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It's The 12-Year Anniversary Of John O'Shea's Goalkeeping Masterclass

It's The 12-Year Anniversary Of John O'Shea's Goalkeeping Masterclass

The definition of utility man...

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

John O'Shea won 14 major honours in his time at Manchester United and is still held in high regard.

He wasn't fashionable, nor was he first-choice, but Sir Alex Ferguson absolutely loved him for his versatility, as did the Old Trafford faithful.

And when we're talking about versatility, O'Shea epitomises it. He played left-back, right-back, centre-back, midfield, and of course we cannot forget his incredible stint as a goalkeeper on 4 February 2007.

The Irishman went in net for United against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, dropping a goalkeeping masterclass and even keeping a clean sheet.


No.1 goalkeeper Edwin van Der Sar was forced off in the second half having broken his nose after being struck by Robbie Keane's knee and United had already made three substitutions; O'Shea being one of them.

Of course, this meant an outfield player had to take the gloves. Rio Ferdinand, who later went in goal for United in an FA Cup tie against Portsmouth a couple of years, initially stepped up to the plate but it was O'Shea who actually ended up going in goal and stopping Spurs from scoring in the 4-0 United win.

Image: PA
Image: PA

His handling, awareness and overall goalkeeping ability was absolutely top-notch - his performance so good that he joked he deserved half of Van Der Sar's clean sheet bonus.

Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs were in hysterics on the bench but clearly O'Shea was taking it fully serious.

David De Gea might be a bloody good goalkeeper but people should never forget United's greatest ever shotstopper goes by the name of John Francis O'Shea.

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Topics:Β Spurs, Ireland, Football News, Tottenham Hotspur, Football, Sunderland, Manchester United, John O'Shea