A look at the greatest midfield partnerships of the 21st Century

#4 Roy Keane and Paul Scholes (Manchester United)

Keane and Scholes were as good as they came

For the major part of a decade, an Irishman and an Englishman ruled the Old Trafford pitch. They were none other than Roy Keane and Paul Scholes.

The duo of Scholes and Keane enjoyed a tackle or two in their heyday and were quite similar in that respect. However, the way they boasted of different skill-sets and complemented each other perfectly is what gets them on to this list.

Keane was the epitome of a midfield general. A general who would do anything to protect his battalion. Though it got him into trouble on more occasions than he would’ve liked, a sparkling trophy cabinet surely extinguished that anguish.

On the other hand, Scholes competes in a short list to be crowned one of the greatest ever passers of the football. In many ways, Scholes was an ‘un-English’ midfielder in the way he technically outplayed opponents. There weren’t many who enjoyed as good a vision as the ‘Ginger Maestro’ and this vision helped him unlock many a defence on numerous occasions.

Keane and Scholes represent two different ends of the spectrum when talking about the qualities looked for in a midfielder. The former specialised in breaking up the play while the latter was a genius after the play had been broken up. It would be hard to imagine either of them being better without the other alongside.

Hence, this pairing makes it to our list at No.4.