Lee Roche graduated from Academy for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson, but his time at the Red Devils did not take long before he stopped a completely different career with football
Lee Roche once started a Champions League match for Manchester United – but he was completely less than a decade later from football. The former defender came through the Red Devils Academy during the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson, and although he never settled in the first team, he made a handful of appearances for his boys' club.
Starting against Arsenal in the League Cup was certainly a highlight for Bolton-born Roche, whose radiant light came in his short united career when he started against Deportivo La Coruna in the Champions League in March 2003.
Since United had already secured their passage in the knockout phase, Roche was one of the many young people who chose Ferguson to start in Spain alongside seniors such as Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville and Laurent Blanc.
He lasted 45 minutes and was enforced during the break with United 1-0 down, before they gave up after the break after the break to lose 2-0 in their last game of the second group stage.
Despite his presence on the European stage, it wasn't long before Roche fell from the football pyramid. He had Stints with Burnley, Wrexham and Droylsden after he was released in the summer of 2003 on a free transfer by United, before he retired at the age of 27.
Now worked at a construction site in his career after football, the 44-year-old admitted that he had not expected his sports career to end as it did, especially in view of the success that United possesses in their graduates from Academy.
Asked if he would have expected that he would have such a drastic career change, he said LFETV in 2012: “Absolutely not. Especially if you sign for a club as big as Manchester United. You think you will play football until you are 35.
“The way things showed that I had to work, I worked here for almost three years and it is a bit of a change in football, but you just have to continue with it.”
After saying goodbye to football, Roche was supported by the PFA and has since become a qualified plumber and has a Cavity Wall Insulation Business.
After football, Roche said he discovered what his next step in life would be, Roche said he thinks young players should have a backup plan if their career did not flourish as they would expect.
“I had a few colleagues on the construction sites who asked me about United and how did I end up here,” he said.
“It can be pretty tiring, so I am not going to scream that I played for United. I think young players should be made today to train like something, so they know about the real world. Most of them probably don't have a plan to fall back if they don't make it as a professional.”