FOLLOWING IRELAND’S EURO 2016 exit at the hands of France last month, there were signs that Robbie Keane’s international career was set to come to an end.
Despite registering 67 goals in 145 appearances and being widely regarded as Ireland’s best-ever striker, Keane — who turned 36 earlier this month — clearly doesn’t have too many miles left in the tank.
Moreover, there have been strong indications that the 11 minutes Keane played amid a 3-0 loss to Belgium will be remembered as his last competitive appearance for the Boys in Green.
After the 2-1 defeat to France, Keane — an unused substitute in the match — waved to the Irish fans with his arms around fellow veteran Shay Given. Some onlookers interpreted this moment as significant and a potential signal of the duo’s intentions to step away from the national side imminently.
Yet since then, there has been conspicuous silence from Keane, despite many anticipating a retirement announcement sooner rather than later.
Asked about Ireland’s record goalscorer during the week, FAI CEO John Delaney was unwilling to say too much, although he did confirm that when Keane does retire, it would be marked in “a special way”.
“I think Robbie will make his own announcement at his own time in terms of what he intends to do,” Delaney added. “Certainly he’s been a great servant to Irish football, scored so many goals for us and many of you may see it but we see it close hand — his influence around the squad is very positive even when he wasn’t in the team.”
Meanwhile, asked about the futures of Keane as well as others such as John O’Shea, Shay Given and Glenn Whelan, Martin O’Neill recently said: “I haven’t discussed it with them. I thought we would leave it, naturally, until the end of the competition. And if the players want to talk to me at any given time, I am there.
“I think that 75% of them will be in their own minds as to what they want to do. If they say: ‘Listen here, I need you to either push it over the line’ or: ‘Where do you see me fitting in?’ Then I would let them know as honestly as I possibly can where they stand.”
The pertinent question Keane and the other players under scrutiny must ask themselves is whether they still have anything left to offer the team.
Many people will feel that Keane has given all he can to the side and that sentiment is understandable to a degree. He may have been Ireland’s top scorer in the Euro 2016 qualifiers but in the last three years for the Boys in Green, Keane has scored in only two competitive games for Ireland — both of which were against Gibraltar.
The Dubliner has scored in just one other match since Martin O’Neill took charge — the 3-0 friendly win over Latvia in the Derry native’s first match as Ireland boss. You have to go as far back as October 2013 in a dead rubber against Kazakhstan for his last goal before then.
However, there still remains a strong case for retaining Keane in a limited capacity.
Emphasising a player’s importance in the dressing room may come across as damning them with faint praise, but so many people have said it about Keane now that the assertion no longer rings hollow.
Former Ireland assistant boss Marco Tardelli gave a good insight last month when he told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “Robbie Keane is the captain because of his football qualities as well as the human ones. Very often he gave money for people who work behind the scenes.”
Moreover, consider this hypothetical scenario — it’s 0-0 in Ireland’s opening World Cup qualifier away to Serbia with 20 minutes to play, or in their second game in October against Georgia. Ireland desperately need a goal. Who would Martin O’Neill rather have as an option to spring from the bench — Robbie Keane or, say, David McGoldrick?
Keane remains Ireland’s only naturally goalscorer. He continues to emphasise for LA Galaxy that he has what it takes to score on a regular basis.
True, the quality of the MLS is far from great, yet Keane can only beat what’s in front of him, while other stars such as Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard, Thierry Henry and Kaka have made the move Stateside and failed to match the impact of Keane.
Moreover, are the likes of Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps and San Jose Earthquakes considerably worse than Georgia, Moldova and Serbia — Ireland’s upcoming World Cup qualification opponents?
Keane’s body language and behaviour at the Euros suggested he was willing to play a more peripheral role in the side now that his footballing powers have diminished to an extent.
While the likes of Millwall’s Aiden O’Brien (22), Brentford’s Scott Hogan (24) and Everton’s Sam Byrne (20) could ultimately fulfill their potential, at the moment, there are few obvious alternatives to bring in to the squad in place of Keane.
Ultimately though, it’s the Tallaght native’s decision and whether he thinks his body can withstand another two years of international football and long plane journeys back and forth across the Atlantic. No one could legitimately begrudge the decision — particularly given the tireless service he has provided in 18 years as a senior Ireland international — should he choose to quit.
But if Keane decides he is physically able for one final shot at glory at the World Cup in Russia in 2018 (and assuming Ireland qualify), barring a miraculous emergence of an array of talented Irish strikers between now and then, there would certainly still be a role for him to play within the squad, even if it remains a limited one.
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