Featured Image Credit: Champions League
Topics: Football, Roy Keane, Manchester United
Nasir Jabbar
Roy Keane inspired a heroic fightback against Juventus in a performance that will go down as one of the greatest individual Manchester United displays.
It was a night that the Man United captain became a legend. He helped his side reach the Champions League final back in 1999 after producing a masterclass in midfield.
With the tie evenly balanced at 1-1, the Red Devils headed to Turin to face a team that included the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Edgar Davids and Didier Deschamps.
But they were no match for the Irishman who carried his team in his finest hour for the club.
He ran the show in the engine room of the pitch, breaking up play and orchestrating attacks - even scoring with a bullet header.
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Despite picking up a yellow card that would rule him out of the final, Keane selflessly persevered as Man United came from behind to beat Juve 3-2.
Sir Alex Ferguson lavished huge praise on Keane, saying: "I did not think I could have a higher opinion of any footballer than I already had of the Irishman but he rose even further in my estimation at the Stadio Delle Alpi.
"The minute he was booked and out of the final, he seemed to redouble his efforts to get the team there.
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"It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen on a football field.
"Pounding over every blade of grass, competing as if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose, he inspired all around him.
"I felt it was an honour to be associated with such a player."
In typical no-nonsense fashion, though, Keane brushed off his compliment and said it offends him.
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"Stuff like that almost insults me," he explained. "I get offended when people give quotes like that about me. It's like praising the postman for delivering letters."
A captain's performance that epitomised the word 'leader' during his legendary outing.