Quinton Fortune

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Quinton Fortune

| image = Fortune, Quinton.jpg

| caption = Fortune in 2007

| upright = 0.9

| fullname = Quinton Fortune

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1977|5|21|df=y}}

| birth_place = Cape Town, South Africa

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=11}}

| position = Midfielder, left-back

| currentclub =

| youthyears1 = 1991–1995 |youthclubs1 = Tottenham Hotspur

| years1 = 1995 |clubs1 = Mallorca |caps1 = 8 |goals1 = 1

| years2 = 1996–1999 |clubs2 = Atlético Madrid B |caps2 = 61 |goals2 = 6

| years3 = 1996–1999 |clubs3 = Atlético Madrid |caps3 = 6 |goals3 = 0

| years4 = 1999–2006 |clubs4 = Manchester United |caps4 = 76 |goals4 = 5

| years5 = 2006–2007 |clubs5 = Bolton Wanderers |caps5 = 6 |goals5 = 0

| years6 = 2008 |clubs6 = Brescia |caps6 = 1 |goals6 = 0

| years7 = 2009 |clubs7 = Tubize |caps7 = 9 |goals7 = 0

| years8 = 2009–2010 |clubs8 = Doncaster Rovers |caps8 = 6 |goals8 = 1

| totalcaps = 173 |totalgoals = 13

| nationalyears1 = 1996–2005 |nationalteam1 = South Africa |nationalcaps1 = 46 |nationalgoals1 = 2

| manageryears1 = 2020–2022 |managerclubs1 = Reading (assistant)

| manageryears2 = 2023 |managerclubs2 = Guadalajara (assistant)

| manageryears3 = 2024–2025 |managerclubs3 = Tigres UANL (assistant)

}}

Quinton Fortune (born 21 May 1977) is a South African professional football coach and former player, who played as a midfielder or left-back. After stints with Mallorca and Atlético Madrid, he settled with Manchester United in 1999 and spent seven years there, winning a Premier League title, FA Community Shield and Intercontinental Cup.

Fortune played internationally for South Africa from 1996 to 2005, earning 46 caps. He was part of the South Africa squad for the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups.

Club career

Fortune began his professional football career with Tottenham Hotspur. In 1995, he moved to Spain to play for Mallorca, but soon moved on to Atlético Madrid, where he mostly played for the B team. In August 1999, Fortune had a trial at Manchester United, prompting manager Alex Ferguson to sign him for a fee of £1.5 million; Fortune turned down a move to Real Valladolid to secure the move to Manchester United.{{cite news |title=Man Utd set to land Fortune |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/fa_carling_premiership/419039.stm |website=BBC Sport |date=12 August 1999 |accessdate=13 April 2022 }} He made his first appearance for the club against Newcastle United on 30 August. His first goal followed on Boxing Day 1999 against Bradford City,{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/fa_carling_premiership/578698.stm |title=Fortune paves the way |website=BBC Sport |date=26 December 1999 |access-date=9 August 2016}} and he scored twice against South Melbourne in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship.{{cite news |title=Fortune fails to save Man Utd |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/12/99/world_club_championship/599462.stm |website=BBC Sport |date=11 January 2000 |access-date=9 August 2016 }}

Despite playing in three Premier League winning seasons (1999–2000, 2000–01 and 2002–03), Fortune never played the required 10 games stipulated to earn a winner's medal.{{Soccerbase season|14332|2006}} However, he was awarded a Premier League winner's medal by special dispensation following United's title success in 2003 during which he had appeared nine times in the league that season. It is commonly incorrectly reported that this medal had been left at the club by a former player.United Review The Official Matchday Programme Volume 65 Issue 7 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.{{cite news |title=Fortune set for Man Utd departure |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/4865676.stm |website=BBC Sport |date=31 March 2006 |access-date=2 June 2015 }}

After a successful trial, Fortune joined Bolton Wanderers for the 2006–07 season.{{cite news |title=Fortune finalises Bolton switch |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/bolton_wanderers/5201342.stm |website=BBC Sport |date=26 July 2006 |access-date=8 June 2015 }}

