“It’s not about the fact Liam was a great soccer player from Cork, he was just a great person from Cork.”
Former Manchester United and Celtic icon Roy Keane was in fantastic form as he addressed the media ahead of the Liam Miller tribute match that will take place at Páirc Ui Chaoimh on September 25.
As previously reported, Keane will captain a Manchester United side that contains the core of their treble-winning squad of ’99.
Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Denis Irwin, Rio Ferdinand, Andy Cole, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt and many more will be gracing the field of GAA HQs in Cork.
Of course, Keane played with Miller at Manchester United and managed the midfielder during his spell at Sunderland. When asked what Miller meant to him, Keane spoke about his teammate in glowing terms.
“It’s telling because the sign of the respect that these players had for Liam is the reaction and turnout for this game. We all had a lot of time for him. He was quite a humble guy.”
Of course, the match was originally scheduled to take place at the 7,000-capacity Turner’s Cross, but after some controversy the GAA agreed to host the game at the 45,000-capacity Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
When asked about the venue dispute, Keane gave an absolutely perfect answer.
He said: “People talk about the GAA/soccer thing, it’s about the occasion. The fact that it’s down the Pairc is a lovely bonus, I think that’s great. I know people were getting quite emotional about it – the fact it wasn’t allowed down there at the start. Ok, we went around the houses a bit but we got there in the end. Credit to the GAA for that and it’s now about supporting the occasion. Growing up in Cork, we’re all GAA fans. Hurling, soccer, rugby, boxing…Cork’s a great sporting city. It’s not about the fact that Liam was a great soccer player from Cork, he was just a great person from Cork. Rise above all that and come and support the occasion because Liam was a good guy.”
Miller, who played for Celtic, Manchester United, Sunderland and Cork City over the course of his career, died from cancer at the age of 36.
We know that this match will be a fitting tribute to his memory and it’s telling that the following players have all agreed to take part.
Manchester United Legends
1. Roy Keane
2. Ryan Giggs
3. Nicky Butt
4. Ronny Johnsen
5. Paul Scholes
6. Denis Irwin
7. David May
8. Louis Saha
9. Rio Ferdinand
10. Quinton Fortune
11. Andy Cole
12. Michael Clegg
13. Mikael Silvestre
14. Kevin Pilkington (GK)
15. Dion Dublin
16. Roy Carroll (GK)
17. Gary Neville
18. Alan Smith
Celtic/Republic of Ireland Legends
1. David Forde (GK)
2. Stephen Carr
3. Kevin Kilbane
4. Richard Dunne
5. Kenny Cunningham
6. Keith Andrews
7. Kevin Doyle
8. Stephen McPhail
9. Andy Reid
10. Robbie Keane
11. Damien Duff
12. Lee Carsley
13. Colin Healy
14. Shaun Maloney
15 Paul Lambert
16. John Hartson
17. Neil Lennon
18. Stylian Petrov
19. Shane Supple (GK)
You can see Keane’s whole interview here.
