'I hated Gary Neville the first time I saw him'
By Ben Smith - BBC Sport
Over the course of four days in two different
cities, the six stellar names from Manchester
United's now legendary Class of '92 explained
the secrets behind their incredible success.
David Beckham held court in a hotel in
London's West End. Time was short but he
was, as always, generous with his warmth and
strong-willed when the subject of Sir Alex
Ferguson arose.
I saw Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville and Nicky Butt
on home turf in Manchester. All are on the
United staff but all spoke with a freedom and
passion the years have not dimmed. I finished
by speaking to Gary Neville and Paul Scholes,
whose laughter echoed around the corridors of
a Manchester hotel, like cheeky schoolboys on
the last day of term.
Six more different characters you are unlikely
to meet but what emerged, as they shared
stories and recalled their debuts and differing
views of Ferguson, was a unity of purpose.
They may be divided by celebrity, fame and
even location, but they are all born winners -
focused, forthright and united by a manager
and a football club that ensured their names
are etched into the history of the game. Here
they explain, in their own words, how they did
it and what drove them on.
First impressions
David Beckham:
"When we all first met we didn't like each
other as much as we do now. I think the
United lads thought I was a flash cockney.
Nicky Butt used to kick lumps out of Gary
Neville on a Sunday league pitch. We didn't
dislike each other, but we didn't have the
relationship we do now. When I look back on
our time, it was special.
"Paul Scholes was always unbelievably
talented. Quiet. And dirty. When he got his
tackle right, it was a great tackle. But when he
got it wrong, he could kill someone. He was
so talented and a player I feel honoured to
have played with."
Nicky Butt:
"I hated Gary Neville the first time I saw him.
The first time I met him, I was playing against
him, for Manchester boys against Bury boys.
There was just this lad at the back, who was a
good footballer, but who never, ever shut up
talking all the way through the game. He still
does that today - he never shuts up.
"I couldn't stand him, I hated him. I wanted to
tackle him, I wanted show how good I was
against him. Then one day I met him at the
training ground and it just clicked and he
became one of my best mates. And he is still
one of my best mates now."
Phil Neville:
"Ryan Giggs was probably the one I looked up
to the most. I went to watch him train. He
was stick thin but he was like nothing I had
ever seen in my life. I remember thinking, 'if
that is what it takes to be a player for Man
Utd, I may as well pack in now'.
"He just did his job, put a great cross in, beat
somebody, stuck it through someone's legs,
scored a goal, ran back to the halfway line
and said, 'give me that ball again'. That was
the thing that impressed me the most."
Gary Neville:
"I never really looked at them and thought,
'this is a great bunch of players' or, 'these are
great lads' - you were just concentrating on
your own thing."
First-team debut
Ryan Giggs:
"I didn't expect to be in the team. Sir Alex
Ferguson was running through the names -
Denis Irwin at right-back, Steve Bruce, Gary
Pallister - I was last because I was on the left
wing. He had gone through the team and I
was not interested.
"I thought I might be in with a chance of
making the bench, but then, and I will never
forget it, he said 'and Ryan you will play on
the left'. I half woke up. I got sweaty palms, I
thought, 'right I am playing'. It was against
City at Old Trafford but I was just excited. I
wanted to impress and take my chance."
David Beckham:
"I remember getting up from my seat on the
bench and hitting my head on the way up. I
was nervous. Then a couple of days after that,
he told me I was going on loan to Preston.
"I thought, 'OK, I am not going to be a
Manchester United player', but he explained to
me that he wanted me to get experience of a
league where people kick lumps out of each
other."
Nicky Butt:
"Sir Alex came up to me, he never said I was
playing. He said: 'Are you OK? Are your
parents coming to the game tomorrow?'
"I said: 'I don't know.' He said: 'Make sure
they come tomorrow, it will be a good game.'
It still didn't click. Then the next day, I was in
the squad."
Phil Neville:
"The manager told me an hour before kick-off.
I thought I was turning up to help the kit man
pick up the kit and to help clean the boots
afterwards.
"And then he said: 'In goal Peter Schmeichel,
left-back Phil Neville.' It was the kind of
moment that took me by surprise. There was
no time to prepare yourself. He would say:
'Just go out there and enjoy it. However you
play for the youth team, play for the first
team. Get forward.'