In September 2008, he joined Sheffield United on trial. On 6 October 2008, Serie B club Brescia confirmed to have reached an agreement with Fortune;{{cite news |title=Fortune poised to join Brescia |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/7656631.stm |website=BBC Sport |date=7 October 2008 |access-date=2 June 2015 }} the transfer was finalised on 23 October, with Fortune signing a one-year contract with the Rondinelle.{{cite news |title=Quinton Fortune è un giocatore del Brescia |url=http://www.bresciaonline.it/or4/or?uid=BOLesy.main.index&oid=608375&uidx_15=BOLappl.news.dettaglio&idnews=1536429&is_popup=0 |language=it |publisher=Brescia Calcio |date=23 October 2008 |access-date=3 November 2008 }}

On 2 February 2009, Tubize signed Fortune on a free transfer.{{cite web |title=Le Sud-africain Quinton Fortune à Tubize |url=http://www.7sur7.be/7s7/fr/1509/Football-Belge/article/detail/657666/2009/02/01/Le-Sud-africain-Quinton-Fortune-a-Tubize.dhtml |language=fr |publisher=7SUR7.be |date=3 October 2009 }}

On 4 August 2009, he signed a short-term deal at Doncaster Rovers.{{cite news |title=Doncaster capture veteran Fortune |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/doncaster/8184263.stm |website=BBC Sport |date=4 August 2009 }} He scored his first Rovers goal against Ipswich Town on 19 September 2009.{{cite news |title=Doncaster 3–3 Ipswich |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/8251584.stm |website=BBC Sport |date=19 September 2009 |access-date=29 October 2009 }} He was sent off in a 2–2 draw against Scunthorpe United. Fortune was not offered an extension to his deal at the club and was released on 4 February 2010.{{cite news |title=Quinton Fortune & Jack Wilson leave Doncaster Rovers |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/doncaster/8472522.stm |website=BBC Sport |date=4 February 2010 |access-date=4 February 2010 }}

International career

Fortune earned 46 caps for South Africa, and played at the 1998{{cite web |url=http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/1998/squad_rsa98.html |title = Planet World Cup - 1998 - Squads - South Africa}} and the 2002 World Cups.{{cite web |url=http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/2002/squad_rsa02.html |title = Planet World Cup - 2002 - Squads - South Africa}} He was one of South Africa's most influential players in the 2002 World Cup. In the first match against Paraguay which ended in 2–2 draw, he scored South Africa's second goal from a penalty kick in injury time.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/matches_wallchart/paraguay_v_south_africa/newsid_2020000/2020719.stm |title=Fortune on form| date=2 June 2002 }} Later in the next match, South Africa beat Slovenia 1–0 in which Fortune providing assist for the winning goal.{{Cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2002/jun/09/worldcupfootball2002.sport24 | title=South Africa 1 - 0 Slovenia | website=TheGuardian.com | date=9 June 2002 }} Although both South Africa and Paraguay finished the group with same points and goal difference, it was Paraguay who occupied the second place and advanced into the next stage because Paraguay scored more goals than South Africa.{{cite web |url=http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/2002/wc02index.html |title = Planet World Cup - 2002 - Match Schedule}}

Coaching and media career

In 2012, Fortune returned to Manchester United to train with their reserve team while working on his coaching badges, which he completed in 2013.{{cite news |date=7 November 2012 |title=Sporting Spotlight: Quinton Fortune |website=BBC Sport |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20023765 |access-date=10 November 2012}}{{cite web |date=7 July 2012 |title=Fortune's coaching plans |url=http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2012/Jul/quinton-fortune-ready-to-move-into-coaching.aspx |access-date=2 January 2013 |work=ManUtd.com |publisher=Manchester United}}

On 1 July 2014, Fortune was assistant coach to Cardiff City's Under-21 side.{{cite web |date=23 September 2014 |title=South Africa spent £2.4bn to host the 2010 World Cup. What happened next? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/sep/23/south-africa-2010-world-cup-what-happened |access-date=23 September 2014 |work=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News and Media}}

