The Importance of Personality in Soccer: “That man can rot in hell for all I care.”

I logged onto my computer this morning, and checked foxsoccer.com where I found this headlining the front page:

“Roy Keane leaves Sunderland”

I cursed at Jak, my laptop (Aptly named because there’s a Jak and Daxter sticker on the back of it) and went off to classes pissed off. I run an Italian soccer blog, I think Serie A is better than the EPL, and I usually care shit all about Sunderland, but this for me is a loss for all of soccer. Roy Keane is a perfect example of what we need in the soccer world.

He was a polarizing figure. He’s done stuff that either makes you idolize him or think he’s a jerk (look up his flying kick on YouTube). But importantly, he’s got personality- that quote in the subject was one he said about the Ireland National Team Manager a few weeks back. He was a great player with a temper, and he’s still entertaining to this day. He’s a scarier version of Jose Mourinho, and with facial hair, Keane looks absolutely terrorizing. He actually kinda looks like Jason Statham, and I doubt I need to tell you what a badass the Transporter is.

Losing Keano over in the EPL means having one less soccer manager who makes the game so entertaining with his quotes. It’s like when Mourinho left Chelsea before he went to Inter- again, you either hate him or love him, but there’s never a dull quote that comes out of his mouth.

Figures like Keane, Mourinho, and even Luciano Moggi just make the game more entertaining (in terms of quotes, not in terms of matchfixing. Note: I do not condone cheating/paying the refs, and I don’t want to get into a discussion about how legit Calciopoli was. Maybe in another entry). Him leaving Sunderland arguably may be a good decision for the team, but for the soccer world as a whole, it means the absence of a personality who makes the game what it is.

But what does this have to do with the Azzurri? Naught, to be honest. But there’s no real news out there- unless you think it’s fascinating that FIFA is selling tickets for the Confederation Cup next June.