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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
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Dan Brown

"If you're going out tonight, be careful" - Roy Keane's warning to Manchester United teammate after silent car journey

Roy Keane's brutal tackle on Alf-Inge Haaland is one of the most infamous challenges in the history of football. It is rare that a player admits to going in to intentionally hurt an opponent, but Keane is a rare breed. By his own admission, he 'f****** hit him hard'.

The challenge, which occurred in the final few minutes of a Manchester derby at Old Trafford in 2001, left a lasting impression. The facts surrounding the incident, however, have become somewhat blurred over the years.

While there is a generally held understanding that Keane's tackle forced Haaland into retirement, it didn't. Granted, it might have played a part in his decision to call it a day, but he was back playing for the Norway national team four days later.

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Keane's challenge was four years in the making. In 1997, Haaland, then playing for Leeds, screamed in the face of a stricken Keane on the Elland Road turf after being kicked by the United midfielder. Unbeknownst to Haaland, Keane had ruptured his cruciate ligament. He would not play again all season.

Discussing his act of retribution in his autobiography, published in 2002, Keane wrote: "I'd waited long enough. "I f***ing hit him hard. The ball was there (I think). Take that you c***."

Having originally been fined £5,000 and served a standard three-match suspension for being sent off against City, Keane was suspended for another five games and the FA fined him £150,000 after the comments in his book emerged.

Roy Keane tussles with Alf Inge Haaland in 2001 (Gary MPrior/Allsport)

Luke Chadwick, who played alongside Keane on 20 occasions during his time at United, recently recalled the incident, and he is in a more privileged position than most when it comes to gauging Keane's mindset on the day.

Chadwick, who was 20 at the time, used to hitch lifts with Keane as he had not passed his driving test. It is a scenario that very few will be able to picture in their mind, but the pair enjoyed a good friendship, and were together after that challenge on Haaland.

"He picked me up a few times, I remember one famous time he picked me up was the Manchester derby at Old Trafford," Chadwick told JOE'S All To Play For earlier this year. "I think we'd already won the league and it was a bit scrappy, and it was the day when Keane chopped Haaland in half."

After being shown his marching orders, Keane trudged back to the dressing room. What happened between then and the end of the match remains an untold mystery, and will probably stay that way. However, following the full-time whistle, Chadwick could not find Keane anywhere.

"After the game, I am just sat in the dressing room, obviously Keano's [Roy Keane] been sent off. And I'm thinking, 'How am I going to get home?'" Chadwick added. "I can't see him anywhere! The game must have finished about two hours ago, everyone's gone and I'm just sat in Old Trafford, in the home dressing room on my own, the cleaners are sweeping up.

"And then all of a sudden, I don't know where he had been, he just poked his head in and went, 'Come on, we're going.' So, we got in the car and he took me back to my flat, just in Sale, just up the road. But the whole car journey was just silent. I was just sat looking out the window. He dropped me off and he just said, 'If you're going out tonight, be careful'.

"I was just thinking, 'Why have you got sent off Keano? I just want to go home!' It was one of those moments where you're just watching, whether you're on the bench or... It just sort of takes your breath away.

"I mean, I wasn't going to say, 'Roy, what's all that about?' I didn't have it in me, so I just sat there. Nothing was said. When the team came in (to the dressing room), he just wasn't there. I don't know where he'd gone or what he was doing."

Luke Chadwick challenges Haaland for the ball (ROBIN PARKER/AFP via Getty Images)

Haaland previously admitted that he 'didn't blame' Keane for kicking him, rather that he was concerned that Keane had intentionally gone out to injure him.

The pair came within metres of each other during the recent Manchester derby at the Etihad, with both on punditry duties for different broadcasters. City secured a 6-3 win over United, with Haaland Jnr grabbing a hat-trick. The 22-year-old was asked about the 2001 incident in the days leading up to the match, but admitted that he had not spoken to his father about what had happened.

Twenty-one years on, Keane's foul remains the most notorious in Manchester derby history, and one suspects it will remain that way for a long time to come.

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