IF THERE IS a traditional route for the ex-pro moving into management, Robbie Keane is not walking it.
He might have taken an established coaching route had history turned out different, but any hopes the four-year contract he signed with the FAI in 2018 was a prelude to taking the senior manager’s job were ended by regime change at Abbotstown and Stephen Kenny’s decision not to include him on his coaching staff.
After brief coaching stints at Middlesbrough and Leeds, Keane moved to Israel in 2023, leading Maccabi Tel Aviv to a league and cup double last season before deciding to resign in the summer. He faced intense criticism at home for working in Israel, and took until last month to explain he remained at the club beyond 7 October as he felt a “duty of care” to his staff and his players.
Keane is now back in management, today appointed as the new boss at Ferencvaros in Hungary. It is another intriguing move, and one that speaks to Keane’s broad horizons and enormous self-belief.
Keane proved his willingness to travel far further than precedent demanded in signing for LA Galaxy at only 31, and he both ended his playing days and started his coaching career in India.
Moving to Budapest is another atypical step and in choosing Ferencvaros, he is again betting on himself to succeed, as there is no other option at Hungary’s biggest club.
Ferencvaros have won a record 35 top-flight titles in Hungary and have lately been restored to their domestic eminence. Having won just a single league title between 2004 and 2018, Ferencvaros have won the last six titles in a row.
A seventh-straight league crown will be Keane’s minimum requirement. Ferencvaros are the superpower of Hungarian football: their budget dwarfs the rest of the league. Transfermarkt value their squad at just shy of €52 million, more than four times the sum total of the next most valuable squad, Puskás Akadémia.
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For Keane, it will be a case of first being first and second being nowhere: Ferencvaros not winning the Hungarian title would be viewed in a similar light to Bayern Munich not winning the Bundesliga, or Dinamo Zagreb failing to win a Croatian league title.
That league title is far from out of sight, however, as Ferencvaros are in second place in the league, one point off the league leaders with a game in hand.
Keane is a canny operator in the football world and this move is further proof of that, as he has taken over a rare mid-season vacancy in which things are going well.
The club also have a strong opportunity to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Europa League. They currently have nine points from six games, and are 16th in the 36-team table with two games remaining, away to Eintracht Frankfurt on 23 January and at home to AZ Alkmaar on 30 January, which may bring a reunion with Troy Parrot.
Keane also has a chance to get an effective pre-season with his players: he is now heading to Spain to lead a training camp ahead of those European games. The Hungarian league is on a winter break, and resumes in February.
Keane takes over from London-born Netherlands native Pascal Jansen, who was appointed at the start of the season but left in December having been headhunted by MLS side New York City FC. Jansen was warmly regarded among supporters: his European results were good – aside from a 5-0 hammering against PAOK – and he radiated a charisma largely absent among his recent predecessors.
While Keane may struggle to replicate Jansen’s personality, winning will solve any problems. Another former Tottenham striker, Sergei Rebrov, cut a dour figure but in 2020 led the club to the group stages of the Champions League for the first time in 25 years.
Ferencvaros’ domestic dominance has reached the point that they now judge themselves off their performances in Europe, and Keane will buy himself early credit by steering the team into the knockout rounds. It will be considered a disappointment if he doesn’t navigate the qualifying rounds to at least land in the Europa League again next season. Qualify for the Champions League and Keane can justifiably claim hero status.
Keane batted away all political questions during his stint in Israel by stressing he would only talk about football, but there’s an undeniable political element to football in Hungary, within which Ferencvaros are tangled.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is a football fanatic who has used the sport to further his own political aims, speaking of restoring Hungarian football to its former glories in the timbre of the populist leader seeking to return to a supposedly happier, more prosperous past.
He has sanctioned enormous State spending on football – estimated to be around $3 billion – and more than 40 football stadia have been renovated since 2010. A generous tax break scheme to construction companies have helped to make this possible.
Investigative media outlet and NGO Atlatszo meanwhile reported in 2021 that from 2011 to 2019, Ferencvaros received approximately €75 million – around 80% of their revenue – directly or indirectly from the Hungarian State.
Orban has termed Hungary as an “illiberal democracy”, and he has used a parliamentary majority to further the “illiberal” part of that moniker, chilling the media by appointing his own candidates to lead media regulators and influencing control over the judiciary by changing laws that allows his party, Fidesz, to appoint judges.
Fidesz figures are dotted throughout the Hungarian football league, too, and the president of Ferencvaros, Gábor Kubatov, is also an MP and the vice president of Fidesz.
“We are a Christian country 1,000 years old”, he said. “We protect our heritage and history. We look after our culture and beliefs. We stopped migration at the border and we don’t allow gender ideology. As a result, Hungary has become the most secure country in Europe.”
Keane will choose simply to stick to the football, and in that respect, he has backed himself to endure the pressure and make the most of the advantages at his disposal.
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Win or bust - What Robbie Keane faces at Ferencvaros
IF THERE IS a traditional route for the ex-pro moving into management, Robbie Keane is not walking it.
