Tottenham Hotspur legend Robbie Keane has been appointed manager of Hungarian club Ferencvaros.
The 44-year-old, who scored 122 goals in all competitions for Tottenham in two different spells, has previous coaching experience, having managed Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv for a year.
Keane left the club in June after winning the league and cup double. He previously served as assistant coach of Middlesbrough and the Republic of Ireland. The prolific former striker also worked with Sam Allardyce at Leeds United when he tried to help the Whites avoid relegation two seasons ago.
Ferencvaros have often competed in the Champions League as they are the dominant force in Hungarian football. They have won their national championship for the past six years and have won the crown a total of 35 times since their first success in 1903. They were previously coached by former AZ manager Pascal Jansen, but he left the club on New Year’s Eve after six months in charge.
Keane’s entry as a coach followed an extremely successful playing career in England. Signed by Wolves as a 16-year-old, he scored two goals on his first-team debut and was soon a Republic of Ireland regular.
Stints at Coventry, Inter and Leeds followed before Keane’s career was established at Tottenham in 2002. In his first season he became the club’s top scorer with 13 goals and scored one more the following year despite the Lilywhites’ Premier League difficulties.
The increasing competition for places didn’t bother Keane, who alongside Dimitar Berbatov played a key role in Tottenham’s development into a top-four contender. His consistent goalscoring eventually earned him a move to Liverpool in 2008, but he returned to Tottenham on loan in January before securing a permanent return.
As his Premier League career neared its end in his 30s, Keane found a new life in MLS with LA Galaxy. Signed as a designated player alongside David Beckham and Landon Donovan, Keane once again found his goalscoring spirit and enjoyed five hugely successful years in Los Angeles, scoring 83 goals in the league and a further 21 goals in the cup competition.
He retired in 2018 after a short spell in India, two years after ending a brilliant international career with the Republic of Ireland in which he scored 68 goals in 146 games.