Giuliano Maiorana

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Giuliano Maiorana
Personal information
Date of birth (1969-04-18) 18 April 1969 (age 55)
Place of birth Cambridge, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Position(s) Left winger
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1988 Histon
1988–1994 Manchester United 7 (0)
1995 Ljungskile SK 5 (0)
Newmarket Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Giuliano Maiorana (born 18 April 1969), commonly known as Jules Maiorana, is a former professional footballer who played as a left winger.[1] Born in England to Italian parents, Maiorana was spotted and signed by Manchester United while he was playing for Histon in the semi-professional Eastern Counties Football League.

Career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Maiorana was born in Cambridge, England, to Italian parents.[2][3] In 1987, he had been playing Sunday League football before signing for Eastern Counties League club Histon, after they spotted him during a local five-a-side that was taking place at their home ground.[3]

Manchester United[edit]

After around 30 games for Histon's first team,[4] and having previously been turned down by Cambridge United, Brentford and Norwich City,[5] he was invited for a trial for Manchester United in November 1988. He played the first half of a testimonial match for Ian Handysides of Birmingham City, producing a performance described by Alex Ferguson as "one of the best displays I have ever seen from a trialist",[3] and signed a four-year contract with United for a fee of £30,000, amid interest from other clubs including Chelsea, Watford, and Tottenham Hotspur.[6] The fee saved Histon, who were £23,000 in debt and at risk of bankruptcy.[4]

Maiorana made his debut on 14 January 1989 as a substitute against Millwall in the First Division,[7] and came to prominence with an exciting display on his first start, in a live televised 1–1 draw with Arsenal (who finished the season as league champions) at Old Trafford that April.[8] Maiorana only started one more game, and made his last two substitute appearances in October 1989.[9] Near the end of 1989, he was sent to reserves,[10] where he suffered a serious knee injury in a match against the Aston Villa reserves after being tackled by Dwight Yorke.[11][12][13] After his injury, he remained with the reserves, but was unable to leave the club due to the Bosman ruling not being created yet.[14] He was finally able to leave on a free transfer at the end of the 1993–94 season.[4][15]

Late career[edit]

After leaving United, Maiorana had a brief spell with Ljungskile SK, where he made five appearances, of which four were as a substitute, in the Swedish second-tier Division 1.[16] He then returned home to work in his family's upholstery business,[4] and played for Newmarket Town in the Eastern Counties League Premier Division.[17]

In 2008 and 2009, Maiorana played for Manchester United's Masters Football team in the North West Masters Cup.[18][19]

Career statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[9][16]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester United 1988–89 First Division 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
1989–90 First Division 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
Total 7 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 8 0
Ljungskile SK 1995 Division 1 5 0 0 0 — 0 0 5 0
Career Total 12 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 13 0

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Rollin, Jack, ed. (1990). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1990–91 (21st ed.). Queen Anne Press. p. 353. ISBN 0-356-17911-7.
  2. ^ Tanza, Kevin (18 August 2016). "Entrevista: Giuliano Maiorana, exjugador del Manchester United" [Interview: Former Manchester United player, Giuliano Maiorana]. La Seledad del Nueve (in Spanish).
  3. ^ a b c Ferguson, Alex (11 December 1988). "Gems From The Deep". New Straits Times. p. 22. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d "Maiorana – It was 20 years ago today Giuliano kept bank at bay". Cambridge News. 28 November 2008. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012.
  5. ^ Garvey, Michael (11 December 2013). "The Story of Giuliano Maiorana". Pitchside.
  6. ^ Pilger, Sam (15 September 2016). "From Nowhere to Dreamland and Back Again". Bleacher Report.
  7. ^ Godley, Will (8 December 2014). "Interview – Giuliano Maiorana says Sir Alex Ferguson sabotaged his Career". Sportzwiki.
  8. ^ Street, Tim (27 November 2018). "From Manchester United starlet to Cambridge upholsterer – the tale of Giuliano Maiorana". Cambridge News.
  9. ^ a b "Giuliano "Jules" Maiorana". MUFC Info.
  10. ^ Cola, Simone (9 January 2016). "Il volo spezzato di Giuliano Maiorana" [The Broken Flight of Giuliano Maiorana]. L'Uomo Nel Pallone (in Italian).
  11. ^ Herbert, Ian (14 April 2014). "Maiorana's brush with Fergie and fame sums up football's fickle nature". Irish Independent.
  12. ^ Kelly, Ciaran (12 September 2018). "Meet the trialist who stunned Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson". Manchester Evening News.
  13. ^ Brooker, Kane (4 August 2015). "Giuliano Maiorana: I went to play football, not join the army". Read Man Utd.
  14. ^ Baldi, Ryan (13 October 2016). "Interview, Giuliano Maiorana". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
  15. ^ Williams, Richard (24 January 1993). "The heirs to a magnificent dream". The Independent. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
  16. ^ a b "Giuiliano Maiorana" (in Swedish). Ljungskile SK. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
  17. ^ Brooker, Kane (5 June 2015). "Giuliano Maiorana: Seven Games, Dwight Yorke and Italianate Styles". Read Man Utd.
  18. ^ "Masters Cup Manchester 2008". Masters Football. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008.
  19. ^ "Masters Cup Manchester 2009". Masters Football. Archived from the original on 16 March 2010.
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