Roy Keane

For American college coach Roy Keene, see Spec Keene.

Roy Keane
Keane in 2014
Personal information
Full name Roy Maurice Keane
Date of birth (1971-08-10) 10 August 1971 (age 53)[1]
Place of birth Cork, Ireland
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1981–1989 Rockmount[3]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1990 Cobh Ramblers 23 (1)
1990–1993 Nottingham Forest 114 (22)
1993–2005 Manchester United 326 (33)
2005–2006 Celtic 10 (1)
Total 473 (57)
International career
1991 Republic of Ireland U21 4 (0)
1991–2005 Republic of Ireland 67 (9)
Managerial career
2006–2008 Sunderland
2009–2011 Ipswich Town
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, former coach, and former professional player. He is the joint most decorated Irish footballer of all time alongside Denis Irwin and Ronnie Whelan, having won 19 major trophies in his club career, 17 of which came during his time at English club Manchester United.[4] Regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation, he was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004.[5]

In his 18-year playing career, Keane played for Cobh Ramblers, Nottingham Forest, and Manchester United before ending his career at Celtic. He was a dominating box-to-box 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. Keane helped United achieve sustained success during his 12 years at the club, his honours including seven Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the UEFA Champions League. He then signed for Celtic, where he won the Scottish Premier League and Scottish League Cup before he retired as a player in 2006.

Keane played at the international level for the Republic of Ireland over 14 years, most of which he spent as captain. At the 1994 FIFA World Cup, he played in every Republic of Ireland game. He was sent home from the 2002 FIFA World Cup after a dispute with national coach Mick McCarthy over the team's training facilities.

Keane began his management career at 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.[6] He resigned in December 2008,[7] and from April 2009 to January 2011, he was manager of Championship club Ipswich Town.[8] In November 2013, he was appointed assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland national team by manager Martin O'Neill, a role he held until 2018.[9] He would also have short assistant manager spells at Aston Villa in 2014 and Nottingham Forest in 2019. Keane has also worked as a studio analyst for British channels ITV's and Sky Sports football coverage. He was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame in 2021.[10]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hugman2006–07 228 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Roy Keane: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Roy Keane: When it all started for Roy". rockmountfc.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  4. ^ "Most Decorated Footballers : Ireland : Honours : Trophies". soccer-ireland.com.
  5. ^ "Pele's list of the greatest". BBC Sport. 4 March 2004. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  6. ^ James, Stuart (5 March 2007). "A jolt of T&T sets Sunderland dancing to promotion tune". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  7. ^ "Keane and Sunderland part company". BBC Sport. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
  8. ^ "Roy Keane sacked as Ipswich manager". BBC Sport. 7 January 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
  9. ^ "Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane leave Ireland jobs by mutual agreement". RTE. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference PLHall was invoked but never defined (see the help page).