Kevin Keegan, a former football player, has been the manager of England’s national football team as well as English league football teams. He was born on February 14, 1951 in Armthorpe, Doncaster, England, but his parents are of Irish descent.
Kevin Keegan made his debut for England against Wales on November 15, 1972 and scored his first international goal against Wales on May 11, 1974. He took over as captain in 1976 and guided the team to qualify in the 1982 World Cup tournament. After representing the England national football team in 63 matches, Kevin Keegan has netted 21 goals and has been the captain 31 times. He retired from international football after the 1982 World Cup, and in February 1999, Kevin Keegan became the manager of the England national team.
He trained his team to win 3-1 against Poland in the Euro 2000 qualifying games. Though England won a few matches in the qualifying round, it did not qualify for the Euro 2000 following which Kevin Keegan resigned his job on October 7, 2000.
Kevin Keegan began his club career with the Division 4’s Scunthorpe United club in 1967. He was only 17 years when he made his debut for the club against Peterborough United and went on to make 29 league starts in his first season. Being a brilliant forward, he improved his football skills to become a first team regular by the 1969-70 season. Kevin Keegan made 124 appearances and netted 18 goals for the side before moving to the Liverpool club in 1971. He was a part of the Liverpool team, which won the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Cup in 1973 and its first League Championship in seven years. By scoring a brace, he helped the team win 3-0 against the Newcastle United FC and bag the Football Association (FA) Cup for 1973-74. After scoring 100 goals in 323 matches, he left the Liverpool FC and moved to the Hamburg club in 1977.
With Kevin Keegan in the team, the Hamburg club went on to win the German Bundesliga in 1978-79. After striking 32 goals in 90 games between 1977 and 1980, he moved to the Southampton FC in February 1980. After a successful playing career with the Southampton FC, the Newcastle United FC and a short stint with the Blacktown City Demons, Kevin Keegan retired from playing football and stepped into a management role in 1992.
Kevin Keegan began his management career with the Newcastle United FC on February 5, 1992. His experience and best managerial skills helped Newcastle United to win the Division One in 1992-93 and become the runner-up in the FA Charity Shield in 1996-97. With Kevin Keegan to guide the team, the Fulham FC won the Second Division in 1998-99. After a successful managerial stint with the Manchester United FC for nearly five years, during which he trained the team to win the Division One in 2001-02, he announced his retirement in 2005. His passion for the game made him return to the football circuit as Newcastle United’s manager in the closing months of the 2007-08 season.
His commendable performances as a player for the Hamburg club, fetched Kevin Keegan the ‘France Football European Footballer of the Year’ award for 1978. He also received the ‘World Player of the Year’ award for 2 consecutive years, 1978 and 1979. He was named 8th on the Liverpool FC list of ‘100 players who shook the Kop’. For his contribution towards the sport of football, Kevin Keegan was inducted into the inaugural English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. Recognising his best service to the Newcastle United club as a player and manager, the Flybe International has named the new Bombardier Q400 aircraft after Kevin Keegan.
