One of the very best players ever to call the country of Ireland his home, Roy Keane is someone who inspired a hell of a lot of footballers.
Ask any member of the current Irish senior squad, and they'll tell you that having Keano as their coach is a bit surreal having spent most of their youth emulating the famous Cork man in their back garden, but Roy's influence is not limited to Ireland. Far from it.
We loved hearing about Daniele De Rossi's admiration for Roy Keane, with the Italian World Cup winner citing the former Man United captain as the reason behind his fondness for the number 16 shirt, but now we've learned another midfielder who holds a similar opinion.
Tottenham Hotspur's Victor Wanyama has been impressing fans of his new club since being brought along from Southampton by Mauricio Pochettino, and speaking to FourFourTwo, he explained why Roy Keane is a hero of his.
I used to watch Manchester United and I really liked Roy Keane. He was a really good player. I liked his character as well as his football ability.
I’ve never met him, but I don’t think I’d be intimidated. The way he commands his team gives you that energy to work hard. If I can get to his level, that would be great.
Interesting that he reckons he wouldn't be intimidated, although the man is built like a wardrobe so we doubt much intimidates him.
Wanyama was also quizzed about his time at Celtic, and in particular about his squad number, 67, that he wore during his two seasons in Glasgow.
It turns out that Celtic, along with Rangers, are really big in Kenya due to their charity work in the region, and Wanyama opted for the number 67 shirt as a not to the Lisbon Lions.
In Kenya, there’s a big fanbase of both Celtic and Rangers. For a very long time they had charity set-ups in Kenya, and that built the support and the rivalry. I used to see people in Celtic and Rangers jerseys going to the pub to watch their games.
When I moved to Celtic I had never played in the Champions League. I used to watch them playing in big European matches, and it was my dream to one day win the competition. That was why I took the No.67 jersey.
We knew that Celtic were big in Thailand thanks to the videos of those adorable kids belting out songs from the Park Head terraces, but Kenya? You learn something new every day.
