Phil Neville has sealed a return to football just two days after he was sacked by Inter Miami, with the Manchester United and Everton legend joining the Canadian national team as part of John Herdman's coaching staff.
The 46-year-old was sacked by long-time friend and Inter Miami owner, David Beckham, following a dismal start to the MLS season, which saw the Sunshine State-based team win just five games from 16, leaving them bottom of the Eastern Conference. Neville's dismissal also came following intense pressure from Inter Miami fans for the Englishman to lose his job, with his son, Harvey, even being booed following a late substitute appearance after a 1-0 home loss to the New York Red Bulls.
But the former England women's boss is wasting little to no time with jumping back into football, accepting an offer to work with Herdman, joining Canada's coaching staff alongside the likes of former Millwall ace Richard Shaw. Neville will help Herdman and Canada with their upcoming Concacaf Nations League Finals.
"Both Phil and Richard bring with them winning experiences at the highest levels and have worked with some of the premier leagues top managers during their careers," a Canada announcement read. "They’ll work as positional and unit coaches with the aim of helping us to win our first trophy in over two decades."
Canada's busy summer of football starts with a semi-final Nations League Finals clash with Panama. Herdman's team will take on Panama, who featured at the 2018 World Cup, on June 16 in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Allegiant Stadium. The USA and Mexico will also play each other in the other semi-final.
Herdman will then lead his team in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which Canada is hosting. Canada will kick off their group campaign on June 28 but their opponent is yet to be decided, and they're also joined in the group by Cuba and Guatemala.
Neville 35 of his 90 matches at the helm in Miami, boasting a win percentage of 39. And his sacking came just before Inter Miami secured the services of football great, Lionel Messi. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, 35, turned down over £1billion from a Saudi Arabian team to make the move to the United States.
“I made the decision that I am going to go to Miami,” he told Mundo Deportivo. “I still don't have it 100% completed, but we decided to continue my journey there.”
Messi's decision brought Barcelona's dream of a reunion with its greatest-ever player to an excruciating end. The offer to move to South Beach includes several bumper commercial tie-ins and the fact that he already owns a house in Miami.
