Article by: Dineo Modise (Journalist )
Despite 2020 being a challenging year there has been many admirable moments in sports that we have been able to cherish, such as Cape Town-born former Manchester United midfielder Quinton Fortune making yet another major career move in the coaching ranks.
The former Bafana Bafana player with 46 caps, signed with Reading FC as the first team coach in September 2020 working alongside former Portuguese Defender Nuno Gomes as they reinforced Reading’s technical team ahead of the 2020/2021 Championship season, joining Veljko Paunović whom Fortune played with in Spain’s La Liga for Atletico Madrid in the late 1990s.
Fortune’s move to Reading FC follows his exit as assistant coach of the under-23 Manchester United side, which he joined in 2019. Their previous season was a success as Neil Wood and Quinton Fortune guided the under-23 team to promotion in the Premier League 2 Division One. Such an achievement could be the right motivation behind Fortunes’ hopes to take his coaching career to greater heights one day with the ultimate dream of becoming Manchester United’s manager.
His journey with Manchester United however dates to 1999 when he joined United as a player and made 126 appearances in the seven years that he spent there. Fortune returned to Manchester United in 2012 to train with the reserve team as he worked towards his coaching badges, which he obtained in 2013. He has completed his UEFA A Licence and his first step towards his managerial journey before joining United was as the Manager of Cardiff City’s Development Team in 2014. Fortune has become the first South African to coach in England’s second tier league.