Robbie Keane

Robbie Keane (born July 8, 1980 in Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish football player, who currently plays as a striker for Tottenham Hotspur and the Republic of Ireland.

Club career

Keane started his football with South Dublin schoolboy side, Crumlin United F.C. where his talent was recognised at an early age. As an U-10 schoolboy he was paid 50p a goal, and was soon being watched by scouts from a number of English professional clubs, including Premier League side Liverpool. However, he turned down Liverpool to join Wolves, reasoning that he had a greater chance of breaking into the first team at the First Division side. He made his first professional appearance in 1997, and played at Molineux for two seasons, making 88 appearances and scoring 29 goals, before a £6M transfer to Coventry City in 1999, a then British record for a teenager.

Related Topics:
Liverpool - Wolves - 1997 - Molineux - Coventry City - 1999

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After a successful season at Coventry, where he scored 12 goals in 34 games, he had become one of the hottest properties in English football, and was being courted by many of the biggest clubs in football. In the end, he was signed by Marcello Lippi of Internazionale for £13M, where he teamed up with the likes of Ronaldo, Christian Vieri and Alvaro Recoba. However his dream move to Italy soured when Lippi was sacked soon after Keane arrived, and Lippi's successor, Marco Tardelli deemed Keane surplus to requirements. Keane's ambition refused to let him stagnate in Italy, and he was loaned out to Leeds United in December 2000.

Related Topics:
Marcello Lippi - Internazionale - Ronaldo - Christian Vieri - Alvaro Recoba - Italy - Leeds United - 2000

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His Leeds career got off to a cracking start, scoring 9 goals in 14 starts before the Leeds manager, David O'Leary, made his loan deal became permanent in May 2001 at a cost of £12M. The following season was not so bright, and he found himself dropping down the pecking order. His form suffered and he only managed 10 goals in 36 appearances. Meanwhile, Leeds' financial troubles were forcing the club to sell many of its players, and Keane joined the exodus when he was sold to Spurs just before the 2002-03 transfer deadline, where he still plays.

Related Topics:
David O'Leary - 2001 - Spurs - 2002 - 03

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Upon signing for Tottenham, the Spurs manager Glenn Hoddle said Robbie was ideally suited to Tottenham and could make White Hart Lane his spiritual home for years to come. He repaid this faith with some outstanding displays, earning the club's Player of the Year award in his first two seasons at Tottenham. He bagged 13 and 16 goals respectively in those first two seasons for Spurs. His third season, 2004-2005, was more frustrating. Despite finishing with his highest return of goals in a season for Tottenham, 17, he played second-fiddle to Jermaine Defoe for much of the season, and it remains to be seen whether his long-term future will be at Tottenham, or whether this much-travelled young man will pack his bags in search of greener pastures once more.

Related Topics:
Glenn Hoddle - Jermaine Defoe

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