ISL 2018: Teddy Sheringham was the reason behind Robbie Keane's India stint
What’s the story?
Former Tottenham Hotspur star striker Robbie Keane revealed that he had made the move to the Indian Super League, as he is a good friend of Teddy Sheringham, who was appointed as the head coach at ATK last summer.
Keane, who was the captain of the Red and Whites, ended up taking over the reins as the player-manager after a couple of managerial changes, revealed on Soccer AM that it was the former Spurs and Manchester United man who was the reason behind the move.
“I went because Teddy Sheringham was there. Unfortunately, he left and after that, it was a bit difficult,” Keane said on the TV show.
In case you didn’t know…
Robbie Keane received a lot of love from the Indian fans, despite the fact that defending champions ATK finished second from bottom in the ISL. Keane was injured for a large part of the season, but did make a comeback, to give ATK a late push for the top four spots.
The heart of the matter
Despite the fact that Sheringham had helped bring Keane to ATK, the club had to eventually sack their head coach half-way through the season, as the team was failing to win matches.
"I ended up being the player-manager, a couple of managers after Teddy. All in all, it wasn't too bad," said Keane.
The former Spurs man, who had also played for Liverpool, went on to state that his time in India opened up his eyes to what poverty is.
"It definitely is an experience and it opens your eyes up. Football aside, there is a lot of poverty there,” he said. "The people were absolutely fantastic. It was just a great experience and I enjoyed it thoroughly.”
What’s next?
After two managerial changes at ATK, the club decided to promote Robbie Keane to the role of player-manager. While Keane did well in the role, he did hint at a complete shift to the coaching role in the future. Now, it remains to be seen when the former Spurs man makes that switch.
Author's take
Robbie Keane was one of the most exciting additions to the ISL last season. While two-time champions ATK could not qualify for the semifinals for the first time in their history, it was Keane who provided some excitement for the Kolkata outfit, with his brilliant goalscoring abilities.