10 Man Utd Players Who Did Nothing For Club (But Excelled For Their Country)

2. David Healy

Hands up - how many still remember David Healy€™s time at Old Trafford? It would be impressive if the man himself could recall much of his fleeting appearance at the club, having been granted his sole Premier League run-out as a second-half substitute against Ipswich Town during the 00/01 season, following two appearances in the League Cup. Healy€™s career is interesting as he has proven that he is not Premier League standard - 5 goals in 43 appearances for Fulham and Sunderland - but for a period of five years or so, he consistently terrorised some of the world€™s top defenders and goalkeepers. When Healy pulled on that Northern Ireland shirt, he became a different animal, transforming into one of the most potent strikers on the international stage. The former Bury striker is the most capped outfield Northern Irish player of all time with 95 appearances, and 36 goals to back up his contributions. Considering the Europeans minnows are expected to lose almost every game they contest, that is an absolutely astonishing conversion rate. In September 2005, he sealed an emotional victory over the English with the winning goal in a 1-0 victory at Windsor Park - the first win over England in 33 years. Arguably his finest hour in football arrived a year later when he fired a sensational hat-trick past Iker Casillas to give Northern Ireland a famous 3-2 win - it would be the last time Spain lost a qualification game for eight years. Healy finished the UEFA Euro 2008 Championship qualification campaign with thirteen strikes in eleven games - surpassing Croat Davor Suker as the highest-ever goalscorer in a UEFA European Championship qualifying campaign, and becoming the first Northern Ireland footballer to break a record.

''David Healy۪s record goes down in history and he beat a world-class striker in Davor Suker to do so. The outstanding performance of David in the qualifying competition of the European Championship and his goal tally of 13 goals is a new record and deserves to be recognised. This is why I will be presenting him with a special award to celebrate his fantastic achievement.۪۪ - UEFA president Michel Platini, November 2007.