Gary Neville Biography

Gary Neville Biography
Name :Gary Neville
Date of birth : February 18, 1975

Gary Alexander Neville (born February 18, 1975) is an English footballer who is England's most capped right back. Gary started off his career at Old Trafford as a central defender though subsequently was converted into a full back after it was felt he may have been too short to play centrally.

Gary is the elder of the two Neville brothers (the other is younger brother Philip Neville, born 1977 - their father is the unusually named Neville Neville) who were team-mates at both club and international level all their careers until Phil joined Everton in 2005. Indeed, they play the same position and therefore often found themselves as rivals for a place in the Manchester United side, emerging together as part of Alex Ferguson's phenomenal youth oriented fledgling side of the 1990s that included Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, and Paul Scholes.

Gary made his debut for Manchester United, his only club, in 1994 and made his first appearance for England the following year when he was picked by Terry Venables for the friendly against Japan. He has been the first choice right back for his country ever since, playing for four different coaches, and by the end of 2005 he had played 77 times for England. 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 by one of the games truly great players Phil Neal.

Gary had been the youngest first choice player in the England first team during Euro 96, playing in each game until the semi-final, when he was suspended. He also played in the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.

A broken foot put paid to his hopes of playing 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.

He has gained a reputation as a trouble making figure within the England camp - he was allegedly the ringleader of an idea to boycott an important Euro 2004 qualifier in Turkey in support of team-mate Rio Ferdinand who had been issued with a ban for missing a drugs test. The strike never occurred and the match went ahead. He was believed to be behind a similar player protest in support of Alan Smith, after the striker was dropped from the England squad because of an alleged off-the-field discretion, later proven to be untrue. Neville was also thought to be the chief instigator of the England players' snub of the British press and media after a match. These incidents have led to Neville being lampooned in the tabloid press, occasionally dubbed "Red Nev" or "Citizen Neville" (after Citizen Smith.) In one paper, Neville's face was superimposed onto the iconic image of Che Guevera.

In 2005, Gary prompted another debate in the aftermath of an England game against the Netherlands, which had been used to promote the "Let's kick racism out of football" campaign. Gary questioned whether certain corporate sponsors involved in the match believed in the cause enough to justify the publicity they received.

The elder Neville brother is often criticised by football fans for his supposedly underwhelming displays, but is often heralded by football observers, Andy Gray etc, who see a competent, experienced defender who can lead teams from the back. He is also useful joining the attack - David Beckham has spent most of his career with Gary playing behind him in support, which he has said acts as a great reassurance. The two are best friends - Gary was the best man when David married Spice Girl Victoria Adams.

Gary signed a new four year contract with Manchester United in the summer of 2004 and seems now destined to spend his entire playing career there. He is also a good candidate, injury permitting, to achieve 100 appearances for England; or, at the very least, become his country's most capped full back overall - Kenny Sansom, the former Crystal Palace and Arsenal left back, currently holds that honour with 86 caps.

Gary has a long standing relationship with the Mediterranean island of Malta, he has been an official tourism ambassador since 2001 and works with Air Malta to promote the country which he has regularly visited since childhood. In return the Malta Tourism Authority and Air Malta sponsor the Gary Neville Soccer School on the island, which Gary tutors at every summer. Advertisements featuring the Man Utd star in Malta are currently running on one tram in Manchester featuring the slogan "This is one booking I'm looking forward to."

In December 2005, Neville was appointed the new captain of Manchester United, following Roy Keane's departure. If fit, he will be England's first choice right back at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, despite missing the latter stages of the qualification campaign with injury.

In January 2006, Neville's actions were the subject of some controversy after his celebration in front of the visiting Liverpool fans at Old Trafford. Neville ran from the half-way line towards the opposing fans to celebrate the 90th minute injury-time winning-goal header by United defender Rio Ferdinand. His actions were criticised by Liverpool player Jamie Carragher, sections of the media and even the police - the latter blaming him for disturbances between fans after the game. Neville was subsequently charged with improper conduct by the Football Association.

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