Robbie Keane announces international retirement

JoeA3

End of an era...

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2016/0824/811725-robbie-keane-to-retire-following-oman-curtain-call/


Some brilliant memories, this being my own favourite...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIexE4B1GHY

Mushy

Legend. Yeah his legs were gone by this stage but always wanted him around the squad.

Think can safely say we'll never a goal-scorer of that calibre for a long time

GLaDOS

The word "legend" is thrown around far too often these days, but Robbie Keane is an Irish Footballing legend.

Very few players can claim to be as dedicated to their national team as Robbie, and we won't see a striker as good as him in the green shirt for a long long time.

Thanks for the memories.

Nerdlingr

Legend. His scoring record is unbelievable for a country like Ireland.

Brilliant statement from him as well...you can tell how much it meant/means to him.

Red Kev

JoeA3 wrote: »

Some brilliant memories, this being my own favourite...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIexE4B1GHY

Watched that in a cafe in Essaouira in Morocco with about 300 Moroccan men, not a woman in sight. Keane scores, place went fcuking mental !!! :pac:

Sad to see him go, he makes a mockery of those who do their international retirement in their late 20's or early 30's, even though they've plenty left in the tank.

Billy86

For all the begrudgers, there goes maybe our greatest ever.

He retires as the sixth highest all time scorer in international football (Europe, South America, Africa in this century) - only Klose, Puskas, Kocsis, Muller and Pele are above him, and of current players only Ronaldo is likely to overtake him (currently 6 goals behind). That's nothing short of f***ing ridiculous.

Jimbob1977

Incredible goalscoring and caps record.

When he moved to Los Angeles, he could have retired early and taken it easy. But he didn't.

Instead, he travelled long distances to report for duty.

In the latter years, he knew he was likely to get a substitute role. Yet he always hopped on the plane in case he was needed.

Nobody will get near his records

We can argue about the finest players, but surely the greatest ever servant of the national team. It really is the end of an era like no other in our football history.

The_Kew_Tour

Legend and thanks for the great memories

Cienciano

Billy86 wrote: »

For all the begrudgers, there goes maybe our greatest ever.

He retires as the fourth highest all time scorer in international football (Europe, South America, Africa in this century) - only Klose, Puskas and Pele are above him, and of current players only Ronaldo is likely to overtake him (currently 6 goals behind). That's nothing short of f***ing ridiculous.

Gerd Muller and Sandor Kocsis are ahead of him too. Still impressive

Kingp35

Great statement from him. A true legend of Irish football. Hope he gets the send off he deserves next Wednesday.

Pete Moss

I remember my Da brought me to Paul McGrath's testimonial back in '98 when I was only a kid and the whole place chanting for Robbie when he came on.
He was only 17 then, but it seemed as though everyone knew how much talent and potential he had. Great to see all that talent and potential was fulfilled over the years.
I also remember the buzz between me and my mates when he signed for Inter, the idea of an Irishman in Serie A was new to us (too young when Liam Brady was there) so we'd always be watching Football Italia on Channel 4 hoping to catch a glimpse of him

Fantastic player and one I'll always remember fondly.

PTH2009

Amazing never sadly never got to see him play in person (saw him in turners cross last May but didn't play)

Great player and one of the best we had ever had.

Billy86

Cienciano wrote: »

Gerd Muller and Sandor Kocsis are ahead of him too. Still impressive

Edited now, Kocsis slipped my mind and I did a quick check on Muller but misread it as 62 goals in 68 games when it was the reverse.

Amazing really, given 2 of then played in the era of regular 7-4 scorelines (Puskas, Kocsis) and the former is one of the greatest ever to play the game. Then there's for many the greatest pure goalscorer in the history of the game (Muller) and the guy who would be most likely to win a 'best ever' poll over 40 years after he has retired. And finally Muller, who was a great player and benefitted from being Germany's unquestioned top striker for 12+ years.

enzo roco

Billy86 wrote: »

For all the begrudgers, there goes maybe our greatest ever.

ffs. Arguing before an argument has started. Never change!!!!


I dont know any begrudgers. He was obviously one of the best Irish players.

Lovely Bloke

It was his boyhood dream to play his last match for Ireland against Oman!

tayto lover

Farewell Robbie, one of the greats.

BMMachine

this man was the cause of a lot of joy and great memories in my life. all the best for him

That_Guy

Always turned up for Ireland games more often than not which is hugely admirable given the amount of players who sustain "injuries" and have to withdraw last minute these days.

I was 10 when he made his debut for the senior squad. I was there for it. I don't remember much of the game but I remember my dad getting very excited about Robbie Keane.

The buzz about the place for his debut was amazing.

