Robbie Keane has been appointed head coach of the Hungarian champion Ferencvaros.
The 44-year-old former Liverpool, Leeds and Tottenham striker won the title in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv last season and now has a new challenge in Europe.
He replaced Pascal Jansen, who became New York City FC coach, with Ferencvaros second in the table after 16 games.
📣 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 reads: “We announce the successor to Dutchman Pascal Jansen who will lead our 35-time champions and 24-time cup winners, as signed by 146-time Republic of Ireland international Robbie Keane on Monday.
“The new head coach arrived in Budapest on Sunday evening and will leave on Tuesday to join our squad for a training camp in Spain.”
Keane moved into coaching as player-manager at ATK in India in 2018 and worked as an assistant to Ireland coach Mick McCarthy during his second spell in charge, later taking on a similar role under former Spurs team-mate Jonathan Woodgate at Middlesbrough .
He was part of Sam Allardyce’s staff at Leeds as they unsuccessfully tried to escape relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2022-23 season, but then Maccabi offered him the chance to manage on his own.
His first game in charge will be a Europa League game against Eintracht Frankfurt on January 23.
