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“The stuff at the playoff final, I was slightly embarrassed by it.”
Matt Holland was a guest on the latest episode of House of Football, where he discussed a range of topics from his career, including his former teammate Roy Keane.
The former midfielder played 49 times for the Republic of Ireland and scored for the Boys in Green at the 2002 World Cup, when he netted the equaliser against Cameroon.
Holland also had an excellent club career. He captained Ipswich when they earned promotion to the Premier League, and helped them qualify for the Uefa Cup, where they beat Inter Milan.
The former Charlton midfielder spoke about these topics and more on the latest episode and also addressed infamous comments Keane made about him.
Roy Keane and Matt Holland.
In his second autobiography, Keane covered the subject of British-born of Irish descent footballers playing for Ireland.
The former Manchester United captain said that he saw Holland, who was born in Bury, sing the United Kingdom’s national anthem ahead of a playoff final at Wembley in 2000.
“Love of a country is a hard thing to measure,” Keane said.
“But if you see a player on the TV who played for Ireland, singing ‘God Save the Queen’ in a play-off final, you might just say, ‘Oh, right. Maybe he’s not really all that Irish’. Matty Holland would be an example. For me, Matty is as English as David Beckham. He played for Ireland and he obviously has the roots.
“But he played for Ipswich in a play-off final, in 2000, and he was singing ‘God Save the Queen’ at the top of his voice. I don’t think he could have sung it any louder.
“Some of the other Irish lads saw him, too, so, at the next couple of international matches, we were going, ‘Turn that rebel music up a bit’.”
“I’ve got a lot of time for Roy. It was a privilege to share a pitch with him.”
Matt Holland’s classy response to Roy Keane’s infamous ‘God Save the Queen' remark.
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Holland later explained that he ‘mistakenly mumbled a few lines’ from the UK national anthem.
“It was a big occasion and my mind was on the game,” he said.
“I looked across and saw George Burley singing it and thought he’s Scottish maybe I should be singing it. I mistakenly mumbled a few lines (certainly not at the top of my voice) and am embarrassed by it.
When asked about Keane’s infamous comments on House of Football, Holland spoke with great respect for his former teammate.
The former Ireland midfielder, 49, said he is still ‘slightly embarrassed’ by the incident, but that he loved playing for the Boys in Green.
“He didn’t want it because it was my shirt!”
Matt Holland on swapping shirts with a Man United legend
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Holland on Keane.
“Did you say we’ve run out of time?” Holland joked.
“No, look, I’ve got a lot of time for Roy. Growing up, I was a Man United fan, and Roy was one of the best players that’s ever played for Man United.
“It was a privilege to share a pitch with him. He was a born winner, a leader of people and just a brilliant footballer.
“So, I’ve got a lot of respect and time for Roy.
“The stuff at the playoff final, I was slightly embarrassed by it. You know, I can’t hide the fact that I was born and raised in England.
“But my love of playing for Ireland was honestly, I can tell you, second to none. I mean it.
“I still see speak to lots of former teammates now, and so I’m slightly embarrassed by that.”
You can watch the full episode below.
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