‘I performed for Man Utd & Ashley Cole screamed in my face – I mentioned what the f***’
The notorious tunnel conflict between Manchester United and Arsenal nearly obtained to a breaking level and not using a ball being kicked.
The 2005 fixture between the bitter rivals was full of rigidity and got here simply 4 months after the controversy of ‘Pizzagate’ the place a pizza slice – thrown by a 17-year-old Cesc Fabregas – landed on Sir Alex Ferguson after United’s 2-0 victory at Old Trafford which ended the Gunners’ 49-match unbeaten streak.
The Highbury tunnel struggle had the makings of one other action-packed fixture earlier than kick-off after tensions between captains Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira nearly resulted in an all-out brawl between the 2 Premier League groups.
READ MORE: Roy Keane confirms he desires administration return and divulges one job that pursuits him
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The former United skipper aimed his wrath on the Frenchman who had phrases for Gary Neville earlier than stepping out onto the pitch. The ex-England worldwide defined to Soccer AM in 2007 what he was advised by the 1998 World Cup winner, as he mentioned: “I could hear these footsteps behind me and Vieira shouting, ‘Neville! Neville! You’re not going to kick our players out on this pitch today.”
Keane, 52, mentioned Vieira’s “bullying” of his United team-mate compelled him to take issues into his personal arms as he defined in his e book The Second Half. “I don’t think it was intimidation; it was bullying,” the Irishman remarked.
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“I was there to do a job. ‘Win the game – get in and get out’. But it was a bit like the build-up to a boxing match – the weigh-in, the press conferences – when people forget that there’ll actually be a fight.”
Neville opened up in regards to the tasty conflict throughout the Stick to Football podcast, dropped at you by Sky Bet, the place he was joined by Chelsea legend Frank Lampard. “The tunnel game at Arsenal – they were so fired up before the game,” the 48-year-old mentioned.
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“Arsenal scored the primary objective – it was 4-2, we [Manchester United] won in the end. I’m literally sat next to Ashley Cole in the dressing room for England, for six, seven, eight years, and Ash comes up to me screaming in my face, ‘you f***ing…’, after they score the first goal.
The full-backs were England team-mates but the tribalism of English football at times put club allegiances ahead of international allegiances, which certainly shocked Neville. He added: “Cole – probably the most placid – sensible lad, I’m like, ‘what the f***’? A few weeks later, you’re actually sat there subsequent to him shaking arms. There was a lot happening!”