A goal scorer we'll badly miss and may never see the likes of again.

HalloweenJack

He was a brilliant servant to the country, always gave his all and chipped in with dozens of important goals over the years. Complete legend.

I know he hasn't been as useful in recent years but his goals will be missed. A natural goalscorer and I can't see any current Irish player coming close to the goals haul that he has.

SantryRed

He is one of the greatest strikers ever at international level, it's as simple as that.

Delighted I'll be there next week to give him the send off he deserves.

Paully D

The stick he got from some was an absolute disgrace. A ridiculously underrated footballer.

Billy86

Lovely Bloke wrote: »

It was his boyhood dream to play his last match for Ireland against Oman!

Nothing wrong a bit of pre-empting the inevitable.

Ronan|Raven

Fantastic player for his country. Scored some vital goals when we needed someone to. Legend

super_furry

I don't think any player has given more to Ireland than Robbie Keane.

Let's get him a couple of goals against Oman so he can overtake Gerd Muller.

Coat22

My God that was one long statement - seem like Robbie loves Robbie almost as much as Zlatan loves Zlatan

He was a great servant for his country but should have hung up the boots a couple of seasons back - hanging on to increase his record with another penalty against the Omans of this world is fooling nobody

Good luck to him. Brought us some of our finest moments over the past few decades.

enzo roco

SantryRed wrote: »

Delighted I'll be there next week to give him the send off he deserves.

I just hope its as good as Brian O'driscoll's.
That was just beautiful.

JoeA3

Coat22 wrote: »

My God that was one long statement - seem like Robbie loves Robbie almost as much as Zlatan loves Zlatan

He was a great servant for his country but should have hung up the boots a couple of seasons back - hanging on to increase his record with another penalty against the Omans of this world is fooling nobody

FFS.

Coat22

Coat22 wrote: »

My God that was one long statement - seem like Robbie loves Robbie almost as much as Zlatan loves Zlatan

He was a great servant for his country but should have hung up the boots a couple of seasons back - hanging on to increase his record with another penalty against the Omans of this world is fooling nobody

Jaysis.

It must be bloody huge news if it got you to stop commenting on ManYoooooooo and comment about Irish football...

jaykay74

Coat22 wrote:

He was a great servant for his country but should have hung up the boots a couple of seasons back - hanging on to increase his record with another penalty against the Omans of this world is fooling nobody

Why should he have hung up his boots exactly ?

Skylinehead

Says it all when the man needs a separate Wikipedia page to list all of his goals. We'll not see his likes again in Ireland. The closest to him is Niall Quinn with less than a third of his goals, and half the scoring record per game.

Billy86

Skylinehead wrote: »

Says it all when the man needs a separate Wikipedia page to list all of his goals. We'll not see his likes again in Ireland. The closest to him is Niall Quinn with less than a third of his goals, and half the scoring record per game.

How many people from a half decent footballing nation can say that they are their country all time top scorer, and have more goals than the next three guys combined? :pac:

Howard the Duck

I remember all the talk about him when he was at Wolves, Seen him driving around Tallaght in his Wolves fiat bravo with his name on the side. Then his big move to Coventry, used to love watching him on match of the day, there was massive hype over him at the time and all these years later the hype shows it was justified.

So many important goals scored and so many happy memories. His international career did peter out a little but his passion commitment and pride for playing for Ireland never did.

We were lucky to have such a player and i think sadly it will be along time until we see another striker like him put on the green shirt,Cheers Robbie

vicwatson

Wish him well, owes us nothing

Mr.Nice Guy

We will likely never see a striker score as many goals for Ireland as Robbie Keane in the next fifty years, if not longer.

We're not a country that produces many great strikers and I don't detect any gems coming through in that position either. He will be hugely missed.

He was never appreciated as much as he should have been. Every campaign you could count on about five goals minimum.

I am grateful for the great memories he provided and he is an easy pick in my all-time Ireland XI.

AgileMyth

The best footballer Ireland has ever had.

We've produced players with more talent, not all that many either, but in terms of what they've done for us nobody comes close to Robbie.

KungPao

While Robbie wasn't graced with the silky skills of Gary Doherty, he still offered a lot to the Irish team.

Farewell Keano.

AgileMyth

Coat22 wrote: »

My God that was one long statement - seem like Robbie loves Robbie almost as much as Zlatan loves Zlatan

He was a great servant for his country but should have hung up the boots a couple of seasons back - hanging on to increase his record with another penalty against the Omans of this world is fooling nobody

Why should he hang up his boots? He doesn't select the squads. He's kept getting selected cause he's still one of our better options.

Disgusting how underappreciated he's been here throughout his career. Quinn and Aldridge were loved by the Irish. Robbie got past their combines total many years ago..

