'I played in Champions League with Man Utd but quit at 27 to become a builder'

Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Lee Roche was an academy graduate for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, but his time with the Red Devils didn't last long before he quit football altogether for a different career
Lee Roche once started a Champions League game for Manchester United – but he found himself out of football completely less than a decade later. The former defender came through the Red Devils academy during the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson, and while he never established himself in the first team, he did make a handful of appearances for his boyhood club.
Starting against Arsenal in the League Cup was certainly a highlight for Bolton-born Roche, whose shining light in his short United career came when he started against Deportivo La Coruna in the Champions League in March 2003.
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Given United had already secured their passage into the knockout stages, Roche was one of many youngsters that Ferguson opted to start in Spain alongside senior stars such as Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville and Laurent Blanc.
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He lasted 45 minutes and was subbed off at half time with United 1-0 down, before they conceded another after the break to lose 2-0 in their final game of the second group stage.
Despite his presence on the European stage, it wasn't long before Roche fell down the footballing pyramid. He had stints with Burnley, Wrexham and Droylsden after being released on a free transfer by United in the summer of 2003, before retiring from the sport at 27 years of age.
Now working on a building site in his post-football career, the 44-year-old admitted he didn't expect his sporting career to end the way it did, especially given the success United possess in their academy graduates.
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Asked if he ever expected to have such a drastic career change, he told LFETV back in 2012: "Definitely not. Especially when you sign for a club as big as Manchester United. You think you're going to be playing football until you're 35.
"The way things have turned out I've had to work, I've been working here for nearly three years and it's a bit of a change from playing football, but you just have to get on with it."
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After parting ways with football, Roche was supported by the PFA and has since become a qualified plumber and owns a cavity wall insulation business.
Having had to discover what his next step in life would be after football, Roche said he believes young players should have a back-up plan if their careers don't blossom as they'd expect.
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"I have had a few fellow workers on the building sites asking me about United and how have I ended up here," he said.
"It can get pretty tiresome so I don't go shouting about that I played for United. I do think young players today should be made to train as something, so they know about the real world. Most of them probably don't have a plan to fall back on if they don't make it as a professional."
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