This Wednesday, Ireland will say goodbye to a legend as Robbie Keane retires 67 goals into an international career that has spanned across eighteen years, three major championships and five managers. And, of course, the papers are filled with tributes and reflections on what Keane contributed to the Irish side's success over the years.
One of the more interesting reflections is from one of Keane's former team-mates, Stephen Hunt. Hunt played with Keane most notably during the ill-fated World Cup 2010 qualification campaign that placed Thierry Henry on the hit-lists of Irish football fans.
His column in the Sunday Independent - which is always worth a read - gives us a rare insight into the dressing-room view of Keane, who Hunt says he "never really saw eye to eye with".
If he was sometimes under-appreciated, I wonder was it because of his body language. When Robbie scored a goal, he almost turned into Cristiano Ronaldo. It was 'look at me'. You could have made a lung-bursting run to set it up for him, someone could have put it on a plate, but it was still all about him.
It didn't matter what type of goal it was, even a tap-in. It was as if he was saying, 'I am the king.'
He definitely turns into that when he scores, craving the attention.
One of the more contentious issues that arose during Keane's international career was the vital goal scored to equalise against Italy in a World Cup qualifier in Bari in 2009. Hunt's brother Noel wrote to the FAI claiming he got the last touch but the association ruled that it was Keane's goal ("no surprise there", writes Hunt).
That would have been Noel Hunt's only goal for his country. You would perhaps think that Keane would have one to spare. But no, he fought for it, a sign of the "hunger" he had to score, according to Hunt.
Hunt says that Keane was a "well-liked" player off the field who "would always make new players feel welcome" and had a habit of missing training the day after a game alongside his good pal Richard Dunne - "they had a few drinks once the match was finished...they were quite old-school in that attitude" - but he emphasises that, much like many great players, Keane wasn't shy of expressing his distaste with a misplaced or untaken pass.
He didn't mind upsetting his team-mates to get where he wanted and, while he wouldn't really be one for massive criticisms, I did notice he would throw his arms up and wave them in the air if you didn't give the pass he wanted.
Keane's final game for his country is against Oman at the Aviva Stadium. Kick-off on Wednesday is 7:45pm.
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