To mark the five-year anniversary of Robbie Keane's arrival on American soil, LA Galaxy's official website has published an article about how great he is that is sure to raise a smile from Irish football fans.
It's no secret that Robbie has been regularly bagging goals and assists since he took the decision to join David Beckham and Landan Donovan at the Galaxy in 2011, but while those two stars have since retired, Keano has gone from strength to strength and it's nice to see just how highly he is regarded in his new home.
Keep in mind that when Ireland's all-time leading goalscorer first moved Stateside he was referred to as an 'unidentified fan' in a photo alongside Russell Brand and David Beckham, but nowadays it is very different and LA Galaxy insider Adam Serrano has paid a very high compliment to Keane, suggesting that his arrival has changed the league as a whole.
Five years ago today, the LA Galaxy signed Irish international Robbie Keane from Tottenham Hotspur, and MLS has never been the same since.
Back in 2011, the signing was considered a potentially valuable addition to an LA Galaxy attack that had been struggling to score goals. Keane’s signing was welcomed with fanfare -- and a few raised pints of Guinness at his press conference -- but few could have imagined the impact that Keane would bring to StubHub Center in the years to come.
Serrano continues to parade Robbie's stats as evidence to his dominance since arriving, something that we ourselves featured recently on site as despite knowing that the Dubliner was a massive hit in LA, seeing his actual stats paint a picture of overwhelming success.
Since moving to America, Keane has dominated Major League Soccer in a manner never before seen in the league. In his five years in Los Angeles, the 36-year-old has won three MLS Cup titles, a Supporters’ Shield, and the league’s Most Valuable Player award—all the while, terrorizing opposing defenses with his intelligent movement and stunning goals.
Keane's influence off the pitch was also singled out for some love, as he is credited with attracting big signings to the club as well as helping the development of young players for the Galaxy. We all knew of Keane's leadership qualities from his standing in Irish squads over his career, but it seems that he has kicked it up a notch in the MLS.
Keane’s impact can also be felt away from the field, with the Irishman playing a role in the recruitment process for both Giovani dos Santos and Steven Gerrard who joined the Galaxy in 2015 as well as helping Gyasi Zardes develop into one of the best American strikers in MLS.
But what really pleased us here at Balls.ie was to see an acknowledgment of his hunger and desire to play football, something that was forged on the streets of Tallaght and we're absolutely sure will never leave him, even when he does decide to hang up the boots.
As great as Keane’s time has been for the club, don’t expect the Irishman to stop and rest on his laurels. He’ll continue to work to score more goals for the LA Galaxy and put smiles on the faces of Galaxy fans from his boyhood home of Tallaght to his adopted home of Los Angeles.
You can read the highly enjoyable article in full coupled with stats and every goal that Robbie has scored for the Galaxy over on LAGalaxy.com.
