Exclusive: Robbie Keane to Join LA Galaxy
Posted on Friday, August 12, 2011 at 05:40 PM
Larger Text
Print
E-mail
6 Comments
RSS 
Recent Posts
- Orb should win Preakness easily, Oxbow up for second
- Could Celtic boss Neil Lennon be next manager at Manchester United? - His European exploits, especially defeating Barcelona may put him in frame
- Orb has what it takes to win Triple Crown in 2013 - Kentucky Derby winner has breeding, connections and talent
- Goldencents can lead all the way for Doug O’Neill in Kentucky Derby - Lines of Battle, Irish horse looks outclassed in Run for the Roses
- Why Ireland’s Rory McIlroy can defeat Tiger Woods at the 2013 Masters - Comeback kid proves in Texas Open that he still has a unique talent
Archives
The move was revealed today as Keane, 31, found no takers for his services in the English Premiership. He failed to reach agreement with his last club, Tottenham, whose boss Harry Redknapp proved not to be a Keane fan. Keane has played with Tottenham since January of 2009, but has been lent out to Glasgow Celtic and West Ham United during that time.
Keane, 31, played in a scoreless draw against Croatia in Dublin on Wednesday evening for the Irish national side. He is expected to travel to Los Angeles to undergo a physical and complete the two-year deal that will see him join Beckham, who signed with the Galaxy in January 2007 in a package worth a reported $250 million.
Keane is the all-time leading goal scorer for the Irish national side, with 58 scores in 108 appearances. His devotion to playing for his country is well-known.
Keane, father of a toddler son, is married to Dublin model Claudine Palmer, who has said in the past that she would welcome a move to the U.S. "Would I like to see him play for a team like LA Galaxy? Yes, I would love that, but it changes all the time," she said 18 months ago when word first surfaced that an American move could be in Keane's future.
6 Comments
See all comments
GeorgeDillon | Aug 13, 2011, 04:45 PM EDT
colkelley: Has it occurred to you that the reason the coaches don't come down Dixie way is because there aren't many good players down here? I've been to see the Charleston Battery a couple times--they're no threat to Barcelona or Real. But there is quite a lot of youth soccer in Savannah. Just doesn't seem to produce good adult players. With respect to the story above, Keane has sure struck it lucky to get a gig like L.A in his declining football years. I suspect his wife (who's a notorious shopaholic) is already checking out the geography of Rodeo Drive. But it means Keane can say goodbye to playing for Ireland any more.
Report abuse
colkelley | Aug 13, 2011, 02:57 PM EDT
My son is a 6'1" 190 pound half-Irish/half-Filipino who won the ONLY non-club spot on a U-16 State ODP team a few years back. When the team was down 8-0 they put him in as Sweeper and for the last quarter of the game the opposing team got one shot on goal...40 feet to the left. The next game he was put in AGAIN as Sweeper (he usually plays Forward) in the last quarter when the team was down 4-0 and the other team did not make a single shot on goal. At 18 he played on his high school team (along with a Select club team and an all-Mexican adult team) and they finished #2 in state. He got a partial college soccer scholarship and after the first season of playing scrimmage against the foreign players with no field time he was frustrated...especially when one of his teammates who had played in two English Premier League matches told him he was the toughest player he'd ever faced. When my son asked the coach when he would see game play the coach said, "Oh, I don't play domestic players in matches...the fans come to see foreigners play." He switched schools and gave up the soccer scholarship. At 16 he had played head-to-head against a Nigerian National Team member and held him cold, but he could not get ahead because of where we live...the South.
Report abuse
PhlutiePhan | Aug 13, 2011, 11:22 AM EDT
I taught high school in St. Louis in the early 80s at a Catholic soccer powerhouse. A key player on a national under seventeen championship team which competed in London and won, told me that the word was out that the national team was looking for political correctness and not the best players. It is obvious that this p.c. did not include the use and development of Hispanic players. The first thing that Klinsmann did was to call up at least two Hispanic players. There is a genuine fear that the national team will become dominated by those from south of the border.
Report abuse
colkelley | Aug 13, 2011, 10:50 AM EDT
American soccer is plagued by a mentality which limits scouting to certain areas of the country (NEVER the South), certain schools, and certain clubs. State Olympic Development teams are supposed to be taken from the best players statewide, but are most often simply the entire team from the strongest club in the state, no outsiders allowed. College teams use talented American players to scrimmage against the foreigners they bring in because "fans want to see foreigners play." What the American pro teams, the National team, and the Olympic team need to do is have a series of regional OPEN tryouts and a process of selecting the best players strictly for their abilities, not what region they come from, what school they play for, or what club they play for. American soccer is not at the level it should be because it actively discriminates against many of the most talented players.
Report abuse
cillowen | Aug 13, 2011, 10:18 AM EDT
not a bad move for a proven saviour star
Report abuse
Report abuse