Roy Keane's noteworthy career in quotes

Vieira describing his beautiful rivalry with Keane

"If there was a fight, it would take a long time to beat him and I would end up with a few cuts. I don't think he would give up easily! He's not the kind of person to go halfway. He's either everything or nothing. We had similar qualities as players, We were both determined, we wanted to win, and we were both leaders of our teams. That's why I always loved to play against him. We challenged ourselves, we battled, but we always retained respect for each other."

Roy Keane and Vieira

The world of sports is full of rivalries that fans cherish and very few of the fans would not have enjoyed Keane and Vieira's fights on and off the pitch. Their rivalry emerged out of the clashes between the clubs which at a time were arguably the title deciders.

Both of them were involved in countless fights during their playing days the most famous being the clash inside the Highbury tunnel and there were times when their rivalry even aggravated tension between the clubs. Patrick Vieira's comments highlight the nasty and relentless nature of Keane and how he could not stand anyone going against him or his club.

Ryan Giggs had explained that on the day of the infamous Highbury incident, Vieira had called it on with Gary Neville before the game and had even run into United's changing room to find Gary. It was probably this that provoked Keane to take up a fight as he, being the captain considered it his duty to protect his teammates.

Whatever may have been the case, the fights were just evidence of Keane standing up for his club, his teammates and himself.