and fellow England defender Jamie Carragher, sections
of the media and police who blamed him for disturbances between fans after the game.
He was subsequently charged with improper conduct by The Football Association.
Neville contested this, asking if it was preferable for players to act like "robots" and show
no emotions.
He was fined £5,000 and warned about his future conduct.
Neville recovered from an injury suffered against Bolton Wanderers in March 2007 and
in his first match back, a reserve game against Everton in January 2008, he scored a rare
goal in the 21st minute of the game which helped Manchester United to a 2–2 draw.
On 9 April 2008, Neville made his long-awaited comeback against Roma in the UEFA Champions
League quarter-final second leg at Old Trafford, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute for
Anderson; Neville was welcomed back to the pitch with a standing ovation, and was promptly
given the captain's armband.
It was Neville's 99th Champions League appearance.
However, he was not selected for the European Cup final squad on 21 May, though he did join
in with the post-match celebrations after United won on penalties following a 1–1
draw with Chelsea.
Instead, Rio Ferdinand and Giggs lifted the trophy together having shared the captaincy
during Neville's absence.
Neville started his first game in 17 months when he captained Manchester United for the
2008 FA Community Shield against Portsmouth on 10 August 2008.
He then made another start against Zenit St. Petersburg in the UEFA Super Cup, before making
his first start at home since his injury against Villarreal in the opening group game of the
UEFA Champions League 2008–09.
On 21 September 2008, Neville started his first league game in almost 18 months when
he played against Chelsea.
Neville extended his stay at Old Trafford until June 2010.
On 27 October 2009, Neville was sent off for a tackle on Adam Hammill in United's 2–0
away win against Barnsley in the League Cup Fourth Round.
Neville added another medal to his honours list on 28 February 2010 when he came on as
a substitute for Rafael in the 2–1 League Cup final win over Aston Villa.
He did feature in enough league games to qualify for what would have been his ninth title medal,
but United were beaten to the Premier League title by Chelsea who finished ahead of them
by a single point.
Having made only sporadic appearances in the last couple of seasons, Neville stepped down
as team captain in September 2010 in preference of a more-regular first-team player, usually
Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidić or Patrice Evra, although he remained as club captain off the
pitch.
On 2 February 2011, Neville announced his retirement from football after almost 20 years
playing at Manchester United.
Neville's final professional appearance was against West Bromwich Albion on New Year's
Day 2011, a 2–1 victory at The Hawthorns.
Neville later revealed that, during half-time of his last game, he sat on the toilet and
knew for certain that it would be his last game.
Neville won eight Premier League titles, three FA Cups, a Champions League, an Intercontinental
Cup, a FIFA Club World Cup, and two League Cups.
The 2006 League Cup was his first trophy as captain.
His testimonial was played at Old Trafford against Juventus on 24 May 2011.
Manchester United's starting line-up included members of the "Class of '92": Neville was
joined by his brother Phil, Beckham, Butt, Scholes and Giggs.
Juventus won the match 2–1.
He made another appearance in Paul Scholes' testimonial at Old Trafford on 5 August 2011,
playing for the New York Cosmos in their first fixture since their re-establishment in 2010.
International career Neville made his first appearance for England
in 1995 when he was picked by Terry Venables for the friendly against Japan.
On 23 May 1996, he was joined in the England team by his brother Phil Neville for a match
against China; they had also appeared together in the 1996 FA Cup Final two weeks earlier
and thus were the first pair of brothers to play together in an FA Cup-winning side and
for England in the same season since Hubert and Francis Heron in 1877, 119 years earlier.
He was subsequently selected at right back for his country by five different coaches.
The form of Manchester City's Micah Richards, Liverpool's Glen Johnson and Neville's Manchester
United team-mate Wes Brown placed his position in the England team under threat in the latter
years of his career.
As "a bit of a skeptic," Neville did not see Eileen Drewery, the faith healer Glenn Hoddle
had brought into the England squad.
