Roy Keane Biography
Roy
Keane Biography – Introduction
For Ireland, Roy Keane is what Eusebio is for
Portugal, Hagi for Romania or Beckenbauer for Germany: a legendary
player for whom there is no second thought regarding whether or not he
is or isn't the best all time player of that country. But it's really
hard to say who loves Roy Keane more: Ireland fans
or Manchester United fans.
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Since he played for Manchester
for no less than 12 seasons and was there at most of the club's biggest
successes (captaining the team for several seasons even), he earned an
idol's aura on Old Trafford.
But I'm sorry, I'm rushing a
bit and this Roy Keane biography is about his entire career, not only
his time with Manchester (although his career IS Manchester for the
most part). So let's take a look at how this poor Irish kid
managed to climb up the success stair and get to the top.
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Roy
Keane Biography – Youth Years
Born in a suburb of Cork, Roy Keane
first
started playing soccer on the street at a very young age. Coming from a
family that loved and valued sports and soccer especially, he was taken
to local club Rockmount AFC's youth squad at age 8, where he had his
first meeting with the grass he would play in for the next 30ish years.
After playing for 10
seasons for Rockmount AFC's different youth squads, his
biggest break came when he participated in a Dublin youth cup, where
English clubs would often send their scouts to find future talents.
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One of these scouts was from Premiership team Nottingham Forest, where Roy Keane would be coached by one of his early mentors Brian Clough. It was Clough that helped him through the hard times of being away from his family for long durations and it was Clough that introduced Keane to the tough soccer played in England.
I loved reading Keane's
memories and this quote over what Clough thought him remained in my
mind: "Clough's advice to me before a game was: you get the ball and
pass it to another player in a red shirt. That's really all I tried to
do at both Nottingham Forest and Manchester United – pass
and move – and I made a career out of it". Little
did he know at that time that the red shirts from Forest will soon be
traded for other red shirts, at Manchester United.
Roy Keane
Biography
– Manchester United
In 1993, when Manchester United
bought Roy
Keane, he had a great opportunity that few soccer players have: playing
alongside his childhood hero, Bryan Robson. Unfortunately, Bryan
Robson's position in the team meant that Keane wouldn't be able to play
regularly, as the defensive midfielder spot was
taken by his idol.
But Robson was close to
retirement and coped with a series of injuries, he was forced to slowly
give more room for Keane, as the young Irish midfielder gained more and
more confidence and experience.
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Eventually, not only did Keane
get a guaranteed first team spot, but he also became one of
Manchester's strong points. In 1997, he was even given the chance to be
captain for the Old Trafford side and he never let this captain
band off his arms until 2005, when he decided to move to
Celtic Glasgow, closer to home, where he hopes to end his career.
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