Keane, Robbie – The Celtic Wiki

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Fullname: Robert David Keane
aka: Robbie Keane, Keano, Robert Keane
Born: 8 July 1980
Birthplace: Tallaght, Dublin, Ireland
Height: 5ft 8in, 1.73m
Signed: 1 Feb 2010 (on loan from Spurs)
Left: 1 June 2010
Fee: 6mth Loan deal
Position: Striker, Forward
Debut: Kilmarnock 1-0 Celtic, League, 2 Feb 2010
Internationals: Republic of Ireland
International Caps: 146
International Goals: 68

Biog

A vastly experienced and talented forward, Robbie Keane was a well travelled striker who began his professional career as a teenager with Wolverhampton Wanderers. After impressing with some fine performances for the Black Country side he moved across the Midlands in 1999 in a £6 million switch to Coventry. After a single season with the Sky Blues he moved to Inter Milan when Marcello Lippi splashed out £13m for this player now regarded by some commentators as one of the hottest properties in European football.

However that move turned sour when Lippi was sacked and Robbie Keane was loaned out to Leeds United. That deal became permanent in May 2001 when the Elland Road side paid out £12 million. With Leeds in deep financial trouble Robbie Keane signed for Spurs in 2002, making almost 200 appearances and scoring 80 goals for the Londoners.

Having established himself as one of the most accomplished forwards in the Premiership Robbie Keane was on the move again, this time Liverpool paid out £20m in July 2008. But Robbie Keane would only make 15 appearances for the Anfield club and in February 2009 he was back at Spurs for a relatively cut-price £12m.

Celtic Loan Period
Next thing you know, he signed for Celtic on 1st February 2010 agreeing to a 6-month loan deal with the Bhoys.

It was a stunning deadline day capture of the Tottenham man topping off a remarkably busy transfer window for the Hoops. Dublin-born Robbie Keane had long been touted as a possible Celtic target, so much so that the “Robbie Keane rumour” had become a transfer window tradition & joke among the Parkhead support.

Given this – and the fact that Robbie Keane’s reported £65,000 per week wages meant he was regarded out of Celtic’s price range – it was a massive surprise when news of the potential deal was revealed on Sky Sports News just seven hours before the closure of the window. He had though come on some cut-price deal.

With Celtic cyberspace in near meltdown the switch was finally confirmed a little after 8pm. A crowd of 5,000 Hoops fans gathered outside Celtic Park in freezing temperatures to greet their new ‘idol’ at just a little after midnight.

It was however to prove a rather bittersweet six months for all parties. Robbie Keane was to shine and he would prove to be every bit the star the Celtic support had long hoped for. Unfortunately though even the undoubted class of the Irishman couldn’t prevent a trophyless season which was punctuated by occasional moments of utter humiliation.

Robbie Keane’s debut came at Kilmarnock the day after his last-gasp signing and almost immediately it was clear the move would not be the fairytale all Celtic fans had hoped for.

In typical Celtic style the support soon came crashing to earth from high of the night before. Undoubtedly tired from the whirlwind events of the previous 24 hours Robbie Keane laboured to inspire a disjointed Celtic side as the hosts performed a smash and grab raid and took all three points with a 1-0 victory.

The next game, Robbie Keane came off the bench at half-time and he would net a penalty as Celtic claimed a 4-2 victory at Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup. Throughout the second half Keane had tormented the opposition backline. His excellent touch, vision and movement stood out in a performance which tantalised the Bhoys support.

Now in full stride Robbie Keane began to look like exactly what he was – a class above anything in the SPL. Despite Celtic’s league hopes seemingly being extinguished before Robbie had hardly kicked a ball in the Hoops the Irishman remained a joy to watch as he gave a lesson in top class forward play.

With Rangers’ Majid Bougherra shockingly allowed to cynically kick and hack Keane out of the clash with Rangers at Ibrox, Celtic were left with just the Scottish Cup to concentrate on. With a tough tie at Kilmarnock awaiting there was intense hope among the Scottish media that Keane and Celtic would once more come a cropper at Rugby Park.