He had been the youngest first choice player in the England first team during Euro 96,
his first tournament, playing in each game until the semi-final, when he was suspended
and England were subsequently knocked out by eventual winners, Germany.
He also played in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.
A broken foot ruled Neville out of the 2002 World Cup, but he quickly returned to the
side after regaining his fitness, and was once again the first-choice right-back by
the time of Euro 2004.
Neville missed the latter stages of the qualification campaign for the 2006 World Cup with injury.
He returned to the England team in March 2006 for a friendly against Uruguay.
Neville was selected for England's 2006 World Cup squad.
He played in England's opening Group B game against Paraguay but pulled his calf in training
the night before the team's second game and was forced to miss the next three games until
playing the full match in England's losing quarter-final against Portugal on 1 July.
It was his 81st England cap, bringing him up to ninth in the all-time rankings, ahead
of Gary Lineker and team-mate Michael Owen, who had briefly drawn level with Neville during
the World Cup.
Neville briefly took over the England captaincy during this game after the substitution of
David Beckham due to an injury shortly after half-time, despite the previous match's deputy
captain John Terry also being on the field.
After the defeat to Portugal, Neville announced that he would continue to be available for
selection for his country under new coach Steve McClaren and added that, unlike some
former international team-mates, he would not ever make the decision to retire from
the England set-up, stating: "That decision is not Gary Neville's to make".
As one of three club captains in the first choice England line-up, he was mentioned as
a contender for the England captaincy which Beckham vacated after elimination from the
World Cup.
However, he was clearly an outsider and Terry was given the job and Steven Gerrard made
vice-captain.
On 11 October, Neville was involved in a game-changing incident during a Euro 2008 qualifier against
Croatia when his straightforward backpass took an unfortunate bounce and caused goalkeeper
Paul Robinson to miss his kick, which resulted in the ball ending up in the net.
Although Robinson was at the centre of the moment, Neville was officially credited with
an own goal, the second of his England career; he has scored no goals for England.
On 7 February 2007, Neville won his 85th cap in England's 1–0 friendly defeat to Spain.
His appearance took him to within one cap of equalling Sansom's record for an England
full back, and eighth in the all-time appearances list for his country.
However, an ankle injury suffered on 17 March 2007 while playing for Manchester United robbed
him of the chance to equal Sansom's record, as he was forced to miss the Euro 2008 qualifiers
against Israel and Andorra on 24 March and 28 respectively.
Surgery on his ankle ruled him out of two summer matches at the new Wembley Stadium,
and then a calf muscle injury delayed his recovery in the autumn.
These injury problems together with a perceived decline in ability threatened to put an end
to Neville's international playing career.
On 24 May 2009, Neville was given a surprise recall to the England squad by Fabio Capello
for the World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Andorra, but did not feature in any of
these games.
Neville holds or co-holds a number of England records:
When he came on as a substitute against Italy at Leeds in 2002, he earned his 51st cap,
breaking the record for a right back held previously by Phil Neal
His 11 appearances for England in the European Championship finals is a record
With his brother Phil, the Nevilles hold the record of England's most capped brothers,
with 142 appearances between them.
It was Phil's appearance as a substitute against Israel in 2007, a game for which Gary was
injured, which broke a record they had jointly held with Jack and Bobby Charlton
The Nevilles hold outright the record for the most appearances in the same England team
by a pair of brothers with 31, although the 31st in 2007 came a whole seven years after
the 30th Neville wrote in his autobiography that, at
times, he had reflected on his international career and thought sometimes that it was "a
massive waste of time", and that success with United was "always the most important thing".
Media work Neville writes a weekly full-page column in
the Sports section of The Sunday Times of Malta, the widest circulating newspaper in
the country, which is home to the oldest recognised Manchester United Supporters' Club.
During the months after Neville retired from playing, there were many rumours about whether
he would go into media work or coaching.
He joined Sky Sports at the start of the 2011–12 season, taking over as match analyst on Monday
Night Football from Andy Gray alongside Jamie Redknapp.
