IF THERE IS a traditional route for the ex-pro moving into management, Robbie Keane is not walking it.
He might have taken an established coaching route had history turned out different, but any hopes the four-year contract he signed with the FAI in 2018 was a prelude to taking the senior manager’s job were ended by regime change at Abbotstown and Stephen Kenny’s decision not to include him on his coaching staff.
After brief coaching stints at Middlesbrough and Leeds, Keane moved to Israel in 2023, leading Maccabi Tel Aviv to a league and cup double last season before deciding to resign in the summer. He faced intense criticism at home for working in Israel, and took until last month to explain he remained at the club beyond 7 October as he felt a “duty of care” to his staff and his players.
Keane is now back in management, today appointed as the new boss at Ferencvaros in Hungary. It is another intriguing move, and one that speaks to Keane’s broad horizons and enormous self-belief.
Keane proved his willingness to travel far further than precedent demanded in signing for LA Galaxy at only 31, and he both ended his playing days and started his coaching career in India.
Moving to Budapest is another atypical step and in choosing Ferencvaros, he is again betting on himself to succeed, as there is no other option at Hungary’s biggest club.
Ferencvaros have won a record 35 top-flight titles in Hungary and have lately been restored to their domestic eminence. Having won just a single league title between 2004 and 2018, Ferencvaros have won the last six titles in a row.
A seventh-straight league crown will be Keane’s minimum requirement. Ferencvaros are the superpower of Hungarian football: their budget dwarfs the rest of the league. Transfermarkt value their squad at just shy of €52 million, more than four times the sum total of the next most valuable squad, Puskás Akadémia.
For Keane, it will be a case of first being first and second being nowhere: Ferencvaros not winning the Hungarian title would be viewed in a similar light to Bayern Munich not winning the Bundesliga, or Dinamo Zagreb failing to win a Croatian league title.
That league title is far from out of sight, however, as Ferencvaros are in second place in the league, one point off the league leaders with a game in hand.
Keane is a canny operator in the football world and this move is further proof of that, as he has taken over a rare mid-season vacancy in which things are going well.
The club also have a strong opportunity to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Europa League. They currently have nine points from six games, and are 16th in the 36-team table with two games remaining, away to Eintracht Frankfurt on 23 January and at home to AZ Alkmaar on 30 January, which may bring a reunion with Troy Parrot.
Keane also has a chance to get an effective pre-season with his players: he is now heading to Spain to lead a training camp ahead of those European games. The Hungarian league is on a winter break, and resumes in February.
Keane takes over from London-born Netherlands native Pascal Jansen, who was appointed at the start of the season but left in December having been headhunted by MLS side New York City FC. Jansen was warmly regarded among supporters: his European results were good – aside from a 5-0 hammering against PAOK – and he radiated a charisma largely absent among his recent predecessors.
While Keane may struggle to replicate Jansen’s personality, winning will solve any problems. Another former Tottenham striker, Sergei Rebrov, cut a dour figure but in 2020 led the club to the group stages of the Champions League for the first time in 25 years.
Ferencvaros’ domestic dominance has reached the point that they now judge themselves off their performances in Europe, and Keane will buy himself early credit by steering the team into the knockout rounds. It will be considered a disappointment if he doesn’t navigate the qualifying rounds to at least land in the Europa League again next season. Qualify for the Champions League and Keane can justifiably claim hero status.
Keane batted away all political questions during his stint in Israel by stressing he would only talk about football, but there’s an undeniable political element to football in Hungary, within which Ferencvaros are tangled.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is a football fanatic who has used the sport to further his own political aims, speaking of restoring Hungarian football to its former glories in the timbre of the populist leader seeking to return to a supposedly happier, more prosperous past.
He has sanctioned enormous State spending on football – estimated to be around $3 billion – and more than 40 football stadia have been renovated since 2010. A generous tax break scheme to construction companies have helped to make this possible.
Investigative media outlet and NGO Atlatszo meanwhile reported in 2021 that from 2011 to 2019, Ferencvaros received approximately €75 million – around 80% of their revenue – directly or indirectly from the Hungarian State.
Orban has termed Hungary as an “illiberal democracy”, and he has used a parliamentary majority to further the “illiberal” part of that moniker, chilling the media by appointing his own candidates to lead media regulators and influencing control over the judiciary by changing laws that allows his party, Fidesz, to appoint judges.
Fidesz figures are dotted throughout the Hungarian football league, too, and the president of Ferencvaros, Gábor Kubatov, is also an MP and the vice president of Fidesz.
In an interview with Jonathan Wilson for UnHerd.com last year, he readily repeated political mantras of Orban.
“We are a Christian country 1,000 years old”, he said. “We protect our heritage and history. We look after our culture and beliefs. We stopped migration at the border and we don’t allow gender ideology. As a result, Hungary has become the most secure country in Europe.”
Keane will choose simply to stick to the football, and in that respect, he has backed himself to endure the pressure and make the most of the advantages at his disposal.
“That Leinster failed to score a try and only twice came within obvious striking distance – through Jamie Heaslip in the first half and Zane Kirchner in the second – might be cause for concern, but O’Connor felt that was simply the nature of this game.”
Yep. That’s been the nature of a lot of Leinster games this season.
Such a contrast to the quarter final against Cardiff 3 years ago when leinster carved them apart with their backplay. Yesterday they looked so toothless and lateral in attack. O’Connor really is destroying Leinster.
Can joe take charge of leinster for 1 game?
Maybe 2?