He might have taken an established coaching route had history turned out different, but any hopes the four-year contract he signed with the FAI in 2018 was a prelude to taking the senior manager’s job were ended by regime change at Abbotstown and Stephen Kenny’s decision not to include him on his coaching staff.
After brief coaching stints at Middlesbrough and Leeds, Keane moved to Israel in 2023, leading Maccabi Tel Aviv to a league and cup double last season before deciding to resign in the summer. He faced intense criticism at home for working in Israel, and took until last month to explain he remained at the club beyond 7 October as he felt a “duty of care” to his staff and his players.
Keane is now back in management, today appointed as the new boss at Ferencvaros in Hungary. It is another intriguing move, and one that speaks to Keane’s broad horizons and enormous self-belief.
Keane proved his willingness to travel far further than precedent demanded in signing for LA Galaxy at only 31, and he both ended his playing days and started his coaching career in India.
Moving to Budapest is another atypical step and in choosing Ferencvaros, he is again betting on himself to succeed, as there is no other option at Hungary’s biggest club.
Ferencvaros have won a record 35 top-flight titles in Hungary and have lately been restored to their domestic eminence. Having won just a single league title between 2004 and 2018, Ferencvaros have won the last six titles in a row.
A seventh-straight league crown will be Keane’s minimum requirement. Ferencvaros are the superpower of Hungarian football: their budget dwarfs the rest of the league. Transfermarkt value their squad at just shy of €52 million, more than four times the sum total of the next most valuable squad, Puskás Akadémia.
For Keane, it will be a case of first being first and second being nowhere: Ferencvaros not winning the Hungarian title would be viewed in a similar light to Bayern Munich not winning the Bundesliga, or Dinamo Zagreb failing to win a Croatian league title.
That league title is far from out of sight, however, as Ferencvaros are in second place in the league, one point off the league leaders with a game in hand.
Keane is a canny operator in the football world and this move is further proof of that, as he has taken over a rare mid-season vacancy in which things are going well.
The club also have a strong opportunity to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Europa League. They currently have nine points from six games, and are 16th in the 36-team table with two games remaining, away to Eintracht Frankfurt on 23 January and at home to AZ Alkmaar on 30 January, which may bring a reunion with Troy Parrot.
Keane also has a chance to get an effective pre-season with his players: he is now heading to Spain to lead a training camp ahead of those European games. The Hungarian league is on a winter break, and resumes in February.
Keane takes over from London-born Netherlands native Pascal Jansen, who was appointed at the start of the season but left in December having been headhunted by MLS side New York City FC. Jansen was warmly regarded among supporters: his European results were good – aside from a 5-0 hammering against PAOK – and he radiated a charisma largely absent among his recent predecessors.
While Keane may struggle to replicate Jansen’s personality, winning will solve any problems. Another former Tottenham striker, Sergei Rebrov, cut a dour figure but in 2020 led the club to the group stages of the Champions League for the first time in 25 years.
Ferencvaros’ domestic dominance has reached the point that they now judge themselves off their performances in Europe, and Keane will buy himself early credit by steering the team into the knockout rounds. It will be considered a disappointment if he doesn’t navigate the qualifying rounds to at least land in the Europa League again next season. Qualify for the Champions League and Keane can justifiably claim hero status.
Keane batted away all political questions during his stint in Israel by stressing he would only talk about football, but there’s an undeniable political element to football in Hungary, within which Ferencvaros are tangled.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is a football fanatic who has used the sport to further his own political aims, speaking of restoring Hungarian football to its former glories in the timbre of the populist leader seeking to return to a supposedly happier, more prosperous past.
He has sanctioned enormous State spending on football – estimated to be around $3 billion – and more than 40 football stadia have been renovated since 2010. A generous tax break scheme to construction companies have helped to make this possible.
Investigative media outlet and NGO Atlatszo meanwhile reported in 2021 that from 2011 to 2019, Ferencvaros received approximately €75 million – around 80% of their revenue – directly or indirectly from the Hungarian State.
Orban has termed Hungary as an “illiberal democracy”, and he has used a parliamentary majority to further the “illiberal” part of that moniker, chilling the media by appointing his own candidates to lead media regulators and influencing control over the judiciary by changing laws that allows his party, Fidesz, to appoint judges.
Fidesz figures are dotted throughout the Hungarian football league, too, and the president of Ferencvaros, Gábor Kubatov, is also an MP and the vice president of Fidesz.
In an interview with Jonathan Wilson for UnHerd.com last year, he readily repeated political mantras of Orban.
“We are a Christian country 1,000 years old”, he said. “We protect our heritage and history. We look after our culture and beliefs. We stopped migration at the border and we don’t allow gender ideology. As a result, Hungary has become the most secure country in Europe.”
Keane will choose simply to stick to the football, and in that respect, he has backed himself to endure the pressure and make the most of the advantages at his disposal.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Ferencváros Robbie Keane Soccer what to expect