Roy Keane, nicknamed ‘Keano’, is a former international player-turned-manager, who was born on August 10, 1971 in Cork, Republic of Ireland. He married Theresa Doyle in 1997, and they have five children namely Shannon, Caragh, Aidan, Leah and Alanna.
Roy Keane succeeded Niall Quinn as the manager of Sunderland football club by signing a three-year deal in 2006. The team was then in the relegation zone and he was quick to act, bringing in a lot of changes, including signing six players on the last day of the August transfer window. He turned the club’s fortune, winning his first two games for it, first against Derby County by 2-1 and the next against Leeds United by 3-0. The club started to move up in the points table and by turn of the year, it found itself in the top-half of the table. Roy Keane was awarded the Manager of the Month award for both February and March 2007. On April 29, 2007, Sunderland secured promotion to the Premier League and a week later, won the Coca-Cola Championship title and Roy Keane rightly earned the Championship Manager of the Year award.
Roy Keane, as a player, came into prominence in the international arena at the 1994 International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup. He played in every single game and was named the best Irish player of the tournament. In the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he had to miss out important matches due to his knee injury. For the Euro 2000 qualifiers, Roy Keane was not only back in the team but also captained the side. Thanks to his outstanding performances, Ireland qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, after remaining undefeated in both home and away games, including those against football giants Portugal and Netherlands. Following Ireland’s failure to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he announced his retirement from international football to extend his club career.
Roy Keane started his career as a youngster with the Rockmount A.F.C in 1979 and in his first season, he was voted the Player of the Year. In 1989, he joined a semi-professional Irish football club Cobh Ramblers, for which he soon started making first-team appearances for both the youth and senior teams. Roy Keane gave a trial for the Nottingham Forest football club after being asked by the club’s scout and impressed the Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough during the trial and won himself a contract worth £47,000 in the summer of 1990.
He played his first game for Nottingham for its Under-21 side during a pre-season tournament in Holland, in which he scored a winning penalty in the final against Haarlem. Roy Keane made his professional debut for the club in the Premier League against Liverpool at the start of the 1990-91 season and scored his first goal in a game against Sheffield United. By 1991, he became a regular first-team player for Nottingham and helped his team reach the finals of both the 1991 Football Association (FA) Cup and 1992 Football League Cup. During Nottingham’s 1992-93 campaign, Roy Keane was voted the Player of the Season by the fans.
At the end of the 1992-93 season, Manchester United signed Roy Keane for £3.75 million, a British record transfer fee then, and he made his home debut for the club, scoring two goals against Manchester City on August 18, 1993. He also helped the club secure its first ever double (Premier League title and FA Cup) in 1994. During the 1995-96 season, Manchester United secured its second double and the following season, it retained its Premier League title. Following Eric Cantona’s retirement, Roy Keane was made captain of the side, and he led the side to a treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League titles during the 1998-99 season. Roy Keane led the team to 9 major honours to become the club’s most successful captain.
In 2004, his contribution to English football was recognised, when his name was included in the English Football Hall of Fame. He is the only Irish player to be picked by Pelé in his ‘FIFA 100’, a list of greatest living footballers. On November 18, 2005, Roy Keane left Manchester United by mutual consent and joined Celtic on December 15, 2005. Manchester United paid tribute for his contribution to the club by conducting a testimonial match against Celtic at Old Trafford on May 9, 2006.
Roy Keane helped Celtic win its Scottish Premier League title and Scottish League Cup double during the 2005-06 season. On June 12, 2006, only six months after joining Celtic, he bid adieu to professional football on medical advice.
