ROBBIE KEANE PROFILES

		ROBBIE KEANE
		Position: Striker
		Date of Birth: 08/07/1980
		Height: 5'9
		Weight:
		1st team games: 0
		1st team goals: 0
		International caps: 81
		International goals: 33
		Former clubs: Crumlin United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coventry City, Inter Milan, Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur
		Birth Place: Dublin

Irish striker Robbie Keane has been tearing Premier League defences apart for years - now he's doing so with a Liver bird on his chest. The forward arrived at Anfield in July 2008 in what was his sixth major move since starting out with South Dublin side Crumlin United as a schoolboy. Keane's big break came with a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he burst onto the scene in 1997. The goals soon went crashing in - often spectacular and usually followed his trademark cartwheel celebration. It was no surprise when Premiership side Coventry City agreed to fork out £6million in 1999 - then a British record for a teenager. A tally of 12 goals in 34 games for the Highfield Road club soon made Keane one of the hottest properties in football; someone with the ability to turn a game with a sublime touch of brilliance. Even so, one or two eyebrows were raised when Marcelo Lippi, manager of Italian giants Inter Milan, offered £13million for his services in 2000. The Republic of Ireland captain would team up with Ronaldo and Christian Vieri in Serie A, though the move was to turn sour when Lippi was sacked. A loan move to Leeds United was arranged in December 2000, where nine goals in 14 games persuaded David O'Leary to write a cheque for £12million. Unfortunately, Keane's arrival at Elland Road coincided with a growing financial crisis, and he was to join the exodus of stars in 2002 with a £7million transfer to Tottenham Hotspur. Over the next few years the prodigious talent finally settled, tallying an impressive 107 goals in 253 appearances and becoming a firm fans' favourite. So good was his form in February 2006 that Inter president Massimo Moratti admitted his regret at letting Keane go. Three months before departing for Merseyside he won his first senior honour as a player after helping Spurs beat Chelsea in the League Cup final. Keane has also carved out a name for himself on the international stage having made up part of the so-called Golden Generation which emerged in the late 1990s. The frontman was part of the Irish side which triumphed in the 1998 European U18 Championships just months after making his senior bow against the Czech Republic. His first international goal came against Malta in October 1998 and he is now the Republic's all-time record scorer ahead of Niall Quinn. Keane famously scored a last-minute equaliser against Germany in the 2002 World Cup, one of three in the tournament. Few were surprised when former Reds defender Steve Staunton handed him the captain's armband upon taking the Irish reins in 2006. from liverpoolfc.tv