Ireland's heartbeat

Keane bids to make mark on international stage

MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- When England captain Bryan Robson was in his last seasons at Manchester United, the Red Devils were worried about how to replace someone so indispensable.

In terms of winning titles, Roy Keane has turned out even better.

The heartbeat of both the Red Devils and Irish midfield, Keane has proved time and again how influential he is to the team.

With Keane taking Robson's role as midfield coordinator, motivator and occasional tough-guy, United has won seven league titles in nine seasons as well as three FA Cups and a European Champions Cup title.

The problem is, Keane isn't around all the time.

The 30-year-old star has a habit of picking up serious injuries that have kept out of action for months at a time. He also collects red and yellow cards and that means lengthy and frequent suspensions.

Without their tough-tackling defensive midfielder, Manchester United went into a slump last November and the three-time defending champion slid to ninth place in the Premier League 11 points off the lead.

When he returned, they shot straight to the top.

Not even David Beckham has that influence and he's captain of England. With Keane back on the team, United had the luxury of dropping Beckham to the substitute's bench and the team kept on winning.

Keane's bid to make his mark away from the domestic stage briefly appeared in danger last month when he sustained a hamstring injury in a Champions Cup quarterfinal game against Deportivo de La Coruna that threatened to keep him out of action for up to six weeks.

But the striker, who missed the last World Cup and Euro 2000, has recovered and is hungry for international success.

"I look at the good players in the [Manchester United] team and they have won a European Cup. Fabien Barthez has won a World Cup," he said.

"Look at the great Liverpool teams of the 70s and 80s. They won the league championship 11 times in 17 years and four European Champions Cups.

"Compared with them, I have won nothing. That's the way I look at it," Keane said.

"I don't think I will be remembered in 20 or 30 years. I'm not being humble. I'm just being honest."

 

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