Former Manchester United and England right back Gary Neville has revealed the two players who surprised him with their hidden pace during the peak of his playing days.
The understated defender enjoyed one of the greatest sustained periods of success any player has ever managed during his spell at Old Trafford, winning eight Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues among a collection of 21 major honours across a 19-year senior career.
Now an accomplished pundit with Sky Sports, Neville is now known for his passionate rants and self-deprecating humour, which was once again on show when discussing players who used to give him the most issues.
Gary Neville names the surprise speedsters
While not known for his pace, Neville was rarely beaten by an attacker at the peak of his powers, deploying defensive intelligence to devastating effect.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Neville revealed the two players who regularly outpaced him, avoiding the expected answer of the Thierry Henry's or Cristiano Ronaldo's of days gone by.
“[On whom roasted Gary] I had many battles with David Ginola," Neville explained.
"[Marc] Overmars – he did me one or two games, he did me one game at Wembley," he continued.
"The only two players that used to beat me for speed was [Harry] Kewell and Gabriel Agbonlahor. Very few people went past me because what I would do is, I’d give myself a yard, two yards, whatever I needed, but Kewell, he was quick!”
Kewell made his name at Leeds United during the successful days of the early 2000s before moving to Liverpool and helping them to the 2005 Champions League title.
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