Gabriel Heinze

Gabriel Heinze is a winger's nightmare. Relentlessly determined and a ruthless hunter of possession, the Argentina international is a firm fans' favourite at Old Trafford.

Born to a German father and an Italian mother, it was little surprise Heinze left his native Argentina for Europe after just eight games with Newell’s Old Boys. The defender joined Real Valladolid in 1997, aged 19, before a loan move to Sporting Lisbon the following year. Another transfer saw Gabby join Paris St Germain, where he caught the eye of United’s scouts.

A £6.9million move to Old Trafford was tied up in June

2004, but Argentina’s participation in the Olympic Games deprived Sir Alex of his new signing for a further three months. Complete with Olympic gold medal, Gabby scored on his debut against Bolton. But his tough-tackling style and infectious determination won more plaudits than his goalscoring prowess. Heinze added bite to United's defence and his fine first season earned him the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award.

Heinze missed the FA Cup final when a knee injury ruled him out of the defeat to Arsenal. However, that was nothing in comparison to the heartbreak he suffered just six games into the 2005/06 campaign. He damaged his knee ligaments against Villarreal and played no further part in the season.

His comeback came for United's Reserves eight months later and Argentina coach Jose Pekerman then named Heinze in his World Cup squad. The plucky defender rewarded Pekerman's faith by turning in four appearances on the way to the quarter finals, where Argentina eventually lost on penalties to Germany.

A summer of football appeared to aggravate his knee injury and Heinze didn't appear for United in the title-winning 2006/07 season until 23 September. Over the next few months, Heinze and

Patrice Evra took part in an absorbing battle for the left-back position. The two continued to trade places until injuries to Gary Neville and Nemanja Vidic saw the pair both start in the FA Cup semi-final. A further injury, this time to Rio Ferdinand, saw Heinze prove the extent of his versatility when he slotted in at centre back.

Come the FA Cup final , Sir Alex was faced with a tough decision: Heinze or Evra? The boss opted for the Argentinian and Heinze went on to make his 38th appearance of what had been another solid season at Old Trafford.