'Martinez makes me think of Roy Keane'

Wednesday 21 September 2022 13:53

Raimond van der Gouw recently spent time at Manchester United's Carrington training base and our photographers caught him deep in conversation with Lisandro Martinez.

It may have been something the former Reds keeper would have struggled to picture not long ago, when he was working with PSV Eindhoven and the Argentinian was holding the fort for fierce rivals Ajax.

Even then, though, there was a feeling that it would be far better to have the centre-back on your side, rather than playing for the opposition, and, in this respect, it conjured up a similarity with Roy Keane's character in the view of the Dutchman. 

Speaking to club media ahead of representing United in the Legends of the North game at Liverpool on Saturday, van der Gouw said: "It just crossed my mind now. [He's] a player like Roy Keane. You like to have him in your team and not against you!"

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Van der Gouw was upset to see Martinez criticised, particularly in the wake of the defeat at Brentford, and is not surprised he has since gone on to win our first Player-of-the-Month award of the season.

While appreciating the South American's work for Ajax through gritted teeth, due to his PSV connection, there is an obvious respect for the way the defender goes about his business, as was surely communicated when the pair spoke at Carrington.

“I think I felt a little bit sorry in the beginning when they put the spotlight on him because he was making a few mistakes," explained the 59-year-old, who was at United between 1996 and 2002. "I thought he was really good. I said to him that I hated him when he was in Holland because I was the goalkeeping coach of PSV Eindhoven!

"I said to him: I hated you because you were good and was doing such a good job for Ajax! Now I love to see him play for United and he is the kind of player who will never let you down.

"With his character, he always wants to work, wants to fight and wants to win, and that’s typical of United. So I think he’s in the right place and at the right club.”

Van der Gouw is set to appear between the sticks at Anfield on Saturday, with highlights due to be shown on MUTV. Tickets are also still available for the charity match, which kicks off at 15:00 BST.

"It's never, well, a friendly with Liverpool," he admitted. "I have a feeling there is a lot of respect for each other, though."

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