Robbo’s exit left a hole in midfield. But as Paddy Crerand explains, that commitment, energy and ferocity was quickly replaced…
What can you say about Roy Keane? What a captain and what a player for Manchester United. Not only did he have great technical ability, he also had an unbelievable will to win. His mental attitude to the game was incredible – he was completely fixated on winning matches, and that got through to everyone else and had a positive effect on the team.
I still remember when we signed him, in the summer of 1993. It was a record fee at the time and I know a lot of United supporters were excited by his arrival, but you couldn’t have imagined the impact he was going to have. Not long after he joined I was in Dublin at a Football Hall of Fame event with Sir Alex, and he introduced me to Roy’s family who were in our hotel. They were all huge United fans, particularly his father Maurice, and I got to know them very well after that.
Roy became a fans’ favourite almost immediately, after scoring twice on his home debut against Sheffield United, and even early on in his United career he looked like real captain material. He eventually took the armband after Eric Cantona’s retirement in 1997, and went on to become one of the club’s greatest ever leaders. He sweated blood for the club, never more so than in the Champions League semi-final second leg, away at Juventus, in April 1999.
Roy played so many magnificent games for the club, but that night will always stand out as his best – it’s an iconic moment in United’s history. Juve went 2-0 up in the first 10 minutes, but Roy dragged us back into it. Not only did he score our first goal with a fine header, he went on a one-man mission to get us to the final even though he knew he’d be suspended. It was an unbelievable performance.
As well as being an inspirational leader, Roy was also a brave and courageous captain who would stick up for his team-mates no matter what. His midfield battles with Patrick Vieira were fantastic to watch, and I’ll never forget his confrontation with the Arsenal skipper in the tunnel before a game at Highbury when Roy stuck up for Gary Neville. I think he frightened the life out of Vieira!
I would put Roy alongside Cantona and Bryan Robson as the most influential players during Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign: he will definitely go down in the club’s history as one of its greatest ever servants.
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