Robbie Keane though had other ideas and produced a wonderful second-half hat-trick to seal a 3-0 triumph and keep Celtic’s season alive for at least a little while longer. That second-half display was now typical of the form Keane was showing in the Hoops as he bagged nine goals in nine games.

However, a disappointing season would then hit rock bottom. Celtic were thrashed 4-0 at St Mirren in the league – a result which meant the end for Celtic manager Tony Mowbray. Neil Lennon would be appointed interim manager and despite a couple of improved performances in the SPL the Bhoys crashed out of the Scottish Cup with a humiliating 2-0 Hampden semi-final defeat at the hands of Ross County.

Robbie Keane had played in both of these encounters but he was powerless to make the difference as tactical naivety, a lack of desire and defensive ineptitude combined to derail Celtic’s season.

Under Lennon, Celtic finally put together a good run of form and as ever Keane’s ability and goals were at the fore. However, as the Irishman’s loan spell came towards its conclusion the Celtic fans were left wondering “What If?“.

Robbie Keane had been a refreshing respite from the drudgery in much of the season. He’d scored numerous goals, most of which were of top class quality. However, it was notable that in each of the most important matches (few that they were) that he’d failed to score in any of them. He failed to score in either game again Rangers and in the Ross County Scottish Cup semi-final defeat. Add in the 4-0 defeat by St Mirren, then question marks can be hung above his head. On the other hand, in the Rangers matches he was hacked out the games, and he can hardly be made held culpable alone for the defeats in the St Mirren & Ross County games.

Post-Celtic
After his loan at Celtic – a move which the player seemed to enjoy thoroughly despite the lack of silverware – Keane returned to Tottenham. But his return was a waste of time, mainly as an increasingly improving Spurs side did not need his services. He then moved to the US with a short stint at Aston Villa beforehand. It became a running joke by fans to mock that whenever he moved sides that he was proud to now be playing for his ‘childhood heroes’ etc etc….

At the end of it all, he chased the money, the move to Celtic possibly being an exception (Celtic didn’t have as much to offer in pay relative to the wealthier clubs in England). Sadly, he won’t be able to look back proudly on an enviable collection of well deserved medals from major competitions, but just a long CV of illustrious clubs and no more.

Away from the club game, with their options limited he remained the lynch pin of the Ireland national side’s attack, firing the side to Euro 2012. However, once there the side flopped and Robbie Keane’s reputation was tarnished following his poor displays. Shouldn’t take away from his overall record for his national side, for whom he is a record holder for goals scored and most caps, and he is actually one of the highest scorers ever in international football. Something to be proud of but not all are too impressed (especially with the decline of the prestige of international football).

Overall, Robbie Keane’s career was one of a very good talent with a very fine international record, lots of big transfer fees but surprisingly little much more to give credit on.

He never lost his Celtic roots, and played in front of 48,000 supporters for a ‘Celtic Legends‘ select side at Anfield v their Liverpool counterparts in a charity match in March 2023, and actually played a period in the match for both sides.

In 2023, he made a move to Israel to manage Maccabi Tel Aviv. It was criticised by some at the time, but once conflict and war blew up between Israel and the Palestine terretories, his decision to go there proved very controversial. He left that managerial role in 2024 at the end of the season. Note, on this site, out of respect to all, all discussion on related issues on the political situation around Israel/Palestine are deemed to be best left to a more appropriate site than this one.

[….]

Quotes

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. I would have liked to go back down the road with a medal, but it is not to be the case. Personally, I’d have to say things have gone well because I have enjoyed my football and scored goals. But at the end of the day, as a footballer, you look at how the team is doing and that is how you judge things. I have never regretted anything I have ever done in football. You do things at the time for a reason and I always wanted to play for this club. It was a dream for me to put the jersey on and I would never change it.”
Robbie Keane (Apr 2010)

“(Celtic) was a good time for me. It was the right move. I haven’t had the chance to go back. It was an incredible time, although some of the pitches weren’t the best.”
Robbie Keane (2013)

Interviewer: “The big one ‘which team did you support as a boy?’ because there have been so many.”
Keane: “People forget in Ireland you support Celtic and that’s it. Then for me, it was Liverpool. That’s the norm over here.”
Robbie Keane (2014)

