Celtic and Roy - A match made in Paradise

AS you will read elsewhere in these pages today, your correspondent happened to be in the company of Damien Duff on Thursday morning when the news broke that Roy Keane had signed on the dotted line for Celtic.

I'd just switched off the tape recorder and switched on the mobile phone when a text popped up to say that the deal had finally been done.

I gave the news to Duff and was taken aback when a look of what I first took to be shock registered on his face.

Good grief, had he been hoping Keano would turn up at Chelsea? But no, he was only miffed that he hadn't had a little flutter on the outcome, so certain had he been that his former international colleague would end up at Parkhead. In short, he wasn't surprised at all.

Which begs the question: should any of us be? After all, it's not as if Roy Keane hasn't been dropping heavy hints for about five years now that he would like to see out his career at Celtic Park.

For sure, once he'd exited Old Trafford, there was bound to be a whole lot of hype and headlines, and Keane admitted on Thursday that he had indeed spoken with a number of clubs over the past few weeks.

That was both courtesy and common sense after all, there was always the possibility that a life beyond his wildest dreams awaited at Bolton or West Brom. A remote possibility, admittedly, but at least worth a chat.

However, if we'd been paying attention to anything Keane was saying over recent years, then the likelihood of him continuing his playing career in England was slim.

That effectively left him with two options Europe or Glasgow. And it seemed pretty safe to rule out Rangers.

Had Real Madrid been up for it, then there was a persuasive case for Keane going to Spain. If you are to leave Old Trafford then The Bernabeu is one of the few options available which would count as an upward step. Also, for someone who harbours managerial ambitions, a taste of the European way of doing things would have been hugely beneficial.

Probably good for the player too. Kevin Moran is one Irish footballer who has spoken approvingly about his Spanish experience, suggesting that his time with Sporting Gijon effectively extended his playing career in the top flight back in England with Blackburn, and also helped give him an Indian Summer at international level in the qualifying games for the 1994 World Cup.

The downside of Real Madrid for Keane is that the mad politics of the place might well have done his head in, while the move would obviously have involved more upheaval on the personal and family front than a run up the road to Glasgow.

The language barrier in Spain would hardly have been insurmountable for a man who appears to have embarked on a relentless course of self-improvement in the latter half of his career. But whether he'll ever get to grips with Glaswegian is another matter entirely, of course.

Some people have arched their eyebrows at the thought of Keane north of the border but I think it makes perfect sense. The SPL may be a step down from the Premiership but the worst you could say about Celtic Park is that it's a step sideways from Old Trafford. No offence to Hearts, Aberdeen and other Scottish clubs who have made their mark over the years, but the Old Firm remain a special case. And, in terms of international profile, Celtic take the honours.

People tend to think of Manchester United as being virtually synonymous with European competition but, for all those big nights at home and abroad, the fact is the club has won the European Cup/Champions League only one more time than Celtic.

And, of course, the Scots got there first, their great homegrown side of 1967 making British football history by defeating Inter in Lisbon to lift the cup, a year before United finally realised Matt Busby's great dream by beating Benfica at Wembley.

In Scotland, Celtic may be a big fish in a small pool but they also transcend those surroundings by virtue of their reputation as one of the most instantly familiar names in European and even world football, a club rooted in tradition, accustomed to success and backed by one of the biggest and most devoted fan bases around.

Keane has spoken about how he hasn't gone north to wind down, how he is still committed to competing and winning and how perhaps the dressing room walls trembled a little at this he likes pushing the people he works with hard.

Business as usual, then.

But Celtic's strong Irish connections must also have struck an emotional chord in a man whose return to international duty for his country was surely motivated by concerns of the heart as much as the head. You suspect that not since he left his Celtic-mad family in Mayfield, will Keane have felt closer to home than he will in Glasgow.

That Irish comeback ultimately proved an anti-climax for Roy Keane. But this latest chapter in the career of the country's most fascinating sportsperson promises to be much more than mere postscript.

There's something intuitive about it all too. Roy Keane in the green and white hooped jersey just feels so right that those speculative photoshop mock ups of recent weeks seemed even better than the real thing.

And the reality will perhaps prove even better than the Real thing.

Whatever happens, even Celtphobes will be unable to resist tuning in for that first Old Firm game starring Roy Keane in February.

And that's something you can bet on.