Chelsea’s players gave Manchester United a guard of honour when they visited Stamford Bridge in May 2007. Michael Essien, John Terry, and Claude Makelele cheered their opponents onto the pitch after Sir Alex Ferguson’s team had recently won the Premier League.
But Fergie was focused on the upcoming FA Cup final versus the Blues, so he started with a weaker lineup. Cristiano Ronaldo was given the night off, while players like Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, and Paul Scholes were benched. This gave a number of periphery players a unique opportunity to start, and pictures of these youngsters being escorted by Chelsea’s stars frequently surface on social media (see below). However, what became to the eleven players who were part of that odd starting eleven?
Throwback to THIS guard of honour Chelsea gave Manchester United in 2007, some interesting names in that United lineup 😅
What are the odds Klopp sends out the reserves this evening against City? 😂 pic.twitter.com/oRBNg74s9P
— Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) July 2, 2020
Tomas Kuszczak, Kieran Lee, Wes Brown, John O'Shea, Gabriel Heinze (c), Chris Eagles, Alan Smith, Darren Fletcher, Kieran Richardson, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Dong Fangzhou.
Throwback to when Sir Alex Ferguson made Chelsea give that side a guard of honour. 👀 pic.twitter.com/CUPjCJbITE
— Football Factly (@FootballFactly) July 3, 2020
Tomasz Kuszczak
Man United appearances: 61
In 2012, Tomasz Kuszczak signed a permanent contract with Brighton after making 61 appearances for the Red Devils. Although the Polish goalie was a good backup at Old Trafford, he lacked the talent necessary to establish himself as the team’s top goalkeeper.
In a 2022 interview with Manchester United, Kuszczak acknowledged, “I didn’t get what I really wanted.” “Edwin [van der Sar] was an excellent goalie, so I respected that, even though I wanted to be Manchester United’s top goalie. A someone like Edwin would be the one to defeat me or prevent me from winning the number one spot.
After his contract with St Andrew’s was not renewed, the 43-year-old retired after playing for Wolves and Birmingham. Following his retirement, Kuszczak went back to Poland, where he obtained a degree in sports journalism and established a construction company. He became a goalkeeping coach for the Poland national team on September 20, 2023, under Michal Probierz. But on March 18, 2024, it was declared that he was no longer included in the lineup for the national team.
Man Kieran Lee United appearances: three
Only one of the left-back’s three appearances for Manchester United was preceded by the guard of honour against Chelsea. In 2008, Kieran Lee joined Oldham, a third-tier team, then four years later, he joined Sheffield Wednesday. He would find his best form at Hillsborough Stadium, where he scored 22 goals in 217 games.
After that, in 2021, Lee relocated to Bolton Wanderers, where he worked for three years before retiring. He participated in an additional 91 games there and scored 12 goals.
Brown, Wes
362 appearances with Manchester United
Wes Brown, who played for Manchester United in the 2008 Champions League, stayed at Old Trafford until 2011, when he transferred to Sunderland. He fulfilled his childhood aim of playing 362 games for the Red Devils, making him one of the few players in that strange guard of honour who can honestly say he earned his stripes at Old Trafford.
The 45-year-old veteran defender’s career came to an end in 2018 after a brief stint with the Kerala Blasters in India. Since hanging up his boots, Brown has experimented with coaching and punditry. When the Portuguese sensation made his unexpected comeback to Manchester in 2021, he was also the former United player that interviewed Ronaldo for the team at Old Trafford. He was declared bankrupt in 2023, but it appears that he has since recovered.
394 appearances for Manchester United by John O’Shea
John O’Shea, a professional model like the previously mentioned Wes Brown, also relocated from United to Sunderland in 2011. After a season with Reading in 2019, he retired from playing and started a coaching career, first with the Royals and then with the Republic of Ireland’s Under-21 team from 2020 to 2023.
The 43-year-old, who scored a few crucial goals for Manchester United, including a historic late winner against Liverpool at Anfield towards the end of the 2006–07 season, briefly served as interim manager of the Republic of Ireland in 2024. However, he is now more frequently seen in the media as a commentator.
Gabriel Heinze
Man United appearances: 83
until retiring in 2014, Gabriel Heinze played for Real Madrid, Marseille, AS Roma, and Newell’s Old Boys until falling out with Ferguson after trying to pressure a move to Liverpool. After becoming a manager, the 46-year-old has coached Godoy Cruz, Velez Sarsfield, Argentinos Juniors, and Atlanta United, an MLS team.
The team that Lionel Messi famously backed as a child, Newell’s, was most recently led by the Argentine. He left the team after a year, after they ended in the middle of the league and lost to Sport Club Corinthians Paulista in the round of 16 in the Copa Sudamericana. He hasn’t managed since 2023.
Chris Eagles’s appearances for Manchester United: 17
Roy Keane’s brief tenure at Old Trafford may have been caused by his punching of Chris Eagles during a training session, as Rio Ferdinand disclosed a few years ago. According to the Daily Mail, Ferdinand said on the VIBE with FIVE podcast, “I remember when Roy Keane punched up Chris Eagles one time.” “Eagles was just a little child who was (taking) liberties.” Eagles, it worked out well for him.