Neville had previously done some punditry work for ITV Sport during the 2002 World Cup,
which he missed due to injury, and for Euro 2008, which England did not qualify for.
He currently presents Sky Sports' Monday Night Football with broadcaster Ed Chamberlin and
former England team-mate and retired Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.
His commentary for a Fernando Torres goal for Chelsea against Barcelona in the 2011–12
UEFA Champions League semi-finals second leg garnered notoriety and was dubbed a "Goalgasm".
Neville has regularly been praised for his well-researched and neutral analysis, and
he is now regarded as one of the best football pundits on British television, with Gary Lineker
admitting he would like to work with Neville on Match of the Day, and Des Lynam also praising
his switch from player to pundit.
However, early into his role, he received criticism from Chelsea manager André Villas-Boas
about comments Neville had made about Chelsea during a period of poor form.
On 8 August 2014, The Daily Telegraph announced that Neville would be joining their staff
as a columnist.
Post-playing career Neville, who holds UEFA A and B Coaching Licences,
was appointed to the England senior team coaching staff by newly appointed England Manager Roy
Hodgson on 14 May 2012 along with Ray Lewington and goalkeeping coach Dave Watson signing
a four-year contract with The FA.
This saw him on the coaching team for the European Championships in the summer of 2012,
and was met with the backing of former England and Manchester United team-mate David Beckham,
who called his appointment a "shrewd move".
Ahead of his testimonial in 2011, Neville revealed he would spend the proceeds towards
a supporters club and hotel near Old Trafford.
Despite objections from Manchester United, Neville's plans were approved in 2012.
In 2013, Neville and Ryan Giggs launched a hospitality company named GG Hospitality,
with plans to build football-themed hotels and café's around the United Kingdom, initially
in Manchester and London.
The first operation was a football-themed restaurant named Café Football in Stratford,
London, which opened in November 2013, with Hotel Football, previously under the guise
of the supporters club Neville announced in 2011, scheduled to be opened in late 2014.
In 2014, it was announced that Neville, along with fellow Manchester United legends Ryan
Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, and Phil Neville had agreed a deal to purchase Salford
City ahead of the 2014–15 season, with plans to get the club to The Football League.
The group announced they would take part in a special friendly, with Salford facing a
Class of '92 team.
Personal life Neville's father, Neville Neville, is a former
professional cricketer.
His mother Jill used to play netball in the local leagues, and is General Manager and
Club Secretary for English Football League club Bury.
Neville was a talented cricketer as a schoolboy and played alongside his brother Phil for
Lancashire's Under-14 team, and also for Greenmount Cricket Club in the Bolton Cricket League,
for whom on Sunday 19 July 1992 he scored 110 not out in an unbroken partnership of
236 with Australian professional Matthew Hayden in a Hamer Cup tie against Astley Bridge.
Neville married Emma Hadfield on 16 June 2007 and their first child, daughter Molly, was
born on 11 January 2009.
Their second daughter, Sophie, was born on 25 March 2010.
In July 2009, he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Bolton for his outstanding
contributions to football.
In January 2010 it was reported that Neville has applied for planning permission to build
an eco-friendly home, which would be the first zero-carbon house in north west England.
Neville's testimonial game was reported to be the most eco-friendly game in English football
history.
Career statistics Statistics accurate as of match played 1 January
2011 Honours
Club 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, 2009–10
FA Community Shield: 1996, 1997, 2008 UEFA Champions League: 1998–99, 2007–08
Intercontinental Cup: 1999 FIFA Club World Cup: 2008
Individual PFA Team of the Year: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2005,
2007 ESM Team of the Year: 1997–98
Overall Team of the Decade – Premier League 10 Seasons Awards
Notes ^ Includes other competitive competitions,
including the FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, FIFA Club World
Cup See also
List of one-club men References
External links Profile ManUtd.com
Profile StretfordEnd.co.uk Gary Neville – FIFA competition record
Gary Neville career stats at Soccerbase England FA profile