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Full Name
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Steven Roger Bruce
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Date of Birth
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31st Dec 1960
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Place of Birth
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Hexham,
Northumberland
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Position
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Central Defender
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Height
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6ft 2
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United debut
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19/12/1987
vs Portsmouth (A)
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.....
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Bruce's United Record 1987-1996
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Appearances
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Goals
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League
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312
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36
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FA Cup
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41
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3
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League Cup
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31 (2)
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6
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Europe
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23 (1)
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6
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Total
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407 (3)
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51
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1996 F.A. Cup
1996 F.A. Premier
League
1994 F.A. Cup
1994 F.A. Premier
League
1993 F.A. Premier
League
1992 League Cup
1991 European Cup
Winners Cup
1990 F.A. Cup
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Steve Bruce was a bedrock of Manchester United's success in
the 1990's. Commanding the United back four with a
reassuring presence, control and great tactical awareness,
Bruce was the steady foundation upon which to build a great
team. Most importantly of all, he had an unquenchable spirit
and motivation often playing with injuries that would put
lesser men in hospital. His bravery and courage was
unrivalled, a totally committed player ready to give his all
for his team, and this inspired the team-mates around him.
In his first game for United he broke his nose, not for the
last time either. The big Geordie seemed to be
indestructible. Alex Ferguson once joked "When he passes on
I want his body for medical research, its hard to know what
this man's made of". Bruce had great ball control, passing
and composure and while he could be tested by cleverly
deployed pace, his experience ensured that he was rarely
ever caught out.
He also boasted a very high scoring rate for a centre half
with his 19 goals (including 11 penalties) in 1990/91 and a
total of 51 goals in 407 games, roughly a goal every eight
games. His most famous goal-scoring moment will always be
the 2 goals he scored against Sheffield Wednesday in the
dying minutes of injury time at the end of the 1993 season.
With United 1-0 down, Bruce saved United's title hopes with
two amazing headed goals, sending Old Trafford into delirium
and setting United on course for their first title in twenty
six long years. Not only that, the legendary footballing
adage of the 1990's was born - "Man Utd always score in the
last minute". There can be no doubt it was because of the
determination and drive of players like Steve Bruce, that
headlines from then on would often read "United in last gasp
victory". |
He started his career
at Norwich City and was bought by United in December 1987
for £800,000 saying "I'd crawl all the way from Norwich to
Manchester for the chance to play for United". Alex Ferguson
wisely decided to build his team from the bottom up and
Bruce was to be a key component in United's rebuilding.
While his club career was a string of successes the only
blot on his record is his lack of international recognition.
The United Captain only won U21 caps when he obviously
should have won full caps. Bruce is probably England's best
ever uncapped player, and Bobby Robson has since admitted
this glaring mistake. He could have played for Northern
Ireland or the Republic of Ireland had he not been
disqualified by an England youth appearance.
After leaving United, he played with Birmingham City for
a spell before moving into management with Sheffield United.
He was unsuccessful with The Blades and moved for a brief
period in charge of Huddersfield Town. Bruce then moved to
Crystal Palace and after some controversy, he left them to
return to Birmingham City in 2001, this time as manager. He
was an immediate sucess at St Andrews, in his first season
he took the club up into the Premiership. Few would doubt
that Brucey would love to return to Old Trafford as manager
one day and repeat the success he had as a player.
Steve Bruce is Manchester United's most successful captain
of all-time, having led the team to 3 League titles, the
1992 league cup and the 1994 FA Cup. A true leader that any
great team would be proud to have, there can be no doubting
the significance of his role in Manchester United's success
over the last decade. |
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All pictures in the
profiles can be enlarged by clicking on the smaller version.
Stats do not include friendlies, Charity Shield or World Club tournaments.
Number in brackets ( ) represents appearances as substitute in addition to
starting appearances.
This information is kindly taken from
McCleery's
Manchester United Zone
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