Keane & Vieira: Best Of Enemies is a documentary paying tribute to two contrasting personalities whose head-to-head battles were central to a period in English soccer. Using a combination of riveting archive footage and very personal interview soundbites, the film presents the epic power struggle between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira, the two men who led the venerable institutions of Manchester United and Arsenal. Their fights turned mythic and their name would forever be inscribed in the history of football even far away from the green fields.
The Hertfordshire-born started believing the hyper at the end of the millennium, as the English Riviera believed. With Arsenal and Manchester United sitting on top of the Premier League, Keane and Vieira were the captain for their and best clubs teams. It was the opposite mentality for those two – Vieira’s creativity backed by athleticism was what made Arsenal tick whilst Keane’s aggression and maturity were key in Ferguson’s Manchester United.
The tension and rivalry that existed between these two midfield icons was one characterized by fierce competition and intimidation, oral taunts, and breaking point seek aggression as evidenced at the Highbury’s tunnel night rub between Keane and Vieira. The film takes us directly into these special moments and pours rare ideas on fans on how both the players managed to take each other beyond imaginable limits.
The film also has an edge over other films as it considers a high level perspective. Keane and Vieira openly talk about their enemies and offer their viewpoint’s regarding there action’s and what faced them, on the field. Their testimonials are sincere, center of attention, and show how they influenced every leading game of their lives, where this resulted in them disrespecting each other, to finding a level of trust and acknowledgement about them. Testimonies of managers and other players such as Arsène Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson, Ryan Giggs, and Thierry Henry, only give aesthetic beauty to the picture over how it felt to be in the presence of such greats.
Keane & Vieira: Best of Enemies is much more than a recollection of past matches, it is an analysis of rivalries from a human perspective. It touches ideas of leadership, rivalry, and competition. In the end, one does not only respect these two great players, but understands how rivalries bring out the best in all people.
And nowadays, if you want to take a step back and revisit those wars, listen to a few behind the scenes anecdotes on the feuds, and learn more about what forms one of the biggest football rivalries, this documentary is something you shouldnt miss out on.
