Is Robbie Keane Actually That Good?
In a league increasingly saturated with big-name players at the end of their careers who boost shirt sales but only offer a few more goals/assists/SMB’s (Spectacular Moments of Brilliance… and yes, I made that phrase up just now) than a non-Designated-Player, a question emerges – is Robbie Keane actually that good?
Galaxy fans would of course, gush about their captain.
They’d likely first point you to his stats, and allow them to speak for themselves — and with 66 goals and 40 assists in just 100 MLS appearances, no one would fault them.
They’d maybe then point, also understandably, to his being included three times in the MLS Best XI alongside Galaxy legends such as Landon Donovan.
If they wanted to really hammer home the point, Galaxy fans could rub in the three MLS cups Keane has won in his 4 years with the club.
Yes, you read that right– three cups in four years.
The icing on the cake?
Robbie Keane is also the reigning MLS MVP.
While he’s been remarkable in much of his time with the Galaxy, 2014 was a career-best year for King Keane. According to MLS’s player profile on Keane, “Keane finished with the third-most goals in MLS this season with 19 and was tied for second in assists with 14, giving him the highest combination of goals and assists from any player this season and the most of any player during a single season in club history.”
So is Robbie Keane really that good? The stats back him up. However, Keane’s value to his Galaxy teammates, to his coach, to the LA organization and to the MLS far exceeds what even his insane stats would suggest.
“I dread the day I have to retire from football. I mean, I dread it. I couldn’t imagine not playing again.”
In 2013, when Keane took over from David Beckham as the Galaxy captain (and face of LA), Keane told news outlet Sporting News, “You can’t even associate me with Beckham because we’re completely different. He’s one of the biggest stars in the world, bar none. … If I can help the game, help grow the game, help the league to be better, stronger, that’s good. But you can only do that by performing well and doing what I’m doing. If I continue to keep doing that and if people like it, great. And if not, who cares?”
He’s definitely kept doing that, and we definitely like it. See, the thing that sets Keane apart from almost any other player in the MLS is that he shows up, everyday, to work. Soccer is not a joke to him- it is his life.
In the same 2013 interview, Keane said that he, “… dread[s] the day I have to retire from football. I mean, I dread it. I couldn’t imagine not playing again.”
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This last week, NYCFC manager Jason Kreis came under fire for publicly criticizing his players for their lack of effort in big games, specifically in their last two defeats vs Columbus and, you guessed it, the Galaxy.
“The players need to show if they want to be here and be a part of this because I know the coaching staff does,” Kreis said, after his side’s loss to Columbus. “I know the coaching staff cares an awful lot about this club and the job we’re attempting to do. I’m not so sure all the players do.”
Summed up: Kreis was wondering where his lads’ commitment and character was.
These are the two things though, you would never see questioned in Robbie Keane.
Why?
Why is Keane constantly giving his all, wearing his heart on his sleeve, and leading the charge in every game he plays?
“You have to look after yourself. You have to be mentally strong. You have to have a hunger about you, a toughness about you.”
“I come from a place where you have to, not say survive, almost, but I came from the streets of Dublin, where it’s tough,” Keane said of his childhood in an interview with Sports Illustrated at the beginning of the year.”
“You have to look after yourself. You have to be mentally strong. You have to have a hunger about you, a toughness about you, because you’re living in [a] tough situation.”
“I think that’s mentally made me a stronger person from an earlier age, and I think I’ve continued that streak from the streets of Dublin to where I am now.”
And it’s that toughness- that workman-like intensity, that fuels Keane’s desire to win.
“I want four [MLS Cups] next year. And then after that I want five. And I’ll continue to try for that because, first and foremost, I love playing the game. It’s simple. And when you’re playing, you’re enjoying yourself, but you play to win games. You play to be champions.”
Dec 7, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Galaxy forward Robbie Keane (7) holds the MLS Cup championship trophy after the 2014 MLS Cup final against the New England Revolution at Stubhub Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Just this week, the LA Galaxy welcomed, for the first time, a huge crop of high-schoolers to the StubHub Center, where they’ll take part in the Galaxy’s ground-breaking high school academy.
One of the greatest beauties about the new program, is that young, aspiring talents will get to study and learn from some of the greats in the game.
They’ll be able to ask Gyasi Zardes about his rise through LA’s academy to the first team.
They’ll be able to watch Steven Gerrard every day in training, as he curls in freekick beauty after freekick beauty.
They’ll be able to play keepy-uppy with Gio.
But maybe most importantly, they’ll be able to learn from Robbie Keane- a man who’s desire to win is just simply unstoppable. His thirst for silverware, unquenchable.
“I still want to be the best player on the training field every day. I want to be the best player on the field when it comes to it on Saturday. Doing that, that shows them [young players] more than anything, than just sitting a young lad down and speaking to him, which I’ll do anyway. But for me, it’s showing them what it’s like to continue to play at the top for long, long time.”
We pray, King Keano, that you will play at the top for a long, long time.
We hope that for years to come, you’ll be banging in the goals, collecting MVP after MVP award, and showing the youngsters in LA what’s what.
And most importantly, that you’ll do it in the white shirt of LA.
Because yes, Robbie. You actually are that good.