Why we absolutely LOVE the "Super Roy Keane"

“Patrick Vieira is 6 foot 4, and he starts having a go at Gary Neville, so I said come and have a go at me. Simple as that. He’s trying to intimidate MY players and I’m not having it.”

Find me one “leader” in today’s football world who would come out in the Press to give an interview like this and I swear to God I will

Outstanding player, Inspirational captain.. There's only ONE Keano..!!

stop worshipping this man, Keano. Aggressiveness used to be his best attribute during the playing days. And it wasn’t the aggressiveness that today’s footballers (read Sczcesny) try to flaunt by posting revolting “tweets”. Keano’s interviews used to take place on the pitch and his feet used to give reply to almost every question the opposite team member threw at him. His specialty…? Umm!! One footed, two footed, aerial and any other possible tackle you could think of…!

Let’s take a look at few of Keano’s classic moments on and off the pitch:

1. Roy Keane vs. Alf Inge Haaland:

Haaland questions Keano's integrity…!

Keane never forgets a tackle. And no one knows it better than Alf Haaland.

The Keane-Haaland rivalry began in 1997 when United were visiting Leeds and were 1-0 down with 5 minutes left in the match. Keane, frustrated by Haaland’s “niggly stuff, shirt pulling, obstruction, bit of chat” (as described in his autobiography), decided to have a go at Haaland. He kicked out at Haaland with his right foot. Not having caused enough damage, Keane brought his left foot into the challenge too but instead of causing damage to Haaland, ended up causing an injury to his own ligament. As an injured Keane lay prone on the

Keane replies gladly…!

Elland Road turf, Haaland came and stood over him telling him to get up and stop faking injury.

The two met each other again in a Manchester Derby – 3 and half years later. Keane, with vengeance in mind, went in with a rash tackle. The tackle effectively ended Haaland’s career as he was not able to play a full professional match again and eventually retired in 2003. Keane’s action earned him a three match ban along with a fine of £5,000. Keane never expressed any remorse for his action. In his autobiography, Keane went on to say,

“I’d waited almost 180 minutes for Alfie, three years if you look at it another way. Now he had the ball on the far touchline. Alfie was taking the piss. I’d waited long enough. I f**king hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you c**t. And don’t ever stand over me again sneering about fake injuries.”

2. Roy Keane vs. Patrick Vieira

The rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester United was at its peak during the Keane-Vieira era. The matches between the two teams were contested closely and watched keenly all over the world. The two captains were never shy of going into a tackle and their frequent exchanges in the midfield took the tempo of the game a notch up.

Keane-Vieira – the golden days of United-Arsenal rivalry!

However, their most notable incident took place off-the-field. Before the match in 2005 at Highbury, Vieira was seen confronting Gary Neville in the tunnel. Keane had to intervene and the Irishman verbally confronted Vieira. In the process, Keane was caught on camera asking the referee to “Tell him [Vieira] to shut his f**king mouth.” The incident was shown live on Sky Sports. After the match, Keane went on to question Vieira’s decision to play for France even though his birth place was Senegal. Keane was reportedly quoted as saying, “It makes me laugh, players going on about how they are saving this country and saving that country but when they have the opportunity to play…well, it’s probably none of my business.” Vieira was quick to respond and pointed out that Keane should stay out of this given that he had once walked out of his national team. “He [Keane] does not know my background and I do not want him to make a comment like that because he is not in a good position to say something like that. He walked away from his national team when they really needed him.”

Despite the anger during their playing days Viera later revealed that Roy Keane was the best player he ever faced and said: “He is really tough, really strong, but he was fair”.

3. Roy Keane vs. Alan Shearer

The Newcastle legend was considered as one of the toughest strikers to play against during his time in the league. Shearer was counted amongst the “cool-headed” players. However, in a closely contested match at St.James’ in September 2001, the Toon hero lost his head and called Keane a “p**ck”. Keane didn’t react well and tried to deck the striker, resulting in another red card. It took 5 Manchester United players to stop Keane from launching an attack at Shearer (the referee had mysteriously disappeared after showing the red).

4. Roy Keane vs. Gareth Southgate

Most of us remember the 1995 FA Cup semi-final between United and Crystal Palace for King Cantona’s infamous “karate-kick” at a Palace supporter. The match ended in a 2-2 draw. However, the result of the match was overshadowed by the news of a Crystal follower who was killed in a clash with United supporters. The replay was played three days later and despite Sir Alex’s warning “be careful, behave yourself, don’t get involved”, Keane got involved. Gareth Southgate caught Keane with a challenge on his ankle which had been hurt in the first half. Keane responded and stamped Southgate twice before earning the first of his many red cards for United.

5. Roy Keane vs. Manchester United fans

Even his own fans were not spared of his wrath. Criticizing the atmosphere at Old Trafford during the Champions League clash against Dynamo Kiev in 2000, Keane said,

“We’re 1-0 up, then there are one or two stray passes and they’re getting on players’ backs. It’s just not on. At the end of the day they need to get behind the team. Away from home our fans are fantastic, I’d call them the hardcore fans. But at home, they have a few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches, and they don’t realize what’s going on out on the pitch. I don’t think some of the people who come to Old Trafford can spell ‘football’, never mind understand it.”

His term ‘prawn sandwich brigade’ has now become a part of the English football vocabulary, referring to people who claim to be fans of football because it is fashionable.

6. Roy Keane vs. Rio Ferdinand

This was his last rant at Manchester United and the one that is considered responsible for him leaving United. Not content with the performance of his teammates (esp. Rio Ferdinand), Keane in an interview to club’s channel MUTV said,

“Just because you are paid £120,000-a-week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham, you think you are a superstar. The younger players have been let down by some of the more experienced players. They are just not leading. There is a shortage of characters in this team. It seems to be in this club that you have to play badly to be rewarded. Maybe that is what I should do when I come back. Play badly.”

The interview was considered “explosive” by many who were present on the set. The video never went on-air on Sir Alex’s insistence and Keane subsequently left United for Celtic.

The other side of the TORMENTOR!!

Despite all his outbursts, Keane is still considered as the best United captain ever and is respected by people all over the globe. Keane took part in a testimonial United-Celtic match before leaving. A capacity crowd of 69,591 gathered to bid farewell to Roy Keane who played as a Celtic player for the first half and a ManUtd player for the second half of the match. All the revenue generated from this match was donated to Keane’s favorite charity, Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

Love him or Hate him, but you gotta admit: There’s ONLY ONE KEANO!!