'Telling Man Utd no was a massive mistake - I was in League One a month later'

Posted Sunday, April 07, 2024 by Dailystar.co.uk

Daniel Nardiello says he regrets leaving Man Utd

Daniel Nardiello, who played four matches for Manchester United, has shared his journey from playing for Wolves and the FA's School of Excellence at Lilleshall at 14 to joining the Red Devils.

His impressive performance caught the attention of several teams, but when United approached him, he couldn't resist the chance to play under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. At that time, United were bagging trophies left, right and centre, but Ferguson was always on the lookout for fresh talent to boost the academy.

The Red Devils had to pay £200,000 compensation to Wolves for Nardiello's services, as he was registered under schoolboy terms with them. It didn't take long for the striker to climb up the ranks with the Reds after turning professional in October 1999.

Despite having to wait more than a year to make his debut, it finally came in November 2001. It was in a 4-0 League Cup defeat at Arsenal - as part of a much-changed United side - but for Nardiello, it was an understandably proud moment.

"Don't get me wrong, looking back at it now, from a 40-year-old's perspective, it's something I'm extremely proud of that I managed to do, not many people manage to pull on that shirt and represent Manchester United's first team", Nardiello told the Manchester Evening News. "So it's something I look back on with real pride.", reports the Manchester Evening News.

"At the time, I was an 18-year-old kid and you sort of just take it in your stride at that age, so I didn't really realise the achievement of playing for Manchester United's first team until my older age and when I retired."

"I was a confident young lad and I had confidence in myself to be playing football at the highest level, so it [his debut] just seemed like the next step in my development, and to do it at Arsenal at Highbury is something I am really proud of and something I am glad I wasn't nervous about at the time."

When he was coming through at United, Nardiello was training alongside the likes of Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Rio Ferdinand. It was a time when the Reds were winning trophies consistently, so it is somewhat unsurprising that he had to wait a while - more than a year, to be precise - to make his second appearance for the club.

Nardiello was training with top footballers, and he was wowed by their drive to win and how much they cared about the details. He really looked up to Keane, who everyone knows wanted to do great at Old Trafford.

Keane pushed himself and his teammates to be the best. Even though there are some tough stories about Keane, Nardiello has good memories of working with him. He even talked about a time when Keane stopped a training session out of the blue during an international break.

"Keane was unbelievable. If training wasn't right... I actually remember him stopping training a couple of times to make sure the lads were doing the work and doing things right," Nardiello recalled. "He expected 100% effort and commitment from lads all the time in training."

"I remember it was an international break and there was a lot of reserve team lads training with the first-team lads who were not on international duty and he stopped the session to make sure lads were doing the right things and making sure the passing was correct and that type of thing."

"But on top of that, it was the encouragement levels he gave you as well. I don't know if people saw this but the encouragement he gave specifically to me was second to none, he guided me in certain aspects and also encouraged me a lot. I remember him playing a couple of reserve team games and it was nothing but good advice and guidance and encouragement."

"Of course when things weren't going right on the pitch, he may shout and scream at certain players for not doing things, but that's what leaders do, they expect the best. For me, he's one of the best captains that United have probably ever had, or that world football has ever seen."

While Nardiello never actually played with Keane, he did spend time in the same squad as another Reds legend. In fact, his last appearance for the club came in place of Cristiano Ronaldo, with the attacker replacing the Portuguese ace in the latter stages of a shock 2-0 defeat to West Brom in the 2003/04 Carling Cup.

It was Ronaldo's first appearance in the competition, and while it ended in a loss, it was clear how talented he was and what he could bring to Old Trafford. The tricky winger went on to make 346 appearances for the Reds, registering 145 goals and 64 assists.

For Nardiello, it was clear that his teammate was destined for greatness - even after a surprise loss to the Baggies. He shared: "He [Ronaldo] was clearly an unbelievably talented young lad when I was there, I think when he signed he was 18 or 19. You could see in training and in games that he obviously had a lot of ability and potential, but I don't know if anyone would have predicted how amazing his career would be."

"The fact that he's probably one of the greatest players to have ever lived, I don't think many people would have predicted that. A lot is down to the guidance he had under Sir Alex, but also down to his own mentality, work rate and belief in himself."

"To score the number of goals he has, I don't think anyone who maybe watched him in the first couple of seasons at Manchester United would have predicted the level he actually got to, but fair play to him because he was just an absolute monster and still is! ".

Most of Ronaldo's appearances for United were as a starter. Nardiello, however, only started once, in the League Cup, but unlike the other three matches, he was on the winning team that time.

United bagged a 2-0 win over Leicester City in November 2002, with Nardiello leading the attack alongside Diego Forlan and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Quinton Fortune and David Beckham were behind him, while Ferdinand, David May, John O'Shea, Gary Neville and Phil Neville made up the defence. Roy Carroll rounded off a strong line-up for the Reds.

