Robbie Keane

Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional football coach and former player who played as a striker.

He moved to Wolverhampton four days before his 16th birthday in July 1996, joining their youth team.

Keane progressed through Wolves' youth ranks and made his professional debut aged 17 on 9 August 1997, scoring twice against Norwich City.

The following season he excelled at the club, earning praise from both the press and Wolves manager Colin Lee.

He went on to be the club's leading scorer, with 16 goals in the 1998–99 season.

Keane's performances and goalscoring record with both Wolves and his national team attracted much interest from larger clubs and a move for the young striker seemed imminent given Wolves' finances.

However, with three years left on his contract, Wolves sought a high price for their Irish star and managing director John Richards stated his reluctance to sell Keane unless their asking price was met.

He changed club frequently between 1999 and 2002, breaking transfer fee records, but his brief spells at Inter Milan and Leeds United were unexceptional.

Just weeks into the 1999–2000 season, he was sold to Premier League club Coventry City for £6 million, then a British record for a teenager.

Keane got off to a great start, scoring two goals on his debut against Derby County.

During a successful season at Coventry, he played a major role in a stylish attacking side boasting the likes of Gary McAllister, Mustapha Hadji and Youssef Chippo and formed a productive strike partnership with Cédric Roussel.

Keane played in a total of 34 games, scoring 12 goals, all of which came in the Premier League.

After an impressive first season in the Premier League, Keane was signed by Italian Serie A club Inter Milan for a fee of £13 million in July 2000, signing a five-year contract.

However, Keane's dream move to Italy soon soured when manager Marcello Lippi was sacked.

He joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2002 and played there for seven and a half years over two spells, amassing 306 appearances and 122 goals across all competitions.

Keane was the Republic of Ireland's top scorer at the 2002 FIFA World Cup with three goals as they reached the last 16, and also played at UEFA Euro 2012 and UEFA Euro 2016.

Throughout his club and international career he was known for his goal celebration where he performed a cartwheel followed by a forward roll.

Keane served as captain of the Republic of Ireland from March 2006 until his international retirement in August 2016.

Keane is the most capped player and is the top goalscorer in the team's history.

He is the head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Keane began his career at Wolverhampton Wanderers, scoring twice on his first-team debut aged 17.

The following season, he was the club's leading goalscorer and scored his first international goal for Ireland.

The 2007–08 season was the most fruitful of his career as he set a career record of 23 goals in a season, including a landmark 100th competitive goal, and won his first senior honour (the League Cup).

Keane moved to Liverpool in July 2008 but he spent only six months at the club before returning to Tottenham, where he was made first team captain.

In January 2010, he moved on loan to Scottish Premier League side Celtic for the rest of the season, and spent the second half of the following season loaned to West Ham United.

He left Tottenham for LA Galaxy in 2011, and in January 2012 went to Aston Villa on a two-month loan during the Major League Soccer (MLS) off-season.

In total, he scored 126 Premier League goals for six different clubs, which ranks him as the 15th-most successful goalscorer in the history of the Premier League.

Widely regarded as one of the best Irish players of all time, Keane scored 68 goals for the Republic of Ireland national team over an 18-year international career, making him the all-time record Irish scorer.

His 146 caps is also an Irish record.

Keane is the joint fifth-highest European international goalscorer of all time, and the only player in the history of world football to have scored at least one international goal in 19 consecutive years.

He departed LA Galaxy in 2016 having scored 104 goals across six seasons, before a short stint with Indian club ATK.

Keane announced his retirement from professional football in November 2018.

After announcing his retirement from playing, Keane began his coaching career with the Ireland senior team as assistant manager under Mick McCarthy's management setup in November 2018.

He also took on the role of assistant manager at Championship club Middlesbrough in 2019, with his former teammate Jonathan Woodgate as manager.

He left both roles in 2020.

He became the head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv in June 2023.

Robert David Keane was born and raised in Tallaght, Dublin, the son of Anne and Robert Keane.

He started his football career with local club Fettercairn before joining Dublin schoolboy team Crumlin United at the age of 10, where his talent was seen and recognised at an early age.

He also played Gaelic football until he was 15, before giving it up to pursue a football career.

Keane received offers from both Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers, but decided to go to the First Division side, judging that it would be harder to break into the first team at Liverpool.