Speaking exclusively with BoyleSports , Manchester United hero Quinton Fortune has spoken about the greatest footballers and coaches of all time including R9, Pele and Carlo Ancelotti.
The former South African International also gives some fascinating insight into the development of his countries Domestic game, players to watch out for in the future and their World Cup Dreams.
Ancelotti “One Of The Greats”
Carlo Ancelotti is unbelievable. One of the greats. When you watch Real Madrid and you see Ancelotti on the bench, relaxing, drinking coffee, he is so calm, and that reflects on his teams.
I remember playing against Ancelotti's teams against Milan when they had Paulo Maldini and Cafu, all these amazing players, and they were successful even then with all those characters.
Can he win the World Cup with Brazil? Yes, because he's got a great way with players and he gets the best out of everyone. It never worked out, but I would’ve loved to have seen him at Manchester United.
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“Special “ Veron
I was very fortunate to play against the World Cup winner, Kleberson, at United and also Sebastian Veron. Sebastian reminded me of David Beckham with his passing range and crossing, but he did it with. South American flavour.
Kleberson would just float around; he would be everywhere on the pitch and kept things simple. A great team-mate, as was Veron, a special player.
The Greatest Of All Time?
R9. He was another species, from my understanding, and I love Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, but all rolled into one wouldn’t even be one R9.
It was almost unfair to the rest of us. Sometimes you get a player that's got the speed, the strength, the mind, the understanding, it was the closest thing to Pele.
For me, Pele is the greatest of all time. Watching his videos as a kid, it always stuck with me how people from Argentina would talk about him despite the rivalry.
Pele was the greatest, then it’s R9.
Antony Shines In Spain
Sometimes it's strange where players seem to settle in different places so much quicker than others. As soon as Antony went to Spain, he hit the ground running, scoring goals, and making assists, and you ask yourself why that didn’t happen in Manchester.
Maybe it was the weather, the culture or maybe the pressure of playing for United, the expectation. I'm just glad he's doing well because he's a wonderful talent. If he can bring that form back to United, that would be amazing because we need it.
I hope he carries on scoring goals and assisting, and that he can bring that back to United next season. He has the talent to be a success.
Bellingham “Loved” In Spain
It’s hard to explain. Jude Bellingham went to Spain and won the Champions League straight away. He went from Birmingham to Borussia Dortmund and then to Real Madrid; it’s beyond your wildest dreams.
The people in Spain love him, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and he is so talented box-to-box. He is an old-school player that puts tackles in, scores goals, he is a mixture of Roy Keane and Bryan Robson. It’s a special mixture and they love him in Spain.
The Talent Is In South Africa
In terms of the African continent, the South African League is probably one of the best leagues. In terms of television, the stadiums, we were very fortunate to host the World Cup in 2010, so they have really good stadiums.
The talent is there; the talent has always been there. I've always said for many years, I would like to see more South African players come to Europe. I was very fortunate; I left at 13 and spent half my life in Europe growing up in this culture.
The talent is definitely there, and the league is improving. I love that for South Africa, but I want to see our best players come to Europe because that's where you really see the real talent, the real competition and that strengthens your national team.
The league has definitely improved. But I want to see more players in Europe.
The Next South African Star?
I have seen Shandre Campbell at Club Brugge, who has talent, he is left-footed, which always looks great, he is still young and finding his way. He is at a great club, and I’d like to see him in the Premier League one day, but he can take things slow and learn his trade.
Sometimes it’s a big change to come to Europe, and it can be too late. I came early, so it was a culture shock staying in digs, but I grew and learned before first-team football.
Sometimes I think the longer to wait, the harder it can be. Campbell is in a good place, and I hope he can progress to a regular starter and go from there.
South Africa’s World Cup Dreams
It would mean everything for South Africa to get to another World Cup. When I see the Springboks do so well, I think, brilliant, the athletes are doing great. I went to see the cricket, they're doing amazing.
I want to see the football team at the biggest tournaments in the world, the Africa Cup of Nations and the World Cup. We have got a great young team now and a great chance.
But it's not just qualifying for the World Cup. I would love to change that mentality of just wanting to qualify. You want to go there and go to the next round and get to the semi-finals and work your way one day to the finals.
That's the mentality, not just be happy to qualify. We did that in 1998 and were grateful to qualify for our first World Cup, but now they should move to the next mentality. Let's dream about getting to the finals. Plant that seed.
Beckham Brilliance
David Beckham was incredible, he was one of only two players I saw complete the bleep test, him and Dwight Yorke. We didn’t even know there was an ending until those two did it.
David was a machine, he could put the ball wherever we wanted to, he would find your run, he would work up and down the pitch. He was ridiculous.
His work ethic, no one could touch it. He was amazing both on and off the pitch, and such a humble guy, he’s not like people assume he would be.
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