Gordon Strachan signs Robbie Keane
On this day, Wednesday 18th August in 1999 Coventry City Football Club broke its transfer record. Sky Blue ‘gaffer’ (and now CCFPA member) Gordon Strachan brought the young 19 year old Irish striker Robbie Keane from his first club Wolverhampton Wanderers on a five year contract for £6m. Two goals on his debut against Derby County guaranteed him instant cult status and he was always exciting to watch. In a poll Robbie was voted third best Sky Blue player of their 34 year top flight era and arguably has been one of the most popular CCFC players ever to wear the Sky Blue.
By the time Robbie left CCFC for the challenge of continental football with top Italian outfit Inter Milan in August 2000 his exploits (a dozen goals in 31 Sky Blue appearances) had more than doubled his value in less than a year. City got a club record £13m from Inter for his services – nice profit!
Robbie hardly got a game in Italy (six in total) before returning to the UK with Leeds United (initially on loan) in December 2000 and another £12m changed hands. At Elland Road, Robbie repaid his fee netting nineteen times in his 56 outings in the Leeds shirt before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in August 2002 for a further £7m. In six seasons at White Hart Lane Robbie’s growing reputation was consolidated. By the time he left ‘Spurs for a stint with Liverpool in July 2008 in 254 games for the north London club he knocked in a massive 107 goals.
Robbie in the Sky Blue 1999
The Merseysiders were happy to pay a stupendous £20.3m for Robbie’s talents but before the 2008-09 season ended Robbie returned to ‘Spurs for ‘only’ £12m having scored another seven goals in 28 appearances for the Reds. By Robbie’s standards his second stint at White Hart Lane was not as successful as he scored only fifteen times in his 52 appearances before Robbie was persuaded to try his luck in the United States signing for LA Galaxy for £3.5m in August 2011. In between times (Feb. 2010 – May 2011) Robbie had also had loan spells in Scotland with Celtic – an incredible sixteen goals in nineteen games – and West Ham in England (‘only’ netting twice in his ten games there).
For the Galaxy Robbie’s goals were still enormous over six seasons (2011-16) netting 104 times in 165 games plus three goals in his seven outings on loan at Aston Villa in January 2012. In total then Robbie has played 719 top level games and scored an incredible 314 goals (a ‘fantastic strike rate of 0.44 throughout his nineteen year career up to then) and has cost his clubs nearly £75m to sign him!
Then, in August 2017, Robbie got in on the beginning of the new Indian Super League, signing for ATK Kolkata (Calcutta) as did former Sky Blue players (and CCFPA members) Conor Thomas and Carl Baker. Initially, Robbie started as a player-coach and scored six in his nine appearances in his first season but graduated to become ATK’s manager on the departure of Teddy Sheringham. On 28th November 2018 Robbie announced his retirement from playing football still under 38 years of age.
Robbie Keane in his Irish green strip
Since then Robbie has been successively Assistant ‘gaffer’ with Middlesbrough (as well as his country) in June 2019, coach with Leeds United (May 2023) then Head Coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel from June 2023 resigning from his post at the end of his first season in charge. Since January 2025 Robbie has been Head Coach of Hungarian side Ferencvarosi TC.
Internationally Robbie also had a full career featuring for the Republic of Ireland‘s U16s, U18s and U20s before making his full international debut in March 1998 aged 18.
In total Robbie has won 148 full caps and scored 68 goals for the RoI between 1998-2016 and has played with other current and ex Sky Blues like Gary Breen and CCFPA members Richard Keogh and Cyrus Christie.
Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young (& Dean Nelson) for sourcing the images.
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