In an eighteen-year playing career for Cobh Ramblers, Nottingham Forest, and Manchester United (under Sir Alex Ferguson) and Celtic, Roy Keane dominated every midfield he led to glory. Aggressive and highly competitive, his attitude helped him to excel as captain of Manchester United from 1997 until his departure in 2005. He played at an international level for nearly all of his career, representing the Republic of Ireland over fourteen years, mainly as team captain, until an incident with national coach Mick McCarthy resulted in Keane's walk-out from the 2002 World Cup. Since retiring as a player, Keane has managed Sunderland and Ipswich and become a notably contrarian pundit for ITV. He is assistant (to Martin O'Neill) manager of the Ireland team. The TV analyst reflects the manager, the player, and the man himself, the unique Roy Keane - Keano. As part of a tiny elite of football players, Roy Keane has lived and experienced what very few people could ever imagine. His status one of football's greatest stars is undisputed, but what of the challenges beyond the pitch? How did he succeed in coming to terms with life as a former Manchester United and Ireland leader and champion, reinvent himself as a broadcaster, and cope with the psychological struggles this entailed? This book is a personal odyssey, a blend of anecdote and reflection which re-evaluates the meaning of success. In following his personal struggle to reinvent himself, confronting a few demons along the way, THE SECOND HALF blends memoir and motivational writing in a manner which both disquiets and reassures in Roy Keane's original voice, in a stunning collaboration brilliantly captured with Man Booker Prize-winning writer Roddy Doyle.

Author Biography

ROY KEANE was born in Cork in 1971, and is now a television pundit for ITV after an astonishingly successful football career as captain of Manchester United and Ireland. He is currently the assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland and Aston Villa teams. RODDY DOYLE was born in Dublin in 1958 and still lives there today. He is the author of ten acclaimed novels including THE COMMITMENTS, THE SNAPPER, THE VAN and most recently THE GUTS; two collections of short stories; RORY & ITA, a memoir about his parents; and TWO PINTS, a collection of dialogues. He won the Booker Prize in 1993 for PADDY CLARKE HA HA HA, and his 1991 novel THE VAN was a Booker Prize finalist.