Fortune also worked for ITV4 during their coverage of the Africa Cup of Nations in February 2015.{{cite news |date=17 January 2015 |title=ITV4 will show seven live matches and highlights of every game from the Africa Cup of Nations 2015 |publisher=ITV |url=https://www.itv.com/news/2015-01-17/itv4-will-show-seven-live-matches-and-highlights-of-every-game-from-the-africa-cup-of-nations-2015 |accessdate=13 April 2022}}

On 4 July 2019, Fortune became Under-23 assistant coach at Manchester United.{{cite web |title=Man Utd U23s to be coached by Neil Wood and Quinton Fortune |url=https://www.manutd.com/en/news/detail/new-under-23s-structure-includes-quinton-fortune-and-neil-wood |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704134203/https://www.manutd.com/en/news/detail/new-under-23s-structure-includes-quinton-fortune-and-neil-wood |archive-date=4 July 2019 |website=ManUtd.com}}

On 8 September 2020, Fortune was appointed as first-team coach of Reading.{{cite web |date=8 September 2020 |title=Introducing two new coaches - Fortune and Gomes join Royals' ranks |url=https://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/2020/september/introducing-two-new-coaches--fortune-and-gomes-join-royals-ranks/ |access-date=8 September 2020 |website=readingfc.co.uk |publisher=Reading FC}}

On 16 August 2022, Fortune was appointed as a coach supporting the England youth teams as part of The Football Association and Professional Footballers' Association's joint England Elite Coach Programme (EECP).{{cite web|date=16 August 2022|title=England youth team coaches appointed for 2022-23 season|url=https://www.englandfootball.com/articles/2022/Aug/16/england-mens-development-coaching-line-up-2022-23-season-confirmed-20221508|access-date=16 August 2022}}

In November 2022, Fortune was appointed as assistant coach for Mexican club C.D. Guadalajara alongside his former teammate Veljko Paunović.{{cite web|date=8 November 2022|title=Fortune: Former Bafana Bafana and Manchester United star joins Guadalajara as coach|url=https://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/fortune-former-bafana-bafana-and-manchester-united-star-joins-guadalajara-as-coach/blt73b38850a9ce68a0|access-date=16 May 2023}}

Career statistics

International goals

:Score and results list South Africa's goal tally first.{{cite web | url = https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/6159/Teboho_Mokoena.html | title = Teboho Mokoena (Player) | website = national-football-teams.com | access-date = 14 June 2022}}

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%"
1	2 June 2002	Busan Asiad Main Stadium, Busan, South Korea	{{fb\|PAR}}	{{center\|2–2}}	{{center\|2–2}}	2002 FIFA World Cup
2	26 March 2005	FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa	{{fb\|UGA}}	{{center\|1–0}}	{{center\|2–1}}	2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying

Honours

Manchester United

Premier League: 2002–03{{cite web |url=https://www.premierleague.com/players/1718/Quinton-Fortune/overview |title=Quinton Fortune: Overview |publisher=Premier League |access-date=16 April 2018}}
FA Community Shield: 2003{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/3125653.stm |title=Man Utd win Community Shield |website=BBC Sport |date=10 August 2003 |access-date=16 April 2018}}
Intercontinental Cup: 1999{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

South Africa

African Cup of Nations runner-up: 1998{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tables/98a-det.html |title=African Nations Cup 1998 - Final Tournament Details |website=RSSSF |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115941/http://www.rsssf.com/tables/98a-det.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live}}

Charity work

Fortune has worked as a model for an anti-domestic violence group called Tender as part of their "Don't Kick Off" campaign. This campaign ran through the 2010 FIFA World Cup to stop men from using football as an excuse for violence against women.{{cite web |url=http://www.tender.org.uk/node/92 |title=Home |publisher=Tender |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703090835/http://www.tender.org.uk/node/92 |archive-date=3 July 2010}}

Since 2018, Fortune has worked with Grassroot Soccer, a global adolescent health organization with a South African affiliate that leverages the power of soccer to equip young people with the life-saving information, services, and mentorship they need to live healthier lives. Fortune is a Global Ambassador for the organization and a member of its UK Board of Directors.{{Cite web |title=Quinton Fortune |url=https://grassrootsoccer.org/people/quinton-fortune/ |access-date=2025-03-06 |website=Grassroot Soccer |language=en-US}}