Robbie Keane gets a fair bit of stick from certain quarters in this country but in truth no one can argue with the service he has given to the green shirt over the past 15 years.
But how is the Ireland captain viewed abroad by the European football press?
Spain
In a short profile piece in June 2012 days before Ireland played Spain in a forgettable Euro 2012 match, El Pais described Keane as “una leyenda del futbol britanico” which as you probably guessed means a legend of British football – hopefully they are referring to his club career and not his nationality. In fairness he cannot be described as legendary at club level despite being a success.
In November 2011, after Ireland sealed qualification for the Euros, the same paper referred to Keane as a “lethal goalscorer” since his childhood. That article included quotes from former Tottenham fitness coach Marcos Alvarez who described him as a “natural leader”, “competitive beast (in a good way)” and “great character". In terms of his football skills, Alvarez told El Pais that his movement and awareness were fantastic, comparing him to Spain and Real Madrid legend Emilio Butragueno.
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David Villa was once quoted by Real Madrid-mouthpiece and sports daily MARCA as being a huge admirer of Keane.
And when the Tallaght man scored a hat-trick against Faroe Islands in June, the headed a brief piece with the title ‘Hat-trick of the old rockstar’. And in the lead up to the Euro 2012 match, he was cited as “el mítico delantero irlandés” which translates as legendary Irish striker.
Germany
Obviously the Germans were taking a special interest in Ireland this week – in a non-economic sense for once. In the lead up to the game in Cologne, Raphael Honigstein - a Bundesliga correspondent for The Guardian and an occasional voice on Off The Ball - penned an article in national paper Suddeutsche Zeitung on the Irish team with a photo of Robbie Keane doing a trademark cartwheel heading the piece.
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He claimed that Keane is “the only world class player we possesses even if he was branded as an unidentified fan in a photo with David Beckham and Russell Brand.”
In the build up to Euro 2012, the same paper described him as Ireland’s most popular player.
Italy
As a former Serie A player – albeit only for a matter of months, Italians take an interest in the ex-Interista.
In October 2012, Keane scored a fantastic volley for LA Galaxy against Real Salt Lake. It got some traction in La Repubblica with the goal compared to efforts by Francesco Totti. When previewing the Euros in which Italy beat Ireland 2 – 0, they described Keane as a “pillar of the team”, although they chose John O’Shea as Ireland’s star player.
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But there was one bit of criticism. After Ireland's failure at Euro 2012, Gazzetta dello Sport was critical of the Boys In Green and called Keane "disappointing" and a "ghost in the box".
