In a sit-down interview with former teammate Rio Ferdinand, Ruud van Nistelrooy shared his memories of Roy Keane and his preparation for matches.
During a five-year spell with Manchester United, the Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy encountered much that he could not have foreseen beforehand.
As he has explained in a lengthy interview with former United teammate Rio Ferdinand, the manner in which Roy Keane prepared for football matches was chief among them.
"I remember that the way he prepared for a game," recalled van Nistelrooy in a conversation you can watch back in its entirety here. "I was shocked by that.
"He would be reading the programme, and I see him sitting there in the dressing room so calm and easygoing."
The serenity of United's highly respected captain did not alter as kick-off approached.
"He puts on his Diadora boots with these big round studs and these shin-pads which are so small with no ankle protection or strapping," he explained, "[and] he jogs a few times around in the warm-up.
"When the referee blows his whistle though, there's then this animal on the pitch. How does it happen?"
Ruud 🎙 Roy Keane
😂😂😂😂
Calm easy going to becoming an animal... couldn’t sum it up any better!
Pleasure to sit down with @RvN1776 on #VIBEWITHFIVE#MUFC
📱 https://t.co/6FTxrQcpM5 pic.twitter.com/M8woWtIw4i— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) March 19, 2021
Premier League winners in the 2002/03 season and FA Cup winners the following year out, van Nistelrooy remembers Roy Keane and his 'banter' fondly.
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"For me, he lead the team in an unbelievable way," the former PSV and Real Madrid striker recalled. "He was direct, everybody knows that and in the beginning I had to get used to that directness.
"I had this hairband, you know, and for three months every day he was talking about that hairband. 'Get that thing off your head, what the f*** are you doing? You're in the Premier League now.'
"That was banter, you know. He kept you on your toes.
You can watch back Ruud van Nistelrooy's interview with Rio Ferdinand where he talks about Roy Keane and more in its entirety here
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