Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane spent 12 years together at Manchester United.
The pair were an important part of Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering side that dominated English football in the 90s. Keane was the on-field general and Giggs was the flying winger, along with the likes of Beckham, Cantona Scholes, Schmeichel, United pretty much ruled that decade.
As you can imagine, the desire to win inside that United camp must have been seriously intense. The winning mentality Ferguson drilled into his troops is legendary – and it showed on the pitch.
Of course, much of what went on in the training ground was kept under lock-and-key, but it’s interesting to hear how Giggs used to avoid Keane at times.
“Hughes Schmeichel, Bruce, Ince, Keane, Cantona. There were fights every week in training… so I stood out on the left wing,” the Wales manager said via The Belfast Telegraph.
“It’s difficult to stand up to Roy because he is sharp. But Roy was an adopted member of the ‘Class of 92’, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as well. We all spent time together, were of a similar age and it was brilliant.”
Keane used to routinely scare the shite out of his teammates but Giggs, like the rest of them, knew it came from the right place. Keane was a fierce bastard, but he was always trying to get the best out of his United teammates.
Giggs and Keane will be reunited on Thursday night when Wales host Ireland in the UEFA Nations League opener in Cardiff.
Giggs, who succeeded Chris Coleman as Wales boss in January, has overseen a win, a draw and a defeat in his time in charge, but hasn’t overseen a game of this magnitude, or at the Principality Stadium.
When Ireland come to town, almost a year after breaking Welsh hearts in the World Cup qualifiers, Giggs knows his friendship with Keane and Martin O’Neill will go out the door for a few hours.
“Roy is just like me, he is competitive, and he will want to win,” he said.
“They are two people who I respect immensely and are good football people, but for 90 minutes that friendship will be forgotten.”
“There will be a few nerves, I would be lying if I said that there wasn’t. But that is good. I always had a few nerves as a player and I’m more excited really.
“It is more about me preparing right up until the game. That is what I intend to do, then once the game starts there is not a lot that you can do.
“You can do team talks and substitutions but the majority of the work is done in the preparation even before you get to camp. Â But I can’t wait.”
Wales face Ireland on Thursday night before travelling to Copenhagen to face Denmark on Sunday. Ireland, meanwhile, will face Poland in a friendly the following Tuesday (September 11th).
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