by Ziggy Keane

Created on: May 23, 2009

Robbie Keane is a 28 year old second striker, or Trequartista, who plays for the Republic of Ireland at international level, and Tottenham Hotspur at club level. Standing at 1.73m, Keane relies on his guile, vision, and creativity to create opportunities for his teammates, and enjoys an impressive goalscoring record himself.

Indeed, Keane is the record goalscorer for his national team, with 38 goals from his 88 caps. For Spurs, he has scored 84 goals in just over 200 appearances. His leadership qualities are also impressive, as he captains both club and country.

His footballing career began at schoolboy side Crumlin United in Dublin, Ireland, and from there he moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1997, despite overtures from Liverpool. He went on to make 74 appearances for Wolves, scoring 24 goals.

Given his impressive performances for Wolves, Coventry City swooped in to pluck Robbie from the Wolverhampton club for 6 million pounds. He spent only one season in Coventry, scoring an impressive 12 goals in 31 appearances.

In the year 2000, Inter Milan boss Marcello Lippi took note of the young starlet, and brought Keane to Italy for 13 million pounds; however, Keane only managed 6 appearances following the sacking of Lippi, as he was not favoured by new manager Marco Tardelli.

As a result, Keane moved on loan to Leeds United, and on May 2001, the deal became permanent as Leeds paid 12 million pounds for his services. Once again Robbie would find himself in a short-term relationship, however, as he moved on to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of 7 million pounds in 2002 as Leeds began their financial meltdown.

At international level, Keane rose to prominence at the World Cup in 2002, as he scored 3 goals in Ireland's 4 matches, including an injury time equalizer against Germany, and a last minute equalizer against Spain from the penalty spot.

But it was at Tottenham Hotspur that Keane really established himself as a household name at club level, as he became one of the Premier League's most prolific strikers, with a record of 80 goals in 197 appearances between 2002-2008. In 2008, Keane was part of the Spurs side to lift the League Cup, which remains his lone trophy at professional level.

Following an impressive 2007-08 campaign, Liverpool decided to sign Robbie Keane for 19 million pounds, but Keane's "dream move" evaporated very quickly, as Rafa Benitez decided that Keane did not suit his system. Thus, he was soon shipped back to Tottenham for 12 million pounds in January.

Keane has scored 4 goals in 13 appearances since his return, and has been named club captain.

At international level, Keane continues to captain and score goals for Ireland, as his nation seeks to take top spot in its World Cup Qualifying group when the Boys in Green square up against Bulgaria in Sofia in June.

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