Gary Bailey

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Gary Bailey
Personal information
Full name Gary Richard Bailey
Date of birth 9 August 1958 (1958-08-09) (age 49)
Place of birth    Ipswich, England
Playing position Goalkeeper
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1975-1978
1978-1987
1988-90
Wits University
Manchester United
Kaizer Chiefs

294 (0)   
National team
1985 England 2 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Gary Richard Bailey (born 9 August 1958 in Ipswich, England) was an English football player, and the son of former Ipswich Town goalkeeper Roy Bailey. Gary Bailey was also a goalkeeper.

He grew up in South Africa and started his career with Wits University Football Club in Johannesburg. In the late 1970s Bailey paid his own fare to Manchester for a trial with Manchester United. He was a goalkeeper who could make amazing saves, but whose weakness on crosses earned him the nickname "Dracula".

He established himself as United goalkeeper in the late 1970s following the retirement of Alex Stepney, but in one of his first crucial games he missed a cross in the 1979 FA Cup final, allowing Alan Sunderland to score the winning goal for Arsenal with just seconds remaining. Despite this, he was considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in England in the early to mid 1980s.

He represented the national team twice at senior level, but was unable to establish himself in the first eleven due to the form of the more experienced Peter Shilton.

United were one of the top sides in England while Bailey played for them, and won FA Cup medals with them in 1983 and 1985.

However, he developed a serious knee injury during training at the 1986 World Cup and missed most of the 1986-87 season, after which he retired and returned to South Africa where he subsequently resumed his career with Kaizer Chiefs, before giving up playing completely in 1990. [1]. Gary is now a football presenter for Supersport Premier League coverage in South Africa. He was an ambassador in South Africa's (successful) bid to host the 2010 Soccer World Cup and does motivational speaking centered around increasing the benefits of that event.

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Persondata
NAME Bailey, Gary
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bailey, Gary Richard
SHORT DESCRIPTION Footballer
DATE OF BIRTH August 9, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Ipswich, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH