Neville calls it a day

Thursday, 03/02/2011

Man United and England defender Gary Neville has announced his retirement from the game. Shoot's Man United blogger AMIT MISTRY pays tribute to the former Old Trafford captain

Love him or hate him, there is no doubt he was highly rated by the Manchester United fans and considered as one of the best right-backs ever.

A career spanning nearly 20 years with United makes him a loyal servant and a legend.

He was part of the infamous talented crop of youngsters that made Ferguson successful during the 1990s, with Giggs, Beckham, Butt and Gary's brother Phil in the same pack. Together they grew and developed to become of one the most exciting and successful teams in the Premier League.

Having reached the age of 36, he enjoyed a glittering career which includes winning the Champions League, the Premier League on several occasions as well as the FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield, Inter-Continental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.

Not only was Neville important to United, but he was also vital to the to the England team as well, as he linked up with his club team-mate David Beckham on the right flank and made the right-back position his own.

That position had belonged to Neville at both club and country level, and yet a worthy successor has yet to claim that spot for themselves.

Wes Brown covered for that position successfully in the 2007-08 season, but Gary Neville returned from injury to reclaim it.

As Neville aged and could no longer keep up with the pace of the top-flight, the young Rafael Da Silva was given the opportunity to cement his place in the first-team. A young modern wing-back, with the ability to go forward to attack as well as defend was what Manchester United and Ferguson wanted.

Although the young Brazilian still needs to work on his timing of tackles as well as his temperament, Rafael seems to be the natural successor Neville.

As for the England team, Glen Johnson has not convinced the England supporters that he is good enough to deal with world-class attacking threats such as David Silva, Alexander Pato and Lukas Podolski. Micah Richards was once touted as potential successor, but his form has become wayward and struggles to hold a place in the Manchester City side.

Recently, Gerard Houllier has touted Kyle Naughton as a future England player. But these are young players, and it will take a long time for them to realise their worth and become as good as Neville.

This demonstrates that Gary Neville was special and it will be difficult to unearth such a player again for both club and country.

But is what is next for Gary Neville? Coaching would be good as he can mentor the youngsters that are coming through the ranks. He could also follow in the footsteps of previous United stars such as Keane, Bruce and Ince, and take up club management.

Or he may try his hand at punditry, especially now are a couple of spots open at Sky Sports! Whatever happens, I am sure Gary Neville will always be remembered for his professionalism, his leadership and his successes with Manchester United.

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