Steve Bruce is one of the best Manchester United players to have never played on the international stage.
After a £825,000 transfer from Norwich City, Steve Bruce joined Manchester United before going on to make 414 appearances.
The defender scored a remarkable 51 goals across all competitions, after finishing as the club’s joint-top scorer in the 1990/91 season with 19 goals.
Bruce developed a formidable central defensive partnership with Gary Pallister. This partnership helped lay the foundation for United’s first era of sustained success under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Instrumental in Ferguson’s back four, Bruce won three Premier League titles, three FA Cups, the European Cup Winners’ Cup and League Cup.
Bruce also enjoyed a long career as a manager, leading an array of clubs, including Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic, Sunderland, Hull City, Aston Villa and Newcastle.
The 64-year-old is currently out of work after losing his job at Blackpool.
Steve Bruce snubbed 1994 World Cup dream
Despite being one of the best defenders in England during the 1990s, Bruce never made a senior cap for the Three Lions.
The centre-back represented England at the under-18 level, but never on the senior stage.
It benefited United because it meant Bruce would be available and focused on his club rather than country.
Bruce has since revealed he was approached by Jack Charlton to help the Republic of Ireland ahead of the 1994 World Cup. He was eligible due to having an Irish mother.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Bruce said: “The one question that everybody asks me is, do you have any regrets that you never played [for England]? And I never had the opportunity I don’t think, I didn’t even get in the squad.
“So it didn’t really happen for me, but I was closer to playing for Ireland than I was England because I got the phone call.
“My mum’s Irish and I got a phone call from Jack Charlton and he said along the lines, ‘I’ve just bumped into your mother’s next door neighbour on a train to London and (she) tells me that your mother’s Irish’. This is Jack talking to me.
“I said, ‘Jack, that’s absolutely true’. ‘Why haven’t you bloody told me before now?’ I said, ‘well, that’s not really a thing I shout about’.
“He said, ‘listen, we’ve got a problem with centre-backs. We’ve got one or two injuries. We’ve got the USA 94 coming up. Would you be interested?’ I says, ‘Jack, I’d jump at the chance’.
“I was 34 at the time and still going okay. And of course, to go and play in America and USA 94, I thought how fantastic that would be. So I said yes to him straight away.”
Bruce knew he’d have to speak to then-United manager Ferguson. At the time, he would have been counted as a foreign player for squad registrations if he switched to Ireland. In Europe, United could field just three foreign players, and they had several who would miss out on certain fixtures.
He added: “Of course, the next day I had to go and tell Sir Alex and back in them days, (I would have) became a foreign player.
“So I was going up the stairs to go and see the boss and tell him the news. And he quite rightly shot me down. He said, ‘listen, Steve, you cannot, cannot become a foreign player. Otherwise, you’re not gonna be part of the squad going forward.’
“If you remember when we played in the Champions League (in) them days, we had to leave out (Eric) Cantona and (Peter) Schmeichel. Barcelona, biggest night of our life.
“We’ll get smashed because we couldn’t pick the same team. Couldn’t have the team because of the foreign rule. So as quickly as it came along, it dissolved.”
Although Bruce turned down the opportunity to play for Ireland in the USA, he still travelled to the World Cup that summer and proceeded to follow Ireland with his son Alex.
Ireland would reach the last 16 of the World Cup.
Bruce said: “I was absolutely gutted, so much so I went to the USA. I went to New York.
“I took my son Alex at the time, who was 12, 13, 14, something like that. And then we went down to Florida to watch them there. So we followed the Irish in USA 94.”
Steve Bruce turned down England call-up two years later
In 1996, Bruce received a call-up to the England squad for a friendly against Nigeria at Wembley.
United legend Bryan Robson was assistant manager to Terry Venables, but Bruce didn’t want a sympathy cap after being overlooked for so many years by the Three Lions.
“Bryan Robson became the assistant to Terry Venable and they rang me when I was 35, 36 to say ‘there’s a friendly against Nigeria (at) Wembley, we’d like to include you.’
“And I said ‘listen, Brian, in no disrespect, but I don’t want a sympathy vote.’
“I would have loved to have had an England cap, (just) one even, but I turned that one down.”
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