Fabian Barthez of Manchester United as an outfield player in a friendly match in Singapore in 2001

Not sure if the crazy but lovable bald-headed goalie had ever played as an outfield player elsewhere but on 24 July 2001 here in Singapore, Fabian Barthez played as an outfield player for Manchester United Football Club when he came on as a substitute in place of Ruud van Nistelrooy! :) His substitution was greeted with rapturous applause by the crowd at the National Stadium (including me!). We were pleading for him to play striker! Initially, Fabian was going to enter the game as #7, but since Becks was still on the field, he was being asked to change to #14 instead. :) He showed some nice touches after entering the game, but no, we would never have wanted him to play as a striker for us when more serious games came along!