Football fans were shocked to see a former Manchester United star in the coaching ranks for Serbia against England on Thursday night.
Viewers did a double take when they saw Quinton Fortune, who played for United between 1999 and 2006, take his place as an assistant coach in the World Cup qualifier.
Fortune, 48, was only appointed by Serbia last week as an assistant to Veljko Paunovic.
The former South Africa star has previously been a coach in England’s youth set-up and been an assistant for various clubs including Reading.
Speaking to ITV Sport, he said: ‘[A couple of weeks ago] I was at home, taking care of my kids but kind of knew this was in the background.
‘The opportunity came and it’s an honour to be here, to be part of this team, and help Pauno (he has been an assistant to Paunovic at Reading, Guadalajara, and Tigres UANL) . Now we’re at Wembley!
Former Man United star Quinton Fortune (right) shocked fans when he appeared as an assistant for Serbia against England
‘It’s strange. We look at the quality of the players and find ourselves in this position! We can’t go on the past. We’re here today and have a great opportunity.
‘It means a lot to the country. We’ve been over there for a couple of days and seen how much it means to them. Veljko told us how important it is for Serbia to qualify for the World Cup and tonight we have another opportunity.’
Fortune came through the youth academy at Tottenham Hotspur but never played for the senior team before moving to Mallorca to kickstart his career in 1995.
After a stint at Atletico Madrid – where he played alongside Paunovic – he joined United for £1.5million in 1999.
It was a remarkable moment for a player who had grown up as a black child in apartheid South Africa with extremely limited prospects in football.
But Fortune went on to play 126 times for United and became a cult hero for his hard work despite never getting much time on the pitch.
Indeed, he never made more than 10 appearances in any of their three Premier League-winning campaigns in that time, meaning he was not entitled to a medal.
However, in 2003, he was awarded one by special dispensation after making nine outings.
Bukayo Saka scored a well-controlled volley in the first half to give England a 1-0 lead
The secret to United’s success in that era? ‘Good team spirit. Respect for each other. Authenticity in the team,’ Fortune told The Athletic in 2022.
‘I am not saying we held hands every day but the spirit of the team was very tight and the work ethic was like something I had never seen.
‘When I arrived at the old training ground at The Cliff, I realised these guys won the treble with one training pitch. That was great because it reminds you how you don’t need everything provided if you have the spirit and work ethic.
‘Training was played like a match. You played against Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Teddy Sheringham, Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Ruud van Nistelrooy… no disrespect to the opposition, but it was not the same level on a Saturday. We were exposed to a very high level every day, which actually made Saturday feel a bit easier.
‘Sir Alex created that competitive environment but the players took it on. It all just made each individual better. Things got quicker every day. Working hard was a given — but the question was always, “What else can you do?”
‘It was Sir Alex’s awareness and sharpness that stood out, like nothing I had ever seen, He remembered everyone’s names and valued everyone. His man-management and his team talks were unbelievable. He made you want to run through brick walls. He would touch you emotionally in a way that meant you could not wait for the game to start and give everything for him.’
