Quinton Fortune

Quinton Fortune (born 21 May 1977) is a South African former professional footballer who played as both a midfielder and a defender. His career began in Europe and after stints with Tottenham Hotspur, Mallorca and Atlético Madrid among others he settled in with Manchester United in 1999 and spent seven years there. He was also part of the 1998 and 2002 South African World Cup teams. Fortune continued playing through 2010. He subsequently moved into coaching.

Quinton Fortune
Personal information
Full name Quinton Fortune
Date of birth (1977-05-21) 21 May 1977
Place of birth Cape Town, South Africa
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Left-back
Youth career
1991–1995 Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995 Mallorca 8 (1)
1996–1999 Atlético Madrid B 61 (6)
1996–1999 Atlético Madrid 6 (0)
1999–2006 Manchester United 76 (5)
2006–2007 Bolton Wanderers 6 (0)
2008 Brescia 1 (0)
2009 Tubize 9 (0)
2009–2010 Doncaster Rovers 6 (1)
Total 173 (13)
National team
1996–2005 South Africa 46 (2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

In 1996, Fortune joined Atlético Madrid. Fortune signed for Manchester United for a fee of £1.5 million on 1 August 1999. He made his first appearance for the club against Newcastle United on 30 August. His first goal followed on Boxing Day 1999 against Bradford City,[1] and he scored twice against South Melbourne in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship.[2]

Despite playing in three Premier League winning seasons (1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2002–03), Fortune never played the required 10 games stipulated to earn a winner's medal.[3] However, he was awarded a Premier League winner's medal by special dispensation following United's title success in 2003 during which he had appeared 9 times in the league that season. It is commonly incorrectly reported that this medal had been left at the club by a former player.[4] After being used mostly in a squad rotation basis for his career at Manchester United, he was released by the club ahead of the 2006–07 campaign.[5]

After a successful trial, Fortune joined Bolton Wanderers for the 2006–07 season.[6]

In September 2008, he joined Sheffield United on trial. On 6 October 2008, Serie B club Brescia confirmed to have reached an agreement with Fortune;[7] the transfer was finalised on 23 October, with Fortune signing a one-year contract with the Rondinelle.[8]

On 2 February 2009, Tubize signed Fortune on a free transfer.[9]

On 4 August 2009, he signed a short-term deal at Doncaster Rovers.[10] He scored his first Rovers goal against Ipswich Town on 19 September 2009.[11] He was sent off in a 2–2 draw against Scunthorpe United. Fortune was not offered an extension to his deal at the club and was released on 4 February 2010.[12]

International career

Fortune earned 46 caps for South Africa, and played at the 1998[13] and the 2002 World Cups.[14] He was one of South Africa's most influential players in the 2002 World Cup. In the first match against Paraguay which ended in 2–2 draw, he scored South Africa's second goal from penalty kick in injury time.[15] Later in the next match, South Africa beat Slovenia 1–0 in which Fortune providing assist for the winning goal.[16] Although both South Africa and Paraguay finished the group with same points and goal difference, it was Paraguay who occupied the second place and advanced into the next stage because Paraguay scored more goals than South Africa.[17]

Coaching and media career

In 2012, Fortune returned to Manchester United to train with their reserve team while working on his coaching badges, which he completed in 2013.[18][19]

On 1 July 2014, Fortune was assistant coach to Cardiff City's Under-21 side.[20]

Fortune also worked for ITV4 during their coverage of the Africa Cup of Nations in February 2015.

On 4 July 2019 Fortune become Under 23 assistant coach at Manchester United. [21]

On 8 September 2020, Fortune was appointed as First Team coach of Reading.[22]

Honours

Manchester United

South Africa

Anti-violence work

Fortune has worked as a model for an anti-domestic violence group called Tender as part of their "Don't Kick Off campaign". This campaign ran through the 2010 FIFA World Cup to stop men from using football as an excuse for violence against women.[26]

References
  1. "Fortune paves the way". BBC Sport. 26 December 1999. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  2. "Fortune fails to save Man Utd". BBC Sport. 11 January 2000. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  3. "Games played by Quinton Fortune in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  4. United Review The Official Matchday Programme Volume 65 Issue 7
  5. "Fortune set for Man Utd departure". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 31 March 2006. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  6. "Fortune finalises Bolton switch". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 26 July 2006. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  7. "Fortune poised to join Brescia". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 7 October 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  8. "Quinton Fortune è un giocatore del Brescia" (in Italian). Brescia Calcio. 23 October 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
  9. "Le Sud-africain Quinton Fortune à Tubize" (in French). 7SUR7.be. 3 October 2009.
  10. "Doncaster capture veteran Fortune". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 4 August 2009.
  11. "Doncaster 3–3 Ipswich". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 19 September 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  12. "Quinton Fortune & Jack Wilson leave Doncaster Rovers". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 4 February 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
  13. http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/1998/squad_rsa98.html
  14. http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/2002/squad_rsa02.html
  15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/matches_wallchart/paraguay_v_south_africa/newsid_2020000/2020719.stm
  16. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2002/jun/09/worldcupfootball2002.sport24
  17. http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/2002/wc02index.html
  18. "Sporting Spotlight: Quinton Fortune". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  19. "Fortune's coaching plans". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  20. "South Africa spent £2.4bn to host the 2010 World Cup. What happened next?". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  21. https://www.manutd.com/en/news/detail/new-under-23s-structure-includes-quinton-fortune-and-neil-wood
  22. "Introducing two new coaches - Fortune and Gomes join Royals' ranks". readingfc.co.uk/. Reading F.C. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  23. "Quinton Fortune: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  24. "Man Utd win Community Shield". BBC Sport. 10 August 2003. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  25. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115941/http://www.rsssf.com/tables/98a-det.html
  26. "Home". Tender. Archived from the original on 3 July 2010.
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