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Philip Neville (born
January 21, 1977 in Bury, England) is a English football player, who has spent
most of his professional career at Manchester United, the team he joined as a
youngster, but now plays for Everton.
The younger brother of Gary Neville, Phil made his debut for Manchester
United in 1994 and from that point was a regular, although not consistent,
member of the first team until he left the club in the summer of 2005. A
versatile player, Phil can play in defence or midfield. He has mainly played as
a left back (despite being right-footed) though it is genuinely unclear where
his strongest position on the pitch is.
Phil has also regularly been picked for England squads, making his debut as a
19 year old against China in 1996. He was only briefly a regular first-choice
player for the side - that was as a left back in 2000 under Kevin Keegan's
management. In recent times he has struggled to make the squad with youngsters
such as Stephen Warnock being preferred as backup to Ashley Cole. He has,
nonetheless, once briefly captained the side in a friendly match.
Phil's England career included the honour of being the youngest member of
Terry Venables' squad for Euro 96, though he never kicked a ball (his brother
played in every match until the semi-finals); and being one of the players
omitted at the last minute by Glenn Hoddle when he was selecting his final 22
for the 1998 World Cup. It is known that Hoddle's decision left Phil in tears,
though media attention was almost entirely devoted to the exclusion of another
player, Paul Gascoigne. Phil revealed in an interview that Gascoigne, not known
for his maturity, took the younger Neville brother under his wing and consoled
him.
Keegan played Phil at left back in Euro 2000 but was partly responsible for
England's early exit from the competition - committing a needless foul which led
to a late penalty for Romania which they scored to win the match and knock
England out.
Neither of the Neville brothers went to the 2002 World Cup - Phil was left
out, while Gary was injured. Both were back in the squad for Euro 2004.
Phil continued to play for Manchester United and seemed destined to spend his
whole career there. Like his brother, arguably to a greater extent, he is much
maligned by a quantity of football fans but more seasoned observers of the game
see a mature, versatile and unfussy player who has proved very worthwhile as
part of Manchester United's success. When Phil won his 50th England cap in 2004,
however, former Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough, in his monthly Four Four
Two column, bemoaned that such an "average" performer could win a milestone
amount of caps. As of 14 November 2005 his tally had risen to 52 caps.
On August 4, 2005 Phil joined Everton on a 5-year contract for a fee in
excess of £3million. He made his debut in a UEFA Champions League qualifier
against Villarreal CF of Spain, coming face-to-face with his former Manchester
United colleague Diego Forlan. The following weekend, Phil made his FA Premier
League bow for the Toffeemen. Fittingly, it was against Manchester United. The
match marked the first time Phil and brother Gary had faced off for opposing
teams.
Phil is married with two children.
Phil was also an excellent cricketer in his youth and a contemporary in
Lancashire's Under 19 side of England's star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff. It is
said that he was good enough to have been a professional cricketer if football
had not claimed him. One of Phil's former coaches called him the greatest
schoolboy cricketer he'd ever known. His father, the wonderfully named Neville
Neville, was a well known league cricketer in Lancashire.
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