TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Former Ireland great Robbie Keane was hired Monday to coach Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv, his first job leading a team that plays in European soccer competitions.
The club said Keane signed a two-year contract and will arrive in Tel Aviv in the coming days.
Maccabi will play in the Europa Conference League on July 27, facing Romanian club Petrocub Hîncești in the second qualifying round.
The former Tottenham, Liverpool, Inter Milan and LA Galaxy forward briefly coached in India in 2018. He has been an assistant with Ireland and, for the final four games of last season, with another of his former clubs, Leeds.
Keane’s 146 national team appearances and 68 goals are both Ireland records.
“Robbie brings the mentality, character, energy and focus of a winner, traits he exhibited everywhere he played,” Maccabi’s owner, Canadian real estate developer Mitch Goldhar, said in a statement.
Maccabi finished third in the Israeli league last season, coached for the second half of the campaign by Aitor Karanka.
Keane is Maccabi’s 15th coaching appointment in the last decade, following others such as Jordi Cruyff, Peter Bosz and Paulo Sousa.
Although Israel is in Asia, the country's soccer teams have been playing in the European region since the 1990s. The country became a UEFA member nation in 1994.
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