Sir Alex Ferguson
Ryan Giggs:
"I met him at the age of 13 or 14 and the
impression was that he wanted you to do well.
He would tell you if you weren't performing to
the standard you should be doing. But he has
definitely been the biggest influence on my
career.
"I am 40 now and I have known him since I
was 13. Obviously the relationship has
changed but he was a great man and a great
manager to play under."
Phil Neville:
"There was a team ethic, there was no I in Sir
Alex Ferguson's team. It was team before
everything else. It was we before me. That was
what was driven into us.
"When we were in the youth team, if you could
pass to someone who was in a better position
to score a goal, even if you were on a hat-
trick, you had to pass that ball. It was not
about personal glory. The minute you started
thinking for yourself, being a little bit selfish,
you would be out of the door. We have seen
that over the years."
Paul Scholes:
"Every player who played under him always
appreciated that you knew where you stood. A
lot of managers now won't know who the
youth team players are, won't know their
names.
"We had Sir Alex Ferguson, he knew who every
one of us was from day one. He used to come
and watch training on Monday and Thursday
night. They don't have to do that, it is not
part of their job. I can't see many managers
today doing that. Sir Alex knew our parents,
he would speak to them regularly on the
phone. I just don't think that happens these
days."
Winning the Treble
In 1999, Manchester United became the first
English club to secure the Treble, winning the
Premier League, FA Cup and Champions
League - where they famously came back from
1-0 down to beat Bayern Munich with two
goals in stoppage time.
Gary Neville:
"The last couple of minutes in Barcelona - we
thought, 'what has just happened?'
"We knew we were a team that never gave in
and always went to the end but when you are
going for something that has never been done
before and you are 1-0 down with three
minutes to go, and then score two goals... I
suppose it summed up the Sir Alex Ferguson
era at United better than any other moment.
"I remember just collapsing on the floor
thinking, 'wow, this is just the best moment
you are ever going to have in your life'. It still
makes me shiver.
"For the fans, everybody who was involved,
anybody who was there, that moment when
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sticks his foot out and it
goes in the back of the net is just an
incredible moment."
Nicky Butt:
"The 10 days in 1999 when we won the Treble
were just something else. If someone took it
all away from me now and told me it wasn't
true, I would believe them. Because it was
that much of a fairytale 10 days - it was just
amazing.
"There was plenty of drinking in the changing
room! Drinking, dancing, singing, throwing
champagne everywhere. Doing things that we
wouldn't normally do, singing and making a
fool of yourself.
"When you play for United you are expected to
go and win things and we were confident
before the Bayern Munich game. But with
three minutes left we were thinking, 'we are
dead and buried here' - and then three
minutes later we go down in history."
Phil Neville:
"'99 was the pinnacle, without a shadow of a
doubt. There was a 10-day period when we
won the league against Spurs, won the FA
Cup against Newcastle and then... went to
Barcelona and it was just a memorable night.
A night you will never forget.
"If you asked me now what happened in those
games, I couldn't probably tell you. But I
could tell you what happened in the dressing
room afterwards, the celebrations with the
families - because that is all you remember.
The games pale into insignificance because
there was a real bond between us that made
it so special."
Paul Scholes:
"The Champions League was the one - if we
had to choose one out of the three that would
have been the one. We would have liked to
finish it earlier than we did, but still that was
a great quality the manager brought, to never
give up."
Leaving the club
David Beckham (who joined Real Madrid in
2003):
"It wasn't my choice. At the time, it was
difficult to take. The fact that I had to leave
Manchester United and find another club was
obviously upsetting at the time.
"But the fact that I was able to go to a club
that was as big as Manchester United, like
Real Madrid, was very lucky. I am very proud
of that. Not many players have been lucky
enough over the years to leave Manchester
United, be successful and go on to play for a
club like Real Madrid. It was difficult, but
there is always a silver lining."
Phil Neville (who joined Everton in 2005):
"It was the hardest thing I have ever had to
do. To leave behind playing football with my
brother, my friends, the club itself.
"The first game I played for Everton against
United at Old Trafford, I left the hotel and on
the way to the stadium I was talking to Paul
Scholes on the phone. I was playing against
him in literally 90 minutes. I was speaking to
Gary, having a laugh - that is what it was
like.
"Maybe others could not understand the bond
between us but we had been through so
much. It was so special."
Nicky Butt (who joined Newcastle in 2004):
"It was massive and I