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.

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 Neville's brother 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.

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".

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.

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.

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 full-back.

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.

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.

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.

On 4 August 2005, Neville joined Everton on a five-year contract for a fee in excess of £3 million.

He made his debut in a UEFA Champions League qualifier against Villarreal, coming face-to-face with his former Manchester United colleague Diego Forlán.

The following weekend, Neville made his Premier League debut for the Toffees, against Manchester United; The match marked the first time Phil and brother Gary had played for opposing teams.

Neville's attitude, work rate and willingness to play anywhere saw him become one of manager David Moyes' favourites.

However, he finished with more cards than any other Premier League player in 2005–06 (including another red soon after his first).

On 8 August 2006, Neville was announced as vice-captain to David Weir, and – on Weir's departure to Rangers in January 2007 – he became the club captain.

In the Manchester United–Everton match on 29 November 2006, Phil and his brother Gary became the first siblings to captain their respective clubs against each other in the Premier League.

Neville commented in the press about the first ever red cards of his long career (he never received any playing for Manchester United), claiming that he would perhaps not have been booked in a game against Fulham if he had been playing for United.

Neville scored his first goal for Everton in a 3–0 Premier League victory against Newcastle United on 30 December 2006.

On 30 March 2008, Neville was assaulted by a Liverpool fan as he took a throw-in during the 1–0 Merseyside derby Premier League defeat at Anfield.

On 24 April, the fan, 48-year-old Michael Blackmore, was later banned from all matches in England and Wales for three years after admitting common assault.

On 19 April 2009, Neville scored his penalty to help knock out his former club, Manchester United, in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, he sent the keeper the wrong way, putting it low to the keeper's right.

On 19 February 2011, Neville scored the winning penalty in the penalty shoot-out against Chelsea to knock them out of the FA Cup, after a 1–1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

On 9 April 2011, Neville scored against Wolves, his 12th senior goal and his first in three years.

On 21 September, Neville scored in the League Cup game against West Bromwich Albion, this time a clinical effort, which was the deciding goal in the game.

The goal was judged to be the Everton's goal of the season at the club's end of season awards.

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.