“Either Roy was recovering from an injury or he didn’t play. He was playing with the reserves, and the young players like Eagles and Lee Martin were acting like rats by trying to tackle them. On a couple of occasions, he arrived late to Roy, and Roy told him to calm down. The ball comes in again, and Eagles tugged Roy’s jersey while attempting to make an impression and leave his mark.
Roy simply spun around and struck him in the jaw. After a little remark, I simply stood there and asked, “What’s wrong with you, Roy?” “Why are you doing that, Roy?” I asked as I went inside. He is a young child. I also cautioned him.
We should of had a penalty… it’s a disgrace! #CHEMUN
🎙@AdamMcKola @joelbeya
🎧 https://t.co/5DpAOSdo8l pic.twitter.com/Er8PKsrpob— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) March 1, 2021
Before relocating to Burnley in 2008, the former winger made 17 appearances for the Red Devils. Since then, he has played for Oldham, Ross County, Blackpool, Charlton, Bury, Accrington Stanley, Port Vale, and Bolton. The 39-year-old will always remember his time working with Ferguson, even if he last played professionally in January 2020.
“Sir Alex had his certain players like me, Darren Fletcher, and Kieran Richardson who he had soft spots for,” Eagles in 2021 told Ladbrokes. But he would reprimand me if I ever got into trouble. Sir Alex brought me into his office after learning that I had driven a car somewhere when I was fifteen. I was terrified.
“You never know what he’s going to do, so it’s the worst experience ever. I recall getting flushed and sweating as I stood outside his office. There was a folder in which he kept his notes. It was a hardback. He used to simply slap me on the head with it whenever he passed me, presumably in a light-hearted manner. He earned his respect simply because he was a wonderful manager and a wonderful person.
Alan Smith’s appearances for Manchester United: 93
After being converted by Ferguson from a center-forward to a midfield enforcer, Alan Smith’s career with Manchester United was tragically cut short by a horrific injury he sustained in an FA Cup match against Liverpool at Anfield in 2006. After charging down a free-kick from John Arne Riise, the former England international, who later played for Newcastle, MK Dons, and Notts County, suffered a shattered leg and a dislocated ankle.
In many respects, his ability to carry on with his career was a small miracle. He still has trouble walking and is affected by that terrible injury. Smith currently resides in Orlando, Florida, where he coaches young athletes at the XL Soccer World Academy. The Yorkshireman likes surfing as well.
Darren Fletcher
Man United appearances: 342
Darren Fletcher, who was heavily criticised in his early career, remained with United until 2015 and rose to prominence as a fan favourite during that period. The Scot missed a significant portion of his career due to ulcerative colitis, which he was diagnosed with in 2008. However, he fought back to play for West Brom and Stoke City before retiring in 2019.
Fletcher took the chance to coach the first team and came back to Old Trafford. Before returning to his previous position, he served as the Red Devils’ technical director for a brief period of time. His two boys, who are both performing well in the club’s young teams, could provide him another chance to shine.
Richardson, Kieran
Appearances for Man United: 81
Before joining Sunderland in 2007, Kieran Richardson, a gifted young player, had mixed results for United. Around the same time, he declared to reporters that he had become a Christian, saying, “I just want to praise Jesus Christ and go to heaven.” That is everything that matters to me.
After departing the Welsh team in 2016, Richardson, 40, had been without a club for so long that he looked for another source of income outside of football. He then played for Fulham, Aston Villa, and Cardiff City. In recent years, the former left-back has kept himself occupied by collecting and selling high-end timepieces.
Man United appearances for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: 366
What became of this man? In 2018, Solskjaer took over as manager of Manchester United from Jose Mourinho, a move that no one could have predicted eleven years prior, if you haven’t been living under a rock.
Even though the Norwegian had some fantastic moments over his three years in charge, performance and results declined, and Solskjaer was fired in 2021. However, both the Baby-Faced Assassin and the supporters will always adore United. He made 366 appearances for the team as a player, scoring 126 goals and contributing significantly to six Premier League championship runs. Now, Solskjaer is working with Besiktas in Turkey to restore his standing as a premier coach.
Dong Fangzhuo has made three appearances for Man United.
Dong, ah. After joining United in 2004, he was dubbed “The Chinese Rooney.” His lone league debut for the Red Devils came against Chelsea. A number of years ago, there were depressing claims, according to the Daily Star and others, that Dong had had plastic surgery on Chinese TV to try to halt the daily criticism he received after his lacklustre football career.
The £500,000 United paid Dalian Shide for the center-forward, who retired in 2009 after stints in Poland, Portugal, and Armenia, was also reportedly fully refunded. Dong denied the rumours of plastic surgery in an interview with AFP in 2019, saying, “I just did some simple make-up, If you say that I had plastic surgery, the way I am now is probably a plastic surgery failure.”
Dong disclosed that he currently coaches kids with specific needs in the same interview. “I feel the purity of their eyes and their hearts,” he continued. “And although they may have some physical limitations, their kind of concentration, their seriousness… that passion actually moves me.”
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