Quinton Fortune

Quinton Fortune (born 21 May 1977) is a South African footballer who has represented a number of European clubs including Manchester United, Doncaster Rovers, Atletico Madrid and Bolton Wanderers. Fortune has earned 53 caps for South Africa, including playing in the 1998 and the 2002 World Cups. He most recently played for Doncaster Rovers, but failed to earn an extension to his contract when it expired in January 2010.

Club career

Fortune left South Africa at the age of 14 and moved to England where he played for the Tottenham Hotspur junior team (whilst attending Forest School), but never made a senior appearance for the club. After having trouble obtaining a work permit, Fortune moved to Spain, where he played for Atlético Madrid.

Manchester United purchased him from Atlético Madrid on 1 August 1999. He made his first appearance for the club on 30 August 1999, against Newcastle United.

Fortune was initially brought to United as cover for Ryan Giggs, and was thought of primarily as an attacking left-sided midfielder. Fortune, however, proved himself a capable and dedicated performer in a number of positions. It was Fortune's strength as a defender, rather than his qualities as an attacker, that Alex Ferguson depended most on, and Fortune was often deployed as a central midfielder or as a left-back. 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.

After a successful trial, he...
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