United’s youth team set-up is legendary (Image: Getty)
As the Manchester derby approaches this Saturday, supporters are remembering a select few players who wore both United and City colors. A former Manchester United academy product alongside the likes of David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and the Neville brothers, Terry Cook went on to become a star at City.
Cook, now 49, admitted he felt on top of the world when he first took to the pitch as a senior United player in 1995. He and his fellow Class of ’92 graduates were touted like rock stars, some already boasting big trophies under Sir Alex Ferguson. However, Cook’s career path was very different, with repeated loan spells limiting him to just seven first-team appearances.
His spell at Old Trafford ended when he signed for City in 1999, coinciding with his former team-mate’s historic treble. Cook enjoyed further success with the City Blues, making 38 appearances and helping the club return to England’s second division in 1999.
It was a sobering thought given that his academy mates enjoyed victories at his childhood club, leading to a series of “very frustrating” near misses over the years.
Looking back on his debut match, he said: “After my debut I thought that was it, I was done. Then I didn’t play the next week. I was in the team and played a few more games and then I went on loan to Sunderland.”
Former United player suffered injury at Old Trafford (Image: Getty)
“I played on two teams that won championships in the same season, but never won a medal. That summed up my career. It was very frustrating.”
Ultimately, lingering injuries played a pivotal role in Cook’s decline. Just when momentum was building and Ferguson was poised to make a breakthrough, the winger suffered a serious injury during a preliminary game against Sheffield Wednesday, tearing his anterior cruciate ligament.
In retrospect, it is remarkable that Cook was able to revive his career at the highest level. He was ultimately signed on Wednesday, playing against Beckham, who had his most notable success with Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids and joined the LA Galaxy.
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“I was told I would never play again,” he said of 2020 when discussing his loan spell at Maine Road. “I went to Wrexham for a month because I had been out for 12 months and wanted to get back on my feet.
“I did OK, but my best game was against City on Boxing Day in 1998, even though we lost 1-0. Joe Royle must have realized that my loan period was coming to an end and City didn’t have a full-fledged right-winger at the time, so I think in a way I was the missing piece.
“Joe inquired about taking me on loan. I could have stayed at United and been part of the team that toured Europe, but I was a young kid and wanted to play football. I came to Maine Road and played in front of packed houses every week, even in the second division, and the rest was history.”
