FOLLOWING his transfer from Nottingham Forest at the end of the 1992-93 season, Roy Keane would start from scratch as a Manchester United player.
Among his new team mates would be another Corkman and fellow Irish international Denis Irwin. He had been signed from Oldham Athletic in 1990 for £625,000, having moved from Leeds on a free transfer in 1986.
And despite all the hot shots at United, such as Giggs, Scholes, Beckham and Ince, Irwin was the no 1 penalty taker.
With England internationals Paul Ince and Bryan Robson commanding midfield, and United having won the league the previous season, it would be no walk-in for Keane. However, with Robson (now 36 and injury prone, which left him missing the start of the season) Keane took his place and scored twice in a debut win over Sheffield United.
In all competitions that season, he played 54 matches and scored eight goals, helping United retain their title with eight points to spare over Blackburn. The Red Devils also won the FA Cup, beating Chelsea 4-0, with goals from Eric Cantona (two penalties), Mark Hughes and Brian McClair. They had already won the Charity Shield at the start of the season, beating Arsenal 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw - Mark Hughes scoring for United.
This meant that Keane had won three medals in his first season at the club. In the Champions League, they beat Kispest Honved 2-3 away and 1-2 at home in the first round, but lost out to Galatasaray of Turkey in the second.
The following season was not as good for United. Blackburn took their league title on 19 May, while Everton beat them 1-0 in the FA Cup final, when Paul Rideout headed a 20th minute winner. They failed to come out of their group in the Champions League, finishing third behind IFK Goteborg and Barcelona.
David Beckham, Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes were brought into the side at the beginning of the ’95-96 season and, despite giving Newcastle a 12-point lead at Christmas, United still won the title by four at the end, then added the FA Cup, beating Liverpool 1-0 with a goal by Eric Cantona in the 85th minute. The group stages saw the end of their Champions League ambitions.
The ’96-97 season was frustrating for Keane, between a troublesome knee injury and suspension, he missed a lot of games, including the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Borrusia Dortmond at home which United lost 1-0, a repeat of their away leg result. They did manage to win the league again, this time by seven points from Newcastle.
With Eric Cantona’s retirement, Keane was appointed captain in the ’97-98 campaign. His season was cut short when he damaged a cruciate ligament in an over-the-top tackle on Alf-Inge Haaland of Leeds United, an injury that was to end his season after just nine games, and would have wider repercussions over the years. United blew an 11-point lead, as Arsenal pipped them by one.
Keane’s return for ’98-99 proved to be the dynamic which drove the club to a magnificent treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, with probably the best game of his career being in the away leg against Juventus in the semi-final.
This would be the second Italian side to fall to United. They beat Inter Milan 2-0 at home and drew 1-1 at the San Siro in the quarter- final. Drawing the home leg 1-1 to Juventus (the goal coming from Ryan Giggs) meant United needed at least a 2-2 draw or a win in Italy, something they had never achieved. Two goals for Juventus in the first 11 minutes, both scored by Inzaghi, left the home side in command. And where many would have given up, not so Roy Keane. He covered every inch of grass as he relentlessly drove United forward in a one-man show which will never be forgotten. He headed in Beckham’s corner, Dwight York got a second just before half-time, and United were ahead in the tie for the first time, and when Andy Cole added the third on 84 minutes for a final score of 3-2, history was created.
The downside to this victory was Keane picking up a yellow card, which meant he missed the final, which United won 2-1 over Bayern Munich. The Premier League was won by one point over Arsenal, while the Cup Final resulted in a 2-0 victory over Newcastle.
Roy was voted player of the year in 2000 by the PFA players, and also won the football writers’ award, while leading United to their sixth league title in eight years.
The final years of Keane’s stay at Manchester United were strained, as he had differences with supporters and teammates, and eventually management. He was also having trouble with his hip, which led to surgery, and finally, he left by mutual consent on 18 November 2005.
In all, he captained United to a record nine major trophies, played in seven cup finals, also a record, and collected 13 red cards in his career, a final record.
He is part of Victor Li’s greatest Alex Ferguson team, and was inducted into the English football Hall of Fame in 2004. He was the only Irish player in the FIFA 100 which was selected by Pelé.
He signed for Celtic in December 2005, and helped them win the league and cup double, his last honours in football as a player. He announced his retirement in June 2006. He was awarded a testimonial, which took place at Old Trafford between United and Celtic on 9 May 2006 in front of 69,500 spectators, and donated the proceeds to Guide Dogs for the Blind.
On the international front, he earned 66 caps and scored nine goals. He was Irish player of tournament at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, but felt Ireland should have done better.
In the qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup, Keane was inspirational in securing Ireland’s place in Japan and Korea. Unfortunately, he would not grace the finals, due to the Saipan incident.
To say Roy was unhappy with the standard of preparation and the quality of Ireland’s training camp on the island would be putting it mildly. A training ground dispute with Packie Bonner and Alan Kelly led to Keane stating, due to the fact he was dissatisfied with Ireland’s preparation, he was quitting and returning to Manchester.
As no flight was available that evening, Keane had to stay, and next morning Mick McCarthy persuaded him not to leave. Keane, however, gave an interview to Tom Humphries of the Irish Times in which he expressed his unhappiness with the whole set up, listing the events that caused him to leave the training camp in the first place.
McCarthy was livid, and confronted Keane in front of the other members of the squad and the coaching staff. Keane stuck to his guns, stating he had spoken the truth, and fans had a right to know what was happening. He then lashed out verbally at McCarthy, most of which I will omit as unsuitable, but did it include: “Mick, you’re a liar, I never rated you as a player, I don’t rate you as a manager, I don’t rate you as a person, you can stick your World Cup. The only reason I have any dealings with you is because somehow you are the manager of my country.” The tirade went on for up to ten minutes, after which McCarthy dismissed him from the squad and sent him home.
When Brian Kerr replaced McCarthy as manager, he invited Roy back into the squad, an invitation which was accepted. He played the Euro 2004 qualifiers, but when Ireland failed to qualify, Roy Keane announced his retirement from international football.