‘I Had Nightmare in Manchester Derby

While the Champions League and Premier League are widely seen as the pinnacle of club success for any English player, there’s a unique significance to a fierce local derby, especially for a homegrown talent playing for his boyhood club. The Manchester derby, once a near formality for a dominant Manchester United side, has evolved into a far more intense and unpredictable fixture in recent years.

Few understand the emotional weight of the derby better than Gary Neville. The former right-back featured 13 times against Manchester City during his career, and as a Bury-born lifelong United fan, he’s experienced the full spectrum of derby drama- not just on the pitch, but also from the sidelines as a passionate supporter and pundit.

Playing under Sir Alex Ferguson during the club’s golden era, Neville rarely faced a City side that posed a serious threat. But there was one occasion that stood out for all the wrong reasons – an afternoon that quickly spiralled into a personal nightmare, despite having initially presented itself as the perfect stage for the right-back.

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The Manchester Derby That Had Neville Drowning His Sorrows

It was the first time he had ever captained the Red Devils

In the 2002 Manchester derby at Maine Road, Gary Neville’s mistake, a scuffed pass under pressure from Shaun Goater, led to Goater’s crucial first-half goal, which ignited wild celebrations for Manchester City fans. It was the final-ever derby of its kind to be held at the Cityzen’s former ground.

To compound his misery, Neville had been handed the captain’s armband for the first time in his career that day. But just 47 minutes into the match, he was substituted, and United went on to suffer a 3-1 defeat – one of only two derby losses Neville would experience during his entire playing career. He reflected, as per Sky Sports back in 2018 (watch the full match highlights below):

On another forgettable derby day for Neville, he added: “I had another bad experience when I got sent off for kind of head-butting Steve McManaman – there’s this picture of him, Joey Barton and Robbie Fowler all around me – that’s like my perfect dinner party right there!

“So my experiences weren’t always great in derbies. I had another one playing centre half with Steve Bruce against Niall Quinn and Uwe Rosler up front, and it was a really tough game, we won but it was hard work against those two physically strong players.”

Neville’s Thoughts on Modern-Day Manchester Derbies

The Manchester derby has been completely turned on its head in recent years

In the same interview, Neville had somewhat downplayed the importance of the derby during his playing career. “Locally, they were big, but in terms of our season overall they weren’t our biggest games as we were challenging for Premier League titles and Champions Leagues and City back then weren’t at that level,” he said. “It was like the games were a carnival or a circus for the week but it wasn’t a major festival for us.”

He acknowledged, however, that the script has been completely rewritten since the arrival of Sheikh Mansour and his entourage, who were swfitly followed through the doors by Pep Guardiola, who has guided the Cityzens to a Champions League triumph, six Premier League titles, and a plethora of other honours. Neville continued:

United have continued to struggle in the post-Ferguson years, and it remains to be seen if Ruben Amorim is the man to lead them into another successful dawn. However, while Guardiola remains at the helm, it’s a surefire bet that contemporary Manchester is more blue than it is red, though history suggests otherwise, and Neville will be hoping they can steal back their throne from his commentary position.

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt & 11v11 (correct as of 04/04/2025)