Kevin Keegan

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Keegan began his playing career at Scunthorpe United in 1968, before Bill Shankly signed him for Liverpool. There, he won three First Division titles, the UEFA Cup twice, the FA Cup and, in his final season, the European Cup. During this period, he was a regular member of the England national team, and captained the team on 31 occasions. He moved to Hamburger SV in the summer of 1977 and was named European Footballer of the Year in both 1978 and 1979. Hamburg won the Bundesliga title in the 1978–79 season and reached the 1980 European Cup final. Keegan left Hamburg and played at Southampton for two seasons, before transferring to Newcastle United in the Second Division in 1982. He helped Newcastle secure promotion in his second season, and retired from playing in 1984. He scored 203 goals in 591 appearances in his club career, adding 21 goals in 63 caps for England. He moved into management at Newcastle in 1992, and the team won promotion to the Premier League as First Division champions in his first full season. Newcastle finished second in the Premier League in the 1995–96 season, despite leading the way for most of the campaign. 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 against Germany in qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In 2001, he became manager of Manchester City for four years, until he resigned in 2005. Keegan had been out of football for almost three years when he returned to Newcastle for a second spell as manager in January 2008, but this lasted only eight months, as he resigned in September following speculation about a dispute with the club's directors. The three clubs he managed were promoted as champions in his first full season in charge of them.

In Their Own Story

The transfer to Liverpool in 1971 marked a pivotal turning point. After scouted Geoff Twentyman recommended him, Keegan negotiated his own contract, securing £50 a week against manager Ron Ashman's initial shock at the young player's bluffing tactics. Transferred for £33,000, Keegan was moved from right midfield to play alongside John Toshack up front by Bill Shankly. His lack of positional discipline saw him warned by Ronnie Moran for 'playing too free and easy', yet he flourished. At Liverpool, he won three First Division titles, the UEFA Cup twice, the FA Cup, and the European Cup in his final season. In 1977, Keegan moved to Hamburger SV, where he was named European Footballer of the Year in both 1978 and 1979. Hamburg won the Bundesliga title in the 1978–79 season and reached the 1980 European Cup final before Keegan returned to England to play for Southampton.

Reader's Guide

Keegan was born on 14 February 1951 at his aunt Nellie's house in Elm Place in Armthorpe, as she had electricity, which made it safer for childbirth. He was the second of three children of Joe and Doris Keegan. His father, a Geordie, had moved to Armthorpe, in Doncaster (then in the West Riding of Yorkshire) to work in a colliery, where he met and married Doris. Keegan attended St Peter's High School in nearby Cantley. Keegan's paternal ancestors arrived in Newcastle from Ireland. In 1909, his grandfather Frank, an inspector, heroically saved lives in the West Stanley Pit disasters. His father Joe and uncle Frank were Newcastle United supporters, describing their favourite players as Hughie Gallacher and Jackie Milburn. Keegan's father never saw him play for Newcastle. Keegan was given his first football by his uncle and his first pair of football boots by his father after he won betting on horses. They were a second-hand pair of Winit boots bought from a sports shop run by former Doncaster Rovers centre forward Ray Harrison. Keegan played football at Hyde Park using his baby brother Michael's pushchair as a goal post. As a boy, he supported Doncaster Rovers. His favourite player was Alick Jeffrey, a player once described by Matt Busby's assistant, Jimmy Murphy, as the English Pelé, and once described by Milburn as 'the best young player he had ever seen'. As a schoolboy, Keegan had a trial for Coventry City under manager Jimmy Hill. Despite being one of two players kept on for an extra six-week period, the club did not offer him a contract. They did offer apprenticeship terms to the right-back Brian Joy, who went on to have a 15-year career in football. Keegan had another trial with Doncaster Rovers arranged by his father, but when he arrived he found out he had the wrong information: the trial was earlier in the day and at a different place. Keegan participated in various sports, including cross-country running, rugby, and football, and served his school's cricket team as captain. He also boxed at his local club, run by the former British Heavyweight champion Bruce Woodcock. At age 15, Keegan and two friends completed a 50-mile run from Nottingham to Doncaster. In his autobiography, he said this run prepared him physically and psychologically for any running he had to do in future pre-season training or football matches. He left school with O Levels in His

Did You Know?

• Keegan won consecutive Ballon d'Ors in 1978 and 1979.
• He captained the England national team on 31 occasions.
• Keegan's grandfather Frank heroically saved lives in the West Stanley Pit disasters in 1909.
• As a boy, Keegan supported Doncaster Rovers, not Newcastle United.
• Keegan's father never saw him play for Newcastle United.