Phil Neville

Philip John Neville (born 21 January 1977) is an English football manager and former player who is the current head coach of Major League Soccer club Portland Timbers. He is also the co-owner of Salford City, along with several of his former Manchester United teammates.

After ten years as a professional with Manchester United, during which time he won six Premier League titles, three FA Cups, three FA Charity Shields, the Intercontinental Cup and the Champions League, he joined Everton in 2005, where he spent the final eight years of his playing career. Neville also played for England 59 times between 1996 and 2007, representing the nation at three European Championships. He could play in defence or midfield; due to this versatility, he operated in a number of different positions throughout his career, but was most often used as a left-back.

After earning his UEFA B Coaching Licence, Neville began his coaching career in 2012, filling in for Stuart Pearce with the England under-21s. He then worked as a coach at Manchester United, and as assistant manager to his brother Gary at Valencia in La Liga. On 23 January 2018, Neville was appointed head coach of the England women's team. He led the "Lionesses" to fourth place at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Born in Bury, Greater Manchester, Neville attended Elton High School, where he captained the football team for five years. Along with brother Gary, he joined the Manchester United Academy, signing associate schoolboy forms in September 1990. In the 1992–93 season, he played 23 times for the club's junior teams, including four times in the FA Youth Cup as the club attempted to defend the title Gary had won the previous season; Neville appeared alongside his brother in the second leg of the 1993 Youth Cup final, but they were unable to overturn a 2–0 deficit from the first leg at Old Trafford, and Leeds won 4–1 on aggregate. In July 1993, Neville signed a trainee contract with the club, and in October that year he made his debut for the reserve team, coming on for Darren Ferguson in a 2–0 win over Everton in The Central League. He went on to make eight appearances for the reserves in the 1993–94 season, as well as a further 31 for the junior teams, culminating in him winning the Jimmy Murphy Player of the Year Award in May 1994, followed by his first professional contract in June.

Neville made his senior debut for Manchester United on 28 January 1995 in a 5–2 win at home to Wrexham in the fourth round of the 1994–95 FA Cup. His league debut came two weeks later, when he started against Manchester City in the Manchester derby at Maine Road. He made one more first-team appearance in 1994–95, coming on as a substitute in a 1–0 win at home to Sheffield Wednesday. The following week, he captained United in both legs of the Youth Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur; after a 2–1 loss at White Hart Lane and a 1–0 win at Old Trafford, the tie came down to penalties; Neville missed his kick, but two misses from Spurs meant United won the shoot-out 4–3 to claim their second Youth Cup title in four seasons.

Neville's graduation and eventual establishment in the first-team meant he became known as one of "Fergie's Fledglings". On 19 August 1995, in the first game of the following season, he was substituted at half-time in a 3–1 loss at Aston Villa; the match is remembered for pundit Alan Hansen's "You can't win anything with kids" comment on Manchester United, who went on to win the double. He did not play at left-back frequently due to the presence of Denis Irwin; for some time he played at right-back while his brother played in central defence, and in the 1996 FA Cup Final victory against Liverpool he played this position while Gary was an unused substitute. In the crucial league game against Newcastle United at St James' Park in March 1996 it was from Neville's cross that Eric Cantona scored the winning goal; a result which proved pivotal in the title race.

While at Manchester United, he was booked many times, such as in the 2002–03 season when he received 13 yellow cards, despite only starting 35 competitive games. In September 2003, Neville received a warning from The Football Association regarding his future conduct for his behaviour after Manchester United's game against rival side Arsenal.

While at Old Trafford, Neville helped United win six Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the UEFA Champions League.