Robbie Keane has been appointed head coach of Hungarian champions Ferencvaros.
The 44-year-old former Liverpool, Leeds and Tottenham striker won the title in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv last season and now faces a new challenge in Europe.
He replaces Pascal Jansen, who became coach of New York City FC, with Ferencvaros occupying second place in the standings after 16 matches.
📣 Announcement: Robbie Keane is the new head coach of Ferencváros.💚🤍 pic.twitter.com/dwr11oGpqY
– Ferencvárosi TC (@Fradi_HU) January 6, 2025
A statement on the club’s official website read: “We are announcing the successor to Dutchman Pascal Jansen to lead our 35-time champion and 24-time cup winner team, as signed by 146-time team player Robbie Keane National of the Republic of Ireland on Monday.
“The new head coach arrived in Budapest on Sunday evening and will leave on Tuesday to join our team at the training camp in Spain.”
Keane moved into coaching in 2018 as player-manager at ATK in India and worked as an assistant to Ireland boss Mick McCarthy during his second spell in charge, then took on a similar role under former Ireland teammate Spurs Jonathan Woodgate at Middlesbrough.
He was part of Sam Allardyce’s Leeds team as they tried in vain to pull off an unlikely escape from Premier League relegation at the end of the 2022-23 season, but Maccabi then offered him the chance to fend for yourself.
His first match in charge will be a Europa League match against Eintracht Frankfurt on January 23.