“Scoring goals when you are a striker, no matter where you are, you get that exciting feeling,” Ireland’s captain said. “But certainly, growing up and watching Celtic and having the privilege to play here, and managing to score a few goals while I was here was extra special. So of course it would be nice if that was the case (scoring again at Celtic Park).
“It would certainly be up there with my best moments. It’s very hard to predict that now but if that were the case then I’d obviously be delighted.
“Honestly, the whole experience of being a player here was fantastic. Coming from London and coming to Celtic Park late at night to find 5,000 people there waiting for me was one of the best feelings you can ever get as a player.
“Just walking out on to Celtic Park and putting on that green and white jersey, well, from start to finish the experience for me was great. I enjoyed every minute of it.”
Robbie Keane (2014)

Playing Career

Club	From	To	Fee	League		Scottish/FA Cup		League cup		Other
Celtic	01/02/2010	01/06/2010	Loan	15 (1)	12	2 (1)	4	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Tottenham	02/02/2009		£ 12000000	29 (6)	11	1 (1)	1	2 (1)	2	0 (1)	0
Liverpool	28/07/2008	02/02/2009	£ 20300000	16 (3)	5	1 (0)	0	0 (1)	0	6 (1)	2
Tottenham	31/08/2002	28/07/2008	£ 7000000	158 (39)	80	15 (4)	11	14 (5)	7	15 (4)	9
Leeds	21/05/2001	31/08/2002	£ 12000000	16 (12)	4	0 (0)	0	2 (0)	3	6 (0)	3
Leeds	20/12/2000	20/05/2001	Loan	12 (6)	9	2 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Inter	01/08/2000	21/05/2001	£ 13000000	4 (2)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Coventry	18/08/1999	01/08/2000	£ 6000000	30 (1)	12	3 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Wolves	01/08/1997	18/08/1999	Trainee	67 (7)	24	3 (2)	2	7 (2)	3	0 (0)	0
Totals			£70,300,000	347 (77)	157	27 (8)	18	25 (9)	15	27 (6)	14
			goals / game	0.37		0.51		0.44		0.42
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals

2009/10 Statistics
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	G	A	SH	SG	FC	FS	YC	RC
Celtic	Scottish Cup	2	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Celtic	League	15	1	12	3	38	23	5	14	1	0

GS: Games Started, SB: Used as Substitute, G: Goals, A: Assists, SH: Shots, SG: Shots on goal,
YC: Yellow Cards, RC: Red Cards, FC: Fouls Committed, FS: Fouls Suffered, SV: Saves, OF: Offsides,
W: Wins, D: Draws, L: Losses

Honours with Celtic

none

KDS Honours

KDS Honours
MOTM Winners 2009-10
07-Mar-10	Falkirk 0-2 Celtic	SPL
13-Mar-10	Kilmarnock 0-3 Celtic	SPL
27-Mar-10	Celtic 3-1 Kilmarnock	SPL
Mar- 10	Mar-10 Player of the Month

Pictures

Player Pics

Articles

Colin Sheridan: In passing over Robbie Keane, the FAI can finally do something right

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport-columnists/arid-41412862.html
There is literally no scenario I want to see Robbie Keane as the next manager of our national soccer team.
Colin Sheridan: In passing over Robbie Keane, the FAI can finally do something right

POLITICAL FOOTBALL: Robbie Keane left his job as Maccabi Tel Aviv manager last week. Pic: INPHO/Aleksandar Djorovic
Mon, 10 Jun, 2024 – 07:10
Colin Sheridan.png
Colin Sheridan

In case you haven’t heard, the FAI are looking for a manager of the men’s senior football team. If you’ve ever coached your son’s under-10 street leagues squad, there’s a chance you’ve gotten a call. Been “sounded out”. Added to the bookmakers’ long-list of potential candidates. The fact you’ve not been unveiled means that you too have rejected the offer. Congratulations, you’re in fair-to-middling company.

