Profile
Roy Keane came from Cobh Ramblers via Nottingham Forest and became the most forceful captain of Ferguson's dominant years. He was not merely an enforcer. At his best he was a complete central midfielder: aggressive in duels, clean in possession, tactically alert and emotionally intolerant of drift.
Keane replaced Bryan Robson as the symbolic engine of United, but his football was sharper than the caricature. He could press, tackle and intimidate, yet he also circulated the ball quickly and gave Scholes, Giggs, Beckham and the forwards a platform. His finest games were often built on tempo rather than violence: winning the ball, moving it, demanding the next action.
The 1999 Champions League semi-final second leg against Juventus remains the shorthand for his leadership. Booked and suspended for the final, he still drove United back into the tie with a performance that mixed goal threat, control and refusal. That match explains why teammates and supporters saw him as more than a captain wearing an armband.
The same severity caused damage. His career included disciplinary flashpoints, a serious hip injury, public criticism of standards and a bitter 2005 departure before a short spell at Celtic. The controversies are real, but so is the football truth: United's most ruthless era needed a midfielder who made excellence feel non-negotiable.