Nardiello has shared how cool it felt to start a game for the famous club. He said he wasn't nervous and just wanted to do his best. "It was great starting a game and again there were no nerves or anything like that, it was just a case of trying to do as well as I could on the day," he said. He also feels proud to have played with some top players.

"Looking back now and looking at the starting line-up from that game, it was a really strong starting XI, with me being probably the weakest link in the starting XI."

He's chuffed that Sir Alex Ferguson believed in him enough to put him on the team. "It was great that Sir Alex had the confidence to put me in and to say I've played alongside those lads, although I did it in training and a few reserve team matches, it was amazing and something I look back on with pride."

Nardiello also had a good time playing for other teams like Swansea City and Barnsley. He became a hit with fans at Barnsley, scoring lots of goals even though he had some injuries.

He scored two goals on his debut and bagged seven times in 16 games before returning to United. Having become a fan favourite with the Barnsley fans, he returned again to Oakwell on a season-long loan for the following campaign. Despite struggling with injuries, Nardiello still managed 30 games, scoring seven goals.

When Nardiello came back to United, he and Ferguson had a big chat. Ferguson said he could stay but it might be better for him to leave for his career. So when his contract ended, he went to Barnsley. Nardiello thinks now he should have stayed longer at United.

He said, "I kind of knew it was coming towards an end, I got to a certain age where I was playing regularly on loan at decent-sized clubs, but it wasn't Premiership clubs," He also shared, "I got called into the office by Sir Alex, had a sit-down with him and he said he could give me another year, but he said he thought I should go out on a permanent basis and play regular football."

Nardiello remembered thinking, "I think he was just being kind saying he could give me an extra year, looking back I probably should have said, 'Give me that extra year then' but it seemed like the natural end to my time there."

He wasn't really sad about leaving, saying, "I don't think I was upset, it was just one of those things you have to deal with in football. It was an end of an era in terms of leaving Manchester United, but I was just focused on building my career."

Given that Ferguson gave him the chance to play for United, Nardiello still thinks he's top-notch and says it was a 'privilege' to be on his team. He even shared a story about bumping into Ferguson years later.

"He [Ferguson] was obviously a huge success while I was there, and after I left he achieved so much more as well," he said. "He's the best manager that's ever lived and I was lucky enough to play under him, albeit in a handful of games. It was a privilege to work under him and learn from him."

"He did go into a lot of detail with every individual player. I remember when I was coming towards the end of my football career, I actually bumped into him at The Alexandra Hospital. I was having a check-up on an injury and he was having a check-up on something and we happened to be seeing the same doctor."

"He came over to me and said, 'You're doing really well, scoring goals at Bury'. I was thinking, 'How does he even know, 10 or 15 years after I'd left the club, that I'm at Bury towards the end of my career? '. How he knew that after however many years it was, to come up to start speaking to me, the physio I was with was in shock!"

Nardiello, like many former players, looks back on his career with a sense of pride. His first game for the club was alongside two other newbies - Lee Roche and Jimmy Davis.

Since Nardiello played with both Roche and Davis in their first match against Arsenal, which they lost 4-0, he will always share a bond with them.

In August 2003, Davis, who had left United to play for Watford, was on his way to Vicarage Road for their first match of the season against Coventry City when he had a crash with a lorry and died. He was only 21 years old.

Naturally, Nardiello confessed that Davis' death was a shock to everyone. It was a tough time for anyone who knew Davis, but now, twenty years after his death, Nardiello can talk warmly about his old teammate - as a player and as a person.

"The anniversary of his death always pops up on social media, and you always give him a thought," he said. "It was a huge shock, and I know it's easy for me to say now, but he was an unbelievable talent, an unbelievable player. Whether he was at United or somewhere else, he would have had an unbelievable career. He genuinely was excellent, one of the better youth team players, for sure."

"He could even have done it at Manchester United on a regular basis, that's how good he was. It was extremely sad because a guy I've grown up with, played regularly with. He was a great character in and around the changing room, everyone loved him. His family are lovely, they were not too far from where my family are from in the Midlands. Heartbreaking really, really sad what happened there and may he rest in peace."

United paid tribute to Davis during their 2003 FA Community Shield victory against Arsenal, with both teams wearing black armbands during the match. Later in the season, the Reds - at the suggestion of Keane - paid tribute to him once again.

After lifting the 2004 FA Cup, the players changed into shirts printed with Davis' name and squad number, 36. Davis made just one senior appearance for United, but he was clearly a popular member of the group and played his part in and around the training ground. Like Nardiello, he managed to achieve something that the majority of people can only ever dream of.

Playing for Manchester United, at Old Trafford, under Sir Alex Ferguson, was a dream come true for Daniel Nardiello. He managed something special, and no one can ever take that away from him.