Thanks to former CCFPA committee member Dean Nelson for reminding us that on this day (31st July) in 2000 after almost one year with the Sky Blues Robbie Keane joined Inter Milan for £13m then the record transfer fee received for a Sky Blue player. This sum is dwarfed, of course, by the reputed £40m just paid in July 2023 by Sporting Lisbon for Sky Blues Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres – but this was a big sum (and profit) for CCFC at the turn of the millennium!
The nineteen year old precocious Irish striker had been signed by (now CCFPA member) Gordon Strachan for the Sky Blues from his first club Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday 18th August in 1999 on a five year contract. The £6m saw CCFC break its transfer record too (being then a world record for a teenager) and a two goal debut against Derby County guaranteed him instant cult status at Highfield Road. The impression made by Robbie with the Sky Blues (twelve goals in 31 appearances) therefore more than doubled his value in less than a year!
Robbie’s Italian job was hardly a success and he returned to the UK with Leeds United (initially on loan) in December 2000 and another £12m changed hands! Nineteen goals in his 56 games at Elland Road provoked a £7m move to Tottenham Hotspur in August 2002 with massive suceess to come. By the time he left ‘Spurs for a stint with Liverpool for £20.3m in July 2008 he had scored an impressive 107 goals in his 254 games for the London club.
Before the 2008-09 season ended Robbie returned to ‘Spurs for ‘only’ £12m having scored another seven goals in 28 appearances for the Reds but his second stint at White Hart Lane was less successful (fiften goals in 52 games). An experiment in the United States with LA Galaxy followed in August 2011 (for another £3.5m) after some loan spells in Scotland with Celtic – an incredible sixteen goals in nineteen games – and West Ham United in England (‘only’ netting twice in his ten games there).
Robbie kept on scoring whilst with the Galaxy hitting eight in just seventeen outings plus also scoring three goals in his seven outings for Aston Villa on a month’s loan in January 2012. In total then Robbie has played 571 top level games and scored an incredible 218 goals (a ‘fantastic strike rate of 0.35 throughout his more than fifteen year career) and has cost his clubs nearly £75m to sign him!
Most recently (from 2017) Robbie helped the new Indian Super League get off the ground signing as player coach then becoming manager of ATK Kolkata (Calcutta). On 28th November 2018 Robbie announced his retirement from playing football still under 38 years of age.
Most recently Robbie has had coaching attachments at Middlesbrough (2019-20) whilst contunuing to assist managing the Irish National team, Leeds United (May- June 2023) and, from this June has become head coach of Israeli Premier League side Maccabi Tel Aviv!
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 eighteen.
In total Robbie has won 148 full caps and scored 68 goals for the Republic of Ireland between 1998-2016 and has played with other current and ex Sky Blues like Gary Breen and CCFPA members Richard Keogh and Cyrus Christie.
What a career!