Kevin Keegan: Celebrating the Legendary Life and Career in Football
Kevin Keegan’s Journey: From Player to Manager
July 20 (Reuters) - Kevin Keegan, one of English football's best-known figures as both a player and manager, has died aged 75, British media reported on Monday, after announcing in January that he had been diagnosed with cancer. Following are some facts about his life and playing career:
Early Life and Playing Career
EARLY LIFE AND PLAYING CAREER
Beginnings at Scunthorpe United
• Keegan, born in February 1951, began his playing career at Scunthorpe United in 1968, before manager Bill Shankly signed him for Liverpool.
Success at Liverpool
• With Liverpool he won three First Division titles, the UEFA Cup twice, the FA Cup and, in his final season, the European Cup.
European Stardom at Hamburger SV
• In 1977, his transfer to Hamburger SV for 500,000 pounds nearly doubled the German transfer record. While there, the forward won the European Football of the Year award back-to-back in 1978 and 1979, and in the 1978-79 season Hamburg won their first German championship title in 19 years — and their first in the Bundesliga era.
Later Playing Years: Southampton and Newcastle United
• Keegan left Hamburg and played at Southampton for two seasons, before transferring to Newcastle United in the Second Division in 1982, helping the club to secure promotion in his second season before retiring from playing in 1984.
International Career with England
• Across his club career, he scored 204 goals in 592 appearances, adding 21 goals in 63 caps for the England national team. He captained England on 31 occasions, including at UEFA's Euro 1980.
Managerial Career
MANAGERIAL CAREER
Newcastle United: The First Stint
• Seven years after retiring as a player, Keegan took his first coaching role as manager of a struggling Newcastle team in February 1992. The Magpies were in danger of being relegated to the Third Division but he kept them up and then led them to the Premier League in his first full season in charge.
Premier League Success
• Newcastle finished second in the Premier League in the 1995–96 season, despite leading the way for most of the campaign.
Fulham and England National Team
• After managing Fulham for two seasons, he took charge of the England national team in February 1999, but resigned in October 2000 following a 1–0 loss to Germany in qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Later Managerial Roles
• He later managed Manchester City, and made an emotional return to Newcastle in 2008, but lasted only eight months following tensions with the board and owner Mike Ashley.
(Compiled by Hugh Lawson; editing by Clare Fallon)
