A detailed profile of Robbie Keane

Making his Spurs debut at White Hart Lane against West Ham United, Keane won a 70th minute penalty in which Teddy Sheringham put Spurs 2-1 ahead in a game they would eventually win 3-2. It took just 5 games for Keane to open his Spurs account, scoring an early opener at Ewood Park in a 2-1 win against Blackburn. Tottenham themselves were largely disappointing this season, finishing just 10th in the Premier League but Keane had impressed all, top scoring with 13 goals in 29 league appearances. His finest moment of the season came in a 4-3 win over Everton as he grabbed a second half hat-trick, much to the delight of the home support.

The 2003-04 season also left Spurs fans with little to shout about as they were caught up in a relegation battle for the majority of the season but again Keane stood out with 16 goals. Notable points this season were a hat-trick against his old club Wolves and what was fast becoming a trait, a last minute equaliser from the penalty spot in the North London derby at home to Arsenal. The following season, Keane found his chances limited as new manager Martin Jol preferred Mido, Frederick Kanoute and Jermaine Defoe over himself but he still managed a career best 17 goals from 45 appearances. Venting his frustrations at his lack of action, Keane was fined £10,000 in April 2005 after Jol made his third substitution in a league match against Birmingham City which meant that Keane would play no part in the game, thus causing him to storm from the dugout. As well as the fine, Keane was to spend some time training with the reserves.

Keane continued to battle for a starting place during the 2005-06 season and he was rewarded in November when he began to be selected more in place of the misfiring Defoe. Finishing the season once again as Spurs’ top scorer with 16 goals, Keane’s attitude was praised and he was rewarded with the vice captaincy of the club, taking the armband in games when Ledley King didn’t feature.

Martin Jol’s tenure at White Hart Lane had seen a vast improvement on previous seasons as Tottenham made a serious push for Champions League football. They held 4th position going into the final game of the season but a bout of Norovirus affected ten senior squad players meaning many were unavailable for selection for the final match against West Ham. Keane was also affected but recovered in time for the match however such was the affect the illness had on the side, West Ham who’d had an impressive season themselves, won 2-1 and broke Spurs’ hearts as rivals Arsenal pipped them to the final Champions League spot.

Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov arrived at White Hart Lane in the summer of 2006-07 and formed a formidable partnership with Keane over the course of the season. Unfortunately Robbie suffered his first real injury shortly before Christmas as knee ligament damage kept him out over a month. He returned in great shape and fired Spurs to a second consecutive 5th place finish with a superb return of 15 goals in the final 15 games of the season to finish with a career best tally of 22 goals in all competitions. One of these goals came in Sevilla in the first leg of the Uefa Cup semi final but it wasn’t enough as the Spaniards were victorious 4-3 over both legs.

Keane scored Spurs' both goals vs Liverpool in a 2-2 draw on 6th of October 2007

Keane was still searching for his first piece of senior silverware and this came in the 2007-08 season in the form of the league cup as he helped to overcome Chelsea 2-1 after extra time at the newly rebuilt Wembley stadium. Another high scoring season saw the Irish striker dispatch another career high of 23 goals, level with strike partner Berbatov. The two had formed a very formidable partnership that had seen both players linked to big money moves across the continent, as well as them receiving many individual honours and awards, including them sharing the April 2007 Player of the Month award the previous season. Inter Milan chairman Massimo Moratti publicly stated he had made a mistake allowing Keane to leave the San Siro and that the player had gone from strength to strength ever since. During this time Keane became only the 13th player to score 100 Premier League goals as well as the 15th player to score 100 goals for Tottenham, and during the calendar year of 2007 he scored an impressive 19 Premier League goals, 31 in all competitions, more than any other player, together with 13 assists.

His international career has also continued to amaze as he became Ireland’s all time record scorer in October 2004, scoring 2 against the Faroe Islands to surpass Niall Quinn’s record of 21 before scoring 4 goals in 8 qualifying games as his country failed to make the 2006 World Cup. A change of manager soon followed as Steve Staunton replaced Brian Kerr and made one of his first tasks the appointment of Robbie Keane as national team captain. He was soon rewarded as Keane scored the second of 3 goals against Sweden in Staunton’s first match in charge. To date, Keane has scored 33 international goals in 81 games.

After 6 years at Tottenham that had seen him become the first player to hit double figures in 6 consecutive Premier League seasons for the club, and after 107 goals in 253 games and a record 3 Spurs’ Player of the Year awards, Keane accepted an offer to join Rafa Benitez and Liverpool, taking up the vacant number 7 jersey last worn by the now departed Harry Kewell and made famous by such legends as Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish. Fans can look forward to the mouthwatering prospect of having one of the most talented and ever-improving forwards linking up with players such as Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Ryan Babel.

Keane can operate as an out and out striker, playing on the shoulders of the last defender or as a deep forward, playing off the main striker and attacking from the sides. He brings with him over ten years of playing experience, the maturity and respect that a national captain demands as well as the hunger for success having tasted just a league cup victory so far. He’s a talented and intelligent player with pace and power, fitting the criteria that Benitez is looking for. Having played in the Premiership for the majority of his career, Keane shouldn’t take long to adapt and already is no stranger to scoring at Anfield after scoring a brace in a 2-2 draw last October. Amassing an incredible £58m in transfer fees, Keane’s no stranger to a high profile move and the price tag burden won’t affect his game.

Joining new summer recruits Andrea Dossena, Philipp Degen, Diego Cavalieri and David Ngog, Rafa Benitez will be looking towards Robbie Keane to further drive Liverpool towards that elusive 19th league title and it’ll be no surprise at all if Liverpool finally end the wait to bring the Premiership trophy to Anfield.

Copyright - Adam Elce at LFChistory.net