The news that Kevin Keegan has stage four cancer will come as a bitter blow to his thousands of fans as well as to him and his family.
Those of a younger generation may think of him only as a failed England head coach or the man who embarked on a passionate rant about Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson when he was in charge of Newcastle.
But that is to do Keegan a huge disservice, and to fail to recognise his claims to be English football’s first modern superstar.
Before Keegan, footballers were famous mainly within the sport. Keegan became a mainstream celebrity during the 1970s.
His distinctive curly hair, energetic personality, television appearances, and endorsements made him recognizable even to people who didn’t follow football. He appeared on chat shows, recorded pop songs, and became a regular figure in British popular culture.
In many ways, he foreshadowed the celebrity-athlete model later associated with figures such as David Beckham.
But he could also play, with his move from Liverpool to the Bundesliga side Hamburger SV groundbreaking. At a time when elite English players rarely left England. Keegan became one of the first British footballers to build a truly international profile. In Germany, he was not merely a foreign player; he became the league’s biggest star and led Hamburg to major success.
He won the Ballon d’Or twice, in 1978 and 1979, achieved a degree of international recognition that no English player had previously earned.
Keegan was made for the television era. Whilst neither a towering specimen or a naturally elegant genius, he played with relentless energy, determination and a clear passion for the game. Whilst still admiring his talent, fans felt they could identify with him.
Few would claim he was England’s greatest player. Stanley Matthews, Bobby Charlton from an earlier era and Paul Gascoigne or later Wayne Rooney all have better claims to that title.
But what made Keegan special was that he became one of the first English footballers whose fame, image, commercial appeal, and international profile combined to create something familiar today: the global football superstar.