UAE could well be former Liverpool star Keane’s next destination
Former Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool forward Robbie Keane has yet to decide whether to hang up his boots or move into coaching – and has not ruled out UAE football as a potential next destination.
The well-travelled Irishman has been spending time in Dubai following a season in the Indian Super League with Kolkata side Atletico de Kolkata, his final three matches as player-manager.
On Sunday, Keane participated in Hublot’s latest “Match of Friendship” in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa. Speaking afterwards, the Republic of Ireland’s alltime leading scorer said he planned to use the downtime to evaluate his career.
“I’m going to take a few weeks off, have a break and decide what I want to do, whether I carry on playing, which is an option,” Keane, 37, said. “I could easily play for another couple of years, or I could start going down the coaching role.
“As I said, I’ll take a bit of time to consider and then we’ll see. But by no means will I be sitting idle. It’s just seeing my options. I finished in India, had nine starts, nine goals so I definitely have another good year, two years left in me scoring a few goals. There’s no question about that.
“For me, it’s just about the right opportunities. There’s always options, but we’ll see.”
Keane said he had a good stint in terms of the experience and learning going forward to be a coach. “That’s something I’ve been very clear about, that I want to get into in the future,” he said.
“Whether or not it’ll be next year or the year after, who knows? But if a good opportunity came up in terms of coaching, I’d have to sit down and seriously consider it.
“For me, it’s about learning. It’s not about jumping into something and then regretting after. A manager’s career could be 30 years, so I’ve got time. I’m not in any rush to jump into anything that going to maybe set me up for failure or because it may sound attractive, but is not the right one for me.”
Keane, who has scored close to 400 senior goals in a career spanning 20 years, said he would look at offers both in Asia and Europe. A regular visitor to Dubai, he spent a brief time last year training with Arabian Gulf League club Al Ahli and was impressed by both the standard of player and the facilities.
“Fantastic,” he said. “I’ve been coming here for 12 years. It’s a place I’m very, very close to. It’s certainly very attractive in terms of the people, the good standard of living for my family also. Training with Al Ahli was great; I met a good few people. I really enjoyed it, so who knows?”
Keane attended Thursday’s President’s Cup quarter-final between Fujairah and Al Ain on invitation from Fujairah manager Diego Maradona.
Asked if he could consider extending his playing career in the UAE, he said he “would never say never”.
“It’s certainly something that would interest me, of course. I always keep my options open.
“As I said, it’s a place I’m very, very used to,” he said.
“I got invited to go along by Diego to watch the game. It was good to see him and he invited me for dinner. We’ll see what the future holds.”
I could easily play for another couple of years, or I could start going down the coaching role. By no means will I be sitting idle ROBBIE KEANE