Updated 07.50
US PRESIDENT BARACK Obama welcomed Robbie Keane and the LA Galaxy back to the White House and joked: “Today feels a little like Groundhog Day!”
The Galaxy and the LA Kings were guests of the president at a ceremony to honour their respective MLS and NHL titles.
“It was an absolute honour to tour The White House and meet with President Obama,” Keane wrote on Facebook.
Obama honoured both of these franchises when they won national championships in 2012 and so it was fitting that they returned on 2 February — Groundhog Day.
He said: “Two years ago we had the Galaxy and the Kings here together so if you see Bill Murray playing the piano in the foyer, you know something weird is going on and we’re probably going to do this again.”
The last time they met Obama dubbed Keane his “Irish cousin,” and the two spoke again about the President’s ancestry on Monday.
Keane added: “He spoke so highly of the Irish people and said ‘there’s no place I enjoyed the people more, everybody was so gracious.’ He also spoke of the incredible reception he got at College Green Dublin during his 2011 visit.
I ended our conversation as he had done in Dublin with the Irish translation of his 2008 campaign slogan ‘Is féidir linn’ and he replied ‘yes we can’.
“As a LA Galaxy player and an Irish man I was privileged to represent my club and of course my country.”
– First published 20.04, 2 Feb
