https://www.facebook.com/classicfootballtv
Roy
Maurice Keane (born 10
August 1971) is an
Irish football manager and former professional football player. He is the joint most successful
Irish footballer of all time, having won 19 major trophies, 17 of which came at
Manchester United, in his club career.
In his 18-year-long playing career, he played for
Cobh Ramblers,
Nottingham Forest, and Manchester United, before ending his career at
Celtic.
Keane was a dominating defensive midfielder, noted for his aggressive and highly competitive style of play, an attitude that helped him excel as captain of Manchester United from
1997 until his departure in
2005. Joining the club in
1993, Keane helped
United achieve a sustained period of success during his twelve year tenure at the club. He then signed for Celtic but retired as a player less than a year later.
Keane played at international level for much of his career, representing the
Republic of Ireland over a period of 14 years, most of which he spent as captain. He played in every Republic of Ireland game at the
1994 FIFA World Cup, although he was sent home from the
2002 World Cup after an incident with national coach
Mick McCarthy. Regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders of his generation, in 2004 Keane was named by
Pelé in the
FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players. In
2007,
The Times placed him at number 11 in their list of the 50 hardest footballers in history.
He was appointed manager of
Sunderland shortly after his retirement as a player and took the club from
23rd position in the
Football League Championship, in late August, to win the division title and gain promotion to the
Premier League. Keane's arrival was cited as the key catalyst in Sunderland's recovery. He managed to keep Sunderland from relegation in the 2007–08 season but in his second season as a top-flight manager he left his position with Sunderland in the relegation zone. In
April 2009, he was appointed as manager of
Ipswich Town but was sacked after 20 months in
January 2011 due to the club's position of 19th in the
Championship.
In
November 2013, he was appointed assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland national football team by manager
Martin O'Neill. Keane also served as a studio analyst alongside
Ian Wright,
Lee Dixon and
Gordon Strachan, fellow contemporary footballers of his time, for
ITV's football coverage up until 2014, but has returned to ITV's coverage on occasion since.
- published: 15 Oct 2015
- views: 4284