Man Utd Class of '92 graduate who completed direct Man City transfer had fascinating career

A forgotten Manchester United academy graduate who joined a rare club of players to move directly to Manchester City went on to have a remarkable career.

The latest instalment of the Manchester derby kicks off at 4:30pm on Sunday afternoon at Old Trafford, with Michael Carrick and Enzo Maresca doing battle in the managerial dugouts.

There has been some extra spice surrounding the build-up of the fixture, with Elliot Anderson having described City as the 'Kings of Manchester' when he joined the club in July.

Carrick can at least boast a 100 per cent in Manchester derbies as a manager. His first match in interim charge was a 2-0 win over Pep Guardiola's City at Old Trafford in January.

While Anderson is just about right that City have been better in the fixture since the club's 2008 takeover - they have won 22 matches in all competitions, versus 21 wins for United - it is City's lengthy title haul since United's Premier League drought, dating back to 2013, that he would have been referring to.

Back when Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge, United players only ever moved to City when the club decided they could move - something which simply hasn't been the case for both sides in the modern day.

Young midfielder Terry Cooke was one such example, with United opting to loan him out to City at the beginning of 1999.

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Terry Cooke: The seventh Man Utd Class of '92 graduate

Cooke had come through United's youth academy and was part of the side that were runners-up in the 1995 FA Youth Cup.

He was part of the iconic 'Class of 92' photo, which featured youth team boss Eric Harrison, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, David Beckham, Gary Neville, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes.

Cooke was on the right of that photo and, like the others, did break through into United's first team - but found minutes hard to come by.

Behind Beckham in the pecking order, Cooke had four loan spells away from Old Trafford and joined City, who were about to win been promotion from the third tier of English football, on a permanent basis for a fee of around £600,000 in April 1999.

He didn't manage to keep his place in the City line-up as they rose through the leagues and, after another four loan spells away from the club, was released in the summer of 2002.

Terry Cooke in action for Man City (Image: Getty)

After three more years in England, he decided to quit English football entirely and move to Major League Soccer, which was still in its relative infancy at the time.

Terry Cooke is now a club legend in MLS

He signed for Colorado Rapids, who played in one of the biggest stadiums in the States - with a capacity of 76,125 - and had future United States national team star Kyle Beckerman among their ranks.

Cooke quickly wrote his name into Rapids folklore by scoring a penalty in their 5-4 shootout win over FC Dallas, a result which sent them through to the Western Conference final.

Though they would lose 2-0 to LA Galaxy - whose star striker Landon Donovan scored both goals - they again reached the Western Conference final in 2006. This time, they were defeated 3-1 by eventual MLS Cup champions Houston Dynamo.

The Rapids would move into their own football-specific stadium, Dick's Sporting Goods Park, in 2007, having shared their previous stadium with NFL side Denver Broncos. Cooke contributed the first assist at the new stadium in a competitive MLS fixture.

On-pitch success would not follow, with Colorado failing to make the play-offs in any of Cooke's final three seasons with the team.

His contract was waived by the Rapids at the end of 2009, by which point he had racked up over 100 appearances and worn the captain's armband on several occasions.

Years later, in 2020, Cooke was named in the Rapids' official all-time best XI, with his tally of 34 assists across those five seasons placing him second in the historical tally.

Terry Cooke taking a corner during the 2006 MLS season (Image: Getty)

"His ability was most evident in the final third, from his perfectly weighted crosses lined into the six-yard box to his impeccably timed touches setting up team-mates; Cooke clearly had an ability to see the game a pass ahead of his competitors," Colorado's website reads.

Cooke ended his career playing for Australian A-League side North Queensland Fury and then Azerbaijani outfit Gabala.

Gabala were coached at the time by Arsenal legend Tony Adams, which would be his final managerial job for nearly six years until he briefly became head coach of La Liga side Granada.

Since his retirement at the age of 35, Cooke has moved into coaching, and hosts football coaching clinics for various school-age groups across the United States.

His website states that he 'uses his knowledge of the professional game and applies the latest coaching techniques... his enthusiastic and energetic approach to coaching has proved popular, with many players returning each summer to participate in his soccer camps'.

He has also been director of coaching at Denver Kickers, an American football club based in the state of Colorado, which he combines with his other post-playing roles.