Where has this Roy been all this time?
Roy Keane is known for being a bit of a curmudgeonly old type. Despite being a young man, Keane has a tough, mostly angry exterior, and has no shyness in displaying it during his spells as a pundit.
People enjoy Keano’s slightly angry style. It makes them wish that they could say things as cutting themselves, and it makes them wonder how someone can take a game so full of joy and fun and turn it into something so blunt.
In light of this – in light of what we have come to expect from Keane – it came as something of a surprise to hear his take on Germany vs. Sweden.
Midway through the match, with the Germans trailing 1-0, Keane lumped into the world champion’s shaky defence and we all nodded along… some of us chuckling away like his fellow pundit, Ian Wright. Keane declared:
“Defensively, lack of concentration, players being lazy, the manager at half-time, he’s got to make changes. The two centre-halves would give you a heart attack.”
Following the game, however, Keane flipped the switch.
The Germans won the must-win game after their 1-0 defeat Mexico in their opening group game, coming back from 1-0 down to seal a 2-1 victory thanks to a last-minute Toni Kroos free-kick.
The drama was amazing. The football was too. And Roy Keane absolutely loved it.
Now, while we have predispositions of what Keane might say, he really did surprise us, by simply admitting that he had loved it all. Every minute of it.
“Brilliant, absolute brilliant. Honestly, I really enjoyed the game,” said Keane to what appeared to be a shocked studio, presumably expecting anger from the Irishman.
Can we argue with him? No. But we’re just a little surprised. And as much as we love positive Roy Keane, we’re sure it won’t be long for his old self to come back.
