March 18, 2003 was a special day for Lee Roche. The then promising Manchester United youth squad made his debut in the top continental competition and did so as a starter. Born in Bolton on October 28, 1980, the under-21 international with England was chosen by Alex Ferguson to face Deportivo de La Coruña. In Riazor they will also remember that night with a smile, as Victor and Lynch's own goals turned into victory. Players like Ricardo, O'Shea, Blanc, Fletcher, Butt, Giggs or Forlán accompanied Lee that day. Now 18 years later, Roche has an interior waterproofing company and is a qualified plumber. But how did such a turnaround occur in your life?
“I do not regret anything”, explains in Planet Football our protagonist. The match against Depor was the third with the Mancunian first team, as they had already enjoyed minutes in the Premier (against Newcastle) and in a cup match against Arsenal on November 5, 2001. That day, the protagonists were others ( the crash ended 4-0): “Sylvain Wiltord scored a hat-trick and I remember that Kanu was unapproachable, he couldn't handle the size of his feet. “
Lee Roche, in his time at Burnley, on a set with Tim Cahill.
Roche was a right back, although he could play more advanced and it was in his natural position that he suffered one of the stars of the SuperDepor, although at first he thought that things were not so bad … “I confronted (Albert) Luque and I thought he had done well, but he was not going to go out and start arguing with Sir Alex. Giggsy (Ryan Giggs) told me to raise my head and that he had done nothing wrong. Sir Alex didn't tell me why they had replaced me, but I didn't want to think about it too much. “His adventure in the Champions League ended at half-time when he was traded.
In his other encounter with the Red Devils, against Newcastle, also faced a powerful rival. “I did well, but I remember Sir Alex talking to me afterwards, because Alan Shearer outpointed me in a duel by a head buttso he told me to cheer up and not let the forwards do that to me, “he says about his only league appearance with United. Shearer, Arsenal in their golden age, the SuperDepor… Nothing bad.
“I should have been more assertive”
After his appearance against Depor, he went to Burnley, Wrexham and Droylsden, where he would hang up his boots at the age of 27., ready to start a new life. “The only thing I would like to point out is that at United he was known to be very quiet, perhaps I should have been more assertive and mixed with the boys more. I was going straight home after training to hang out with my own group of friends. Now I look back at teammates like John (O'Shea) and Darren Fletcher and I think I should have been more like them. To have gone out and socialized. I think I would have done better with United “, he analyzes as the only negative point in his passage through the Red devils.
“I'm not going to shout from the rooftops that I played for United”
Now it is common to see him on the street, working on some work with his company, one more worker who recognizes that they remind him of his time as an elite footballer: “I've had some co-workers on the construction site asking me about United and how I got here.”. Something that, at times, gets to tire him: “I'm not going to shout from the rooftops that I played for United.”
Finally, he has a piece of advice for all those young people to whom professional football turns its back, who are the vast majority: “I think young players today should train to know what the real world is about. Most of them probably don't have a plan to fall back on if things don't work out. ”Lee had it and, as he previously acknowledged, he has no regrets.