2011 Champions League: Keano believes Man Utd squad stronger than Barca

2003

Roy Keane, who famously missed Manchester United’s 1999 Champions League Final triumph, is backing his old club to upset Barcelona at Wembley.

United’s legendary former skipper says Sir Alex Ferguson’s men are definitely good enough to beat Barcelona in the final on May 28 to become Champions of Europe for the fourth time.

Says Keano: “At Wembley, the United fans will take over the stadium. In a one-off game, with fans behind them, of course they can do it.

“They will have to do really well to beat this Barcelona team and my concern would be not picking up injuries. The Barcelona starting XI is brilliant, outstanding, but their squad is probably not as strong as United’s.”

Suspension ruled Keano out of the historic 1999 triumph over Bayern Munich. But it was his remarkable performance in the 3-2 semi-final win at Juventus  that got United to the Final.

He scored from a header to start United’s comeback in Turin and drove the team forwards at every opportunity in what many believe was his finest hour as a footballer. Sadly, earlier in the match, Keane had received a yellow card for a trip on  Zinedine Zidane that ruled him out of the final.

– BY JOHN GUBBA

CONTROVERSIAL KEANE’S FOOTBALL FOCUS INTERVIEW