Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish former footballer and manager. In his 18-year playing career, he played for Cobh Ramblers in the League of Ireland, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, before ending his career at Celtic in Scotland.Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of the Premier League era, Keane, a dominating central-midfielder, was noted for his aggressive and highly competitive style of play, an attitude which helped him excel as captain of Manchester United from 1997 until his departure in 2005. Keane helped United achieve a sustained period of success in more than 12 years at the club. He played at international level for much of his career, representing the Republic of Ireland over a period of fourteen years, most of which he spent as captain.
Keane’s time in at Cobh:
As his childhood years passed, he took up temporary jobs involving manual work while waiting for a breakthrough in his football prospects. In 1989, he eventually signed for the semi-professional Irish club Cobh Ramblers after persuasion from Ramblers’ youth team manager Eddie O’Rourke. Keane was one of two Ramblers representatives in the inaugural FAI/FAS scheme in Dublin, and it was through this initiative that he got his first taste of full-time training. His rapid progression into a promising footballer was reflected by the fact that he would regularly turn out for Ramblers’ youth side as well as the actual first team, often playing twice in the same weekend as a result.
Management Career:
During his first season as Sunderland manager, he took the club from twenty-third position in the Football League Championship to win the league and gain promotion to the Premier League. Keane’s arrival was largely attributed as the catalyst for Sunderland’s recovery.
On 23 April 2009, Keane was appointed as the new manager of Ipswich Town FC on a two-year contract. Their form gradually improved throughout the season, but Ipswich drew far too many games to come anywhere near the promotion race and they finished the season in 15th place. Keane was sacked as Ipswich manager on 7 January 2011.
Personal Life:
Keane is married to Theresa Doyle, and they have five children: Shannon, Caragh, Aidan, Leah and Alanna. The couple met when she was a dentist’s assistant and he was playing for Nottingham Forest in 1992. They married in Mayfield, Cork in 1997.
When Keane moved to Manchester United, the family lived in a modern four-bedroom house in Bowdon and then moved to a mock Tudor mansion in Hale. It was not as private as he had hoped, a point proven during his exclusion from the 2002 World Cup. Often seen walking Triggs (his Labrador dog), Keane was then a regular at the Bleeding Wolf pub, and was found there by reporters on the night of David Beckham’s wedding. When asked why he hadn’t gone, Keane joked: “It was a choice between the wedding and the Wolf – and the Wolf won.”
Wanting more privacy, his family had a 1930s home bulldozed so they could build a new £2.5 million house near Hale.
On 6 June 2009, it was announced that Keane and his family had purchased a new house in the Ipswich area, near to the training ground of Keane’s new club, Ipswich. He eventually settled in the nearby coastal town of Woodbridge where he now lives with his family.
Source: Wikipedia
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