Are Caps keen on Keane?
Even at 36, the Irish legend would be a valuable asset for Vancouver
The Whitecaps need a goal scorer. They could also use a leader, a captain, a proven winner. Robbie Keane is all those things. He’s also 36. To target the Irish legend this off-season would, of course, be a risk. But what signing isn’t? With younger players, you’re not quite sure what you’re getting. With Keane, the Caps wouldn’t be sure how many games he’d play, but they would know exactly what they’d get in those games and around the training ground at the University of B.C.
Keane, who had knee surgery in March, played just 17 games this past season — half the regular season.
He still scored 10 goals, which would have made him the Caps leading scorer.
In 125 MLS regular-season games, Keane has played a direct part in 128 goals. That breaks down to a stunning 83 goals and 45 assists, all for the L.A. Galaxy. He also has nine goals and six assists in 21 MLS playoff games.
He helped L.A. win the MLS Cup three times — in 2011, 2012 and 2014 — when he was league MVP. He scored in both the 2011 and 2014 cup finals. And he did all of this while juggling his international career.
The Galaxy and Keane made his departure official Thursday, ramping up speculation. Vancouver has been talked about as a possible destination largely because of the connection between coach Carl Robinson and Keane. They broke into the first team at Wolverhampton Wanderers together when Keane was 17 and Robinson 21.
Since Robinson has been head coach in Vancouver, there has been plenty of banter and pre-game hugs between the two whenever the Caps and Galaxy met.
Robinson has called Keane a very good friend and has said they speak all the time.
Fox Sports’ Julie Stewart-Binks tweeted this week that “Robinson told us he wanted Keane.” She also mentioned rumours that Keane will join expansion Minnesota United FC, where former Orlando City manager Adrian Heath is expected to be named head coach.
Keane has expressed a desire to remain in MLS.
“I believe that now is the right time for a new challenge,” Keane said on the Galaxy’s website. “I still feel as fit and sharp as ever and I am looking forward to my next adventure.
“Having now retired from international football, I am ready to focus everything I have on one last major challenge in club football and will be taking time out to consider my options before announcing my next move.”
If Robinson does want Keane, a couple of big questions remain: Can the Caps afford him? And, does Keane want the Caps?
The artificial turf, as good as it might be for turf, is the elephant in the room. Keane hasn’t hidden his disdain for the stuff. In 2015, he said he believed it played a role in a hip injury he sustained at B.C. Place.
It would take one heck of a sales pitch to get Keane to embrace turf for 20-odd games a season.
As for what he might command on the open MLS market, Keane earned $3.5 million US this season.
The Caps highest-paid player has been Pedro Morales at close to $1.5 million, and the sense is the Caps budget isn’t shifting much this off-season.
Caps brass have said they’d be willing to spend more on a designated player in an exceptional circumstance and where the business case makes sense. Does Keane, at 36, count? What shouldn’t be ignored is that Marco Di Vaio scored 20 goals for Montreal at age 37. And Didier Drogba scored 11 goals in 11 games for the Impact at the same age.
Quality is quality and cleverness, sharpness and determination around goal still count for plenty.
Until Sebastian Giovinco arrived in Toronto, Keane was the best designated player MLS has seen, period.
If there’s a chance he could write his final professional chapter in Vancouver, the Caps must give it serious consideration.