XR3i

legend

AllGunsBlazing

The last gasp penalty vs Spain to force extra-time in the 2002 World Cup.

Balls of steel.

Alfa Quadrifoglio

67 International goals with the quality of supply he got in many Internationals is an incredible record, an Irish football and sporting legend. Slan Riobeard.

PropJoe10

Coat22 wrote: »

My God that was one long statement - seem like Robbie loves Robbie almost as much as Zlatan loves Zlatan

He was a great servant for his country but should have hung up the boots a couple of seasons back - hanging on to increase his record with another penalty against the Omans of this world is fooling nobody

Attention seeking on an Internet forum is pretty sad, to be honest.

Thanks for everything, Robbie. A true legend of Irish football.

Billy86

KungPao wrote: »

While Robbie wasn't graced with the silky skills of Gary Doherty, he still offered a lot to the Irish team.

Farewell Keano.

:rolleyes:

Be realistic man, nobody's as incisive as The Doc!!

Legend
Thanks Robbie
Always gave his best and shown such pride in wearing the jersey

Francie Barrett

Best striker we've ever had, easily. It's depressing looking at our attacking options these days, there's not a player coming through the ranks that has half his ability.

Fr Tod Umptious

I grew up in the Stapleton 20, Quinn 21 goals record era.

If someone told me the next record would be 67 I'd say they were mad.

Ireland's greatest ever play IMO.

Coat22

Deleted User wrote: »

Jaysis.

It must be bloody huge news if it got you to stop commenting on ManYoooooooo and comment about Irish football...

"Irish football" LOL - international football is nothing to do with "Irish Football". I used to go to international games in the late 80s when there were 14,000 at games in Lansdowne Road on a Wednesday afternoon before we qualified for Euro 88 and became every eejits "passion" in Italia 90. I stopped going when the Ole Ole crowd such as yourself took over and every defeat and draw with the Israels of this world became a "deadly effort".

"Irish Football" was where I was on the side of a pitch on Tuesday night with 30 U9s hoping to be the next Messi, Ronaldo or whoever else is currently en vogue. They U9s are impressed too that Robbie scored a hat trick against Gibraltar.

"Irish Football" is where I'll be on a cold wet Saturday morning in February when you're worrying about painting your car green for the trip to Wales and your hero is sunning himself in LA.

Coat22

Coat22 wrote: »

"Irish football" LOL - international football is nothing to do with "Irish Football". I used to go to international games in the late 80s when there were 14,000 at games in Lansdowne Road on a Wednesday afternoon before we qualified for Euro 88 and became every eejits "passion" in Italia 90. I stopped going when the Ole Ole crowd such as yourself took over and every defeat and draw with the Israels of this world became a "deadly effort".

"Irish Football" was where I was on the side of a pitch on Tuesday night with 30 U9s hoping to be the next Messi, Ronaldo or whoever else is currently en vogue. They U9s are impressed too that Robbie scored a hat trick against Gibraltar.

"Irish Football" is where I'll be on a cold wet Saturday morning in February when you're worrying about painting your car green for the trip to Wales and your hero is sunning himself in LA.

That's 2 posts in 2 days that are not about ManYoooooooo, Giggsy and those rascally bindippers.

Nosebleed time.

Either way, Robbie Keane is a lot more relevant to Irish football than the English club owned by Americans that you're obsessed with.

When was the last time you posted about the club or underage game here, district leagues etc.?

PropJoe10

Coat22 wrote: »

"Irish football" LOL - international football is nothing to do with "Irish Football". I used to go to international games in the late 80s when there were 14,000 at games in Lansdowne Road on a Wednesday afternoon before we qualified for Euro 88 and became every eejits "passion" in Italia 90. I stopped going when the Ole Ole crowd such as yourself took over and every defeat and draw with the Israels of this world became a "deadly effort".

"Irish Football" was where I was on the side of a pitch on Tuesday night with 30 U9s hoping to be the next Messi, Ronaldo or whoever else is currently en vogue. They U9s are impressed too that Robbie scored a hat trick against Gibraltar.

"Irish Football" is where I'll be on a cold wet Saturday morning in February when you're worrying about painting your car green for the trip to Wales and your hero is sunning himself in LA.

Ah yeah, the token "I'm better than all of ye so listen to me" post. Inevitable, I guess!

kfallon

Coat22 wrote: »

"Irish football" LOL - international football is nothing to do with "Irish Football". I used to go to international games in the late 80s when there were 14,000 at games in Lansdowne Road on a Wednesday afternoon before we qualified for Euro 88 and became every eejits "passion" in Italia 90.

I would have been there meself but, ya know, Primary school kinda got in the way.....