Scott Brown has revealed how he took inspiration from Patrick Vieira’s epic clashes with Roy Keane as he was finding his way in the game.
In the first decade of this century Arsenal v Manchester United was the biggest game in the calendar and given the full treatment by Sky Sports.
The duo famously clashed in the tunnel at Highbury but tonight Viera will be restricted to the Nice dug-out as Celtic come out of four months of cold storage.
Arsenal have tried and failed to replace Vieira but tonight Brown will get the chance to see how a Vieira team shapes up and how his own team-mates are placed after the longest ever break in action.
The Celtic skipper told The Sun:
Vieira was dynamite in the middle of the park. He was Arsenal’s driving force. I used to love watching the midfield battles he had with Roy Keane. I grew up watching those two going at it on a regular basis and I loved it.
I wouldn’t say I modelled my game on him. He’s a wee bit taller than me — and a wee bit better but I think my generation, and players in my position, watched the likes of Vieira and Keane.
I just loved the way they went out and tried to show who was the daddy out there. They were the leaders of the two best teams in England back then.
The one I watched was actually Paul Scholes, although most people would say I modelled my game on Keane but Vieira was just one of those guys you couldn’t help but watch and just look at how he played the game.
Brown turned 35 last month, by all known logic he should be winding down his career but there was no sign of that as Celtic charged towards a ninth successive title led by the example of their captain.
Pre-season matches are all about finding fitness, over their post Lockdown three match trip to France Brown will be under more scrutiny than anyone with opponents desperate to find out of there are signs of his drive and influence winding down.
