Former Manchester United winger and Champions League winner Jesper Blomqvist has opened up on his experiences with the club and dealing with their firey midfielder, Roy Keane.
Last year, it emerged that Blomqvist had taken an unconventional route after his football career and returned to his home country and open a pizza restaurant on Lidingo island near capital city Stockholm.
The man who started the famous '99 Champions League finally recently spoke to The Telegraph about that venture and his footballing career. During the course of that discussion, he explained one thing took getting used to at Manchester, but it proved hugely beneficial.
In Sweden, I was used to positive feedback but in Roy (Keane) I got something completely different. I got hammered by him when I missed a pass. He would say all kinds - I can’t even repeat it.
In the beginning, I got really upset and I couldn’t understand what his problem was. But after a while I realised he was doing it for the best, for the team. I would never want to be without him. On the pitch, he always stood up for you when you got a bad tackle. In training he was testing us Scandinavians. If you can’t make it in training you won’t last on the pitch either.
It's a hardness that has defined Roy Keane as a player, manager and pundit. Interestingly, while often seen as a destructive force in management or an entertaining one in broadcasting, the vast majority of his former team-mates hold him in similar regard to Blomqvist.
Wayne Rooney is a huge fan of his former captain: "I thought Roy was great. He was hard when he needed to be and, you know, he was a nice fella as well."
Rio Ferdinand, who Keane strongly criticised in his infamous MUFCTV rant, hailed the Irishman in his autobiography. "I reckon he was the most influential player there has ever been in the Premier League."
It's been a constant theme for 30 years, and it doesn't look likely to change anytime soon.
