Roy Keane has revealed a brilliant meeting he had with Bobo Baldé while also speaking about the physicality of Martin O’Neill’s past sides.
Keane was former assistant to O’Neill when he managed the Republic of Ireland and has always maintained his admiration for the Celtic manager.
An ever-present on the Stick to Football podcast, Keane revealed his love for O’Neill’s physical sides. John McGinn was the latest guest on the podcast, with the Aston Villa captain detailing just how close he came to joining the Hoops in 2018.
Keane said:
“One of the biggest teams ever in the Premier League, when Martin O’Neill was manager, was Aston Villa. They were a team of giants.”
He couldn’t mention towering squads without mentioning the Hoops, which led him to a funny story about a meeting with Baldé when Keane was manager of Sunderland.
“Even the Celtic team were huge. Remember big Bobo? He came down for a chat with me when I was manager of Sunderland. Maddest chat ever.
“Bobo came down, with all these stats with him.
“He came to my office and said, ‘It’s all information about me. I think we could work well together, I’ve studied you.’
“He was chatting about money and I went, ‘I’ve just come for a chat’.
“He was telling me what he wants. He wouldn’t leave the office! I went back to training, had a look and he’s still sitting in my office.”
Big Bobo was not to be trifled with. The defender spent eight years at Celtic and became a figure you wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of.
He was a member of O’Neill’s UEFA Cup side of 2003, which had several other physical players such as Johan Mjällby, Chris Sutton and John Hartson.
Keane is right to give a mention to the brute force of O’Neill’s squad of that era. It is a different look from his current team, though the boss has mentioned the need for a more physical midfielder.
Keane’s brilliant Baldé story further highlights the no-nonsense character he was in his playing days. A move to Sunderland never came, but he remains a cult hero in Glasgow’s east end.
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