Lee Carsley. Anthony Barry. Sam Allardyce. Gus Poyet. Neil Lennon. Chris Coleman. Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Some chap called Anthony Hudson. The manager of your local Lidl. They’ve all – at some stage or another since Stephen Kenny’s departure in November – been attached to the vacant job. Every underwhelming rumour has ended the exact same way: in disappointment, mixed with relief. Most of the ‘options’ posited have been so uninspiring, the inevitable failure in their landing comes with the rather bittersweet sense of a bullet dodged.

Speaking of bullets, waiting in the long grass, like the deadly-ish striker he once was, is Robbie Keane. On Friday, the Tallaght man left his role as Maccabi Tel Aviv manager after a year in charge. He did so after guiding the club to the Israeli Premier League title in May and the last-16 of the Europa Conference League. The Tel Aviv gig was Keane’s first managerial post, and, given he’s uttered nothing to the contrary, he will likely see it as an unqualified triumph.

In a statement published on Maccabi Tel Aviv’s website, Keane said his decision to leave the club was “difficult”.

“I want to thank the owners, all the players, the coaches, and the fans for making this season unforgettable,” said Keane.

“I am very proud of everything we achieved together as a team and especially proud of the hard work and the dedication that led to winning the championship and the Toto Cup.”

When Keane was offered the role last June, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel (not an Irish entity) immediately urged him not to take it, issuing a statement through their social media highlighting the potential complicity of high profile, non-Israeli sportspeople enabling and legitimising an apartheid regime by choosing to work in a country hellbent on the continued persecution of the Palestinian people. To make their point, the PACBI spoke of Omar Qatin, a 24-year-old Palestinian footballer shot dead days before by the IDF as he defended his village in the Occupied West Bank against a mob of armed Israeli settlers.

Obviously, choosing the murder of a fellow footballer to amplify the moral delinquency of Keane’s ambivalence was strategic on the behalf of the PACBI. It was also ineffectual. We will never know how moved and conflicted Keane was by their plea. The only evidence we have are his actions. He took the job, and he stayed in it, despite everything that came before and since.

Whatever role Keane inevitably lands in the coming weeks, he will likely be asked about the “controversy” surrounding his time in Tel Aviv. When he is, he will offer some version of the “I’m just a football man” bullshit he proffered upon his appointment last summer.

In the aftermath of the October 7th attacks, Keane ‘fled’ to Greece. When he returned, he did so as a hero to Tel Aviv fans, which is instructive, as it illustrates why celebrity endorsement is so crucial to the normalisation of evil. If Keane was not conflicted last June, but became so in October, or December, or February, or April as the death toll rose while he sunned himself from his perch inside his sunny Zone of Interest, or even last week when making his fond farewells, we have heard none of it. He flagrantly chose profit over principle.

And let’s be clear. Keane was not in Tel Aviv as an indentured servant, earning much needed income to send home to his hungry family. He is an incredibly wealthy man. There is no comparison between him and the plumber in Dubai or the teacher in Qatar. On the most basic, human level, he had a choice. And even after he made it, he had countless opportunities to qualify that choice. Defend it. Regret it. Reverse it. He did none of it. All he did was compound it.

If we all accept that every child born in the world – from Ballycastle to the Hindu Kush – at some point plays with a ball at their feet, then they – like the murdered Omar Qatin – are all “footballers,” then we have to accept that every single one of the 15,000 children killed in Gaza by Israel was – past tense, remember, because they are dead – a footballer. In that context, there is literally no scenario I want to see Robbie Keane as the next manager of our national soccer team. They were all killed 50 miles from Tel Aviv.

Unless he breaks down on the podium, utterly bereft with grief and shame and regret, he is worthy of nothing more than our scorn. He is certainly not worthy of the support of a footballing public, many of whom brought their sons and daughters to Dalymount Park last month to witness an occasion so profound in its significance it transcended sport.

Stephen Kenny may not have been the most brilliant manager, but he was certainly a principled leader in a position of power. Cynics will point out that football is not a popularity contest. Nor is it a political one. But there is nothing “political” in ignoring the massacre of innocents while cashing in your pieces of silver. That, simply, is moral abdication. The FAI have done plenty wrong. In passing over Robbie Keane, they can finally do something right.