Delusional I’m afraid. No expectation for semi if it’s against Toulon.If Joe Schmidt was leading them i’d give us a good chance.
I’m sick of reading Leinster fans moaning about MOC. The guy won the league last year, got to a Heineken QF and now this year the champions cup semis. As BOD said on TV yesterday. “He’s doing allright”. You guys are, to quote John Inverdale, lookin at Joe Schmidt era through rose c*n+ed glasses. In case you missed the six nations, Ireland under Joe didn’t play a whole lot of champagne rugby and not many complained. Leinster yesterday were more entertaining than Ireland v France. Also if you take the likes of Sexton, BOD, Necewa, Darcy, Elsom, Leo, Shaggy, Thorn and for most of season, SOB and Healey out of any squad they will struggle to maintain same levels. This Leinster squad is nowhere near as good as Heineken winners but they are doing allright. Leinster fans need to get real and enjoy where they are. Other fans only dream of winning leagues and Euro semis
Just like Munster under McGahan, Leinster’s problem is how they are doing the basics, not the flash stuff:
> Slow line speed in defence and gaps in close;
> Slow kick chase (& poor organisation)
> Passive defensive rucking
> Limited options in attack (making them easier to defend against)
> Ineffective kicking
Leinster made the breakthrough with high intensity rugby (and not champagne rugby). The minute before half time they showed how effective they could be in defence if they took this approach.
I would prefer to see Kurt McQuilkin back in the set up than Joe S, as Joe is doing quite a good job for Ireland.
There are lots of Irish coaches who could improve Leinster (Bradley would be my preference). But I think Shaun Edwards would probably make the quickest improvement.
Alan.
We may have lost a few of our talismen in the past couple of years, but there is a genuine gripe to be had. We could accept a dip in performance, but we’ve all seen how well THESE players are capable of playing. They set their own standards which we came to expect, now they’ve dropped them under MOC and seem to be just making excuses for him. Joe’s régime was built on honesty, and now there’s a lack of honesty which the supporters find distasteful.
You guys do understand that you are in a semi final right?
It’s remarkable that some fans will only be happy when their team reached their unrealistic expectations
Leinster are not as strong as a couple of seasons ago but c’est la vie its the way of things
It’s your only
job as a supporter to support them.
Then again
I’ve been a connacht supporter for the last few years so maybe I have a different perspective…
Don’t get leinster fans wrong we’re delighted to be in the semi’s but you can’t deny were lucky to be here, arguably the easiest pool and we scraped through it scoring the least amount of tries of any of the quarter finalists, we’ve lost players such as sexton, BOD, isa etc. so obviously we aren’t going to be as good as we were a few seasons ago but we still expect better than what we’re seeing, yes we’re in a semi final but there’s also a very realistic chance we won’t get into the playoffs of the rabo which simply isn’t good enough.
Reg would you accept if Conaught finished bottom of the pro 12 or would you not expect to get better year on year.
I will not accept Leinster playing poorly with no plan for the future and a seriously lack of any attacking ability in the backline.
For all the huha regarding Luke coming back we still can’t score a try with our Backline.
Mark as you said we have lost seriously great players over the past few seasons but is it not the coaches job to one plan for continuity and replace from outside if he needs to.
MOC had spent a vast amount of money replacing those players.
We signed a current aus secondrow
A current springbok to replace Isa
and a top rugby league player to play 13 not to mention The vast amount spent on a temporary deal for a winger who hardly played a game for us.
None of these players can be considered a success do far but who’s fault is that? Personally I believe it’s the coach Job to get the best from his team.
We have the best academy by a long way in our league if not Europe ( if you consider the schools system that feeds it).
He has not done his job simple as that.
Did Sean o’brien carry any ball today? If he did he didn’t do enough and that appears to be tactical….
Good win, but baths mistakes helped and a hiding awaits in the semi if the performance is similar
Sometimes he can have equal use my having 2 players mark him in defence. Plus he did an awful lot of heavy clearing out today at ruck time.
The face on Heaslip in the top picture…bemused looking to say the least.
What was the plan in the second half? Kick the ball away aimlessly and hope the opposition aren’t good enough to make you pay?
I fear it would take something like Toulon getting an early red card for Leinster to have a realistic chance in the semi
Funny enough john that was the tactic the last time we faced them, everytime we got the ball we kicked it away.
I would argue that Leinster will have a good chance because we are in a semi final with nothing to lose and with our backs to the wall. Sort of like Ireland vs All Blacks. We have a few weeks to learn from our mistakes against Bath also. Tighten up defence etc.
Here’s for hoping… We can beat Toulon, but not on the back of today’s performance. No penetration & purpose in attack. Thankfully we’ve Madigans boot.
Toulon are favourites, Leinster have to eliminate f*uckups to have a chance
Great win, as all wins at this stage of a major competition usually are, how you do it becomes incidental the win is the only answer.
All points from scrum penalties.it’s a step in the right direction albeit a small one
I think part of the problem lies with the headline. If our coach thinks that we did a “pretty good job” then we are in trouble. We played against a really poor pack at home with a big crowd in support and were hanging on at the end. We should have put 20 points on them and anything less was an underperformance.
You can’t expect to win with the old men at half back.
There’s no reason whatsoever to play Gopperth as madigan takes all the kicks from hand and tee and we could shore up our midfield with darcy at 12.
We need someone somewhere on the pitch that can defend.
We’re are the try’s gone that was such apart of Leinster game ? Same players different coach . Let’s hope they bring back their attacking game for the semi , well done on result today guys