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Kevin Keegan
| Category: | Special European Hall of Fame - one of the five all-time best players from the English game based on performance in Europe |
| Year Inducted: | 2008 |
Profile by Robert Galvin, the author of The Football Hall of Fame, the official book of the National Football Museum Hall of Fame:
Kevin Keegan was the first British player to be voted the best footballer in Europe in successive seasons - and his success both here and in Germany in the late 1970s propelled him into uncharted territory for a sporting ‘celebrity'.
On the field, Keegan found his niche as a dynamic, darting forward with an eye for goal, most notably with Liverpool and Hamburg, amassing a European Cup medal, two UEFA Cup gongs and various domestic honours in the Football League and Bundesliga.
Nicknamed ‘Mighty Mouse' by German fans, Keegan broke new ground when he was granted the use of his name and profile by Hamburg, following his transfer from Anfield for a fee of £500,000 in 1977.
‘That was probably the very first “face” contract in football,' Keegan wrote in his autobiography, published in 1997. ‘I worked on behalf of the club's main sponsors, BP. It all added up to making me the highest paid footballer in Europe.'
Keegan was certainly one for the big occasion and a dramatic exit. His last game in the red of Liverpool was the European Cup final in 1977, when his tireless and intelligent running dragged Berti Vogts, the experienced German defender, all over the place during the 3-1 defeat of Borussia Moenchengladbach in Rome.
Remarkably, three years later, history almost repeated itself. This time, though, Keegan, now wearing the white of Hamburg would end up on the losing side in a European Cup final. Once again, the winners were English and wore red, but the badge on the shirt was that of Nottingham Forest, not Liverpool. ‘I had experienced going out on a high note when I left England for Germany and maybe it was expecting too much from fate to give me a repeat,' Keegan wrote later.
By now Keegan had established himself as the most famous and, arguably, the most popular footballer on the continent. When he made a passing comment to a reporter about being unable to find his favourite cereal in the local supermarket, Hamburg fans inundated him with boxes of Shredded Wheat .
On the field, Keegan did enough during his first two seasons in Germany to secure the European Footballer of the Year award. Indeed, he came mighty close to winning three awards in a row, having missed out by only three votes in 1977.
Never one for false modesty, Keegan was nevertheless taken aback to see his name listed alongside the likes of previous winners Michel Platini and Johan Cruyff. This was a triumph for hard work and determination; the self-made footballer made good.
‘Mine was the weakest in terms of ability,' Keegan wrote. ‘In a way, though, that makes me even more proud to have won the award. I was the mongrel who made it to Cruft's and I was honoured to be there for two years in succession.'
Alan Hansen, the Liverpool defender, saw Keegan at close quarters, having played, briefly, alongside him and also against him in later years. ‘ All the players he left behind at Anfield spoke highly of him,' Hansen wrote. ‘Kevin's movement, I found playing against him, was exceptional and I was also impressed by his physical strength.'
Just as Bill Shankly had been when he signed the diminutive but muscular Keegan from Scunthorpe United for the bargain price of £35,000 in 1971. To build up his strength and stamina, Keegan ran up and down the terraces carrying dumbbells. ‘I knew Kevin was something special the first time I saw his physique,‘ Shankly said. ‘He looked like a boxer - and that was good enough for me.'
Thrust immediately into the first team under order from Shankly to ‘drop grenades' in the opposition defence, Keegan soon formed an outstanding partnership with John Toshack, the Wales centre-forward. Then, as in the future, Keegan was at this best playing alongside a ‘big man' up front, picking up the pieces from flick-ons in and around the penalty area. When Keegan moved to Germany, he found something of a To shack ‘clone' in the l ofty Horst Hrubesch, the Hamburg centre-forward. Their combination perhaps reached its peak with the 5-1 drubbing of Real Madrid in the semi-final of the European Cup.
Having decided, at the age of 29, to leave Hamburg at the end of the 1979-80 season, Keegan was the most sought-after footballer in Europe, with the major clubs in Spain and Italy all chasing his signature. Several Spanish clubs offered him ‘a king's ransom' and talks with Juventus reached an advanced stage, before Keegan made a stunning announcement. He had decided to return to England. Fair enough. What shocked everyone was his choice of club: Southampton FC, then a mediocre, though ambitious, top-flight side managed by Lawrie McMenemy.
Once ensconced on the south coast, Keegan helped the Saints achieve their highest ever finish in the league, thus ensuring qualification for the UEFA Cup in what would prove to be his farewell appearance in European club competition, before revitalising Newcastle United when he inspired them to promotion to the top flight of English football in 1983-84.
Throughout his long and celebrated career, Keegan's methods changed little. Written down, it was simplicity itself. It amounted to ‘taking my opponent marking me where he least wants to go'. It all depended on the strengths and weaknesses of the player marking him, as Keegan explained. ‘If he's a defender, I look to drag him into midfield where he feels most uncomfortable. If he's a big lad, I head out wide into the open spaces where I can exploit my pace. And if he's a midfield player and small, I take him deep into the penalty area, so that I can take him on in the air and make the most of my heading ability.'