Former Republic of Ireland skipper Robbie Keane has been appointed head coach at Hungarian champions Ferencvaros.
The 44-year-old, who left his role as Maccabi Tel Aviv boss in June having guided the Israeli club to the league title, replaces Pascal Jansen following his departure for New York City FC.
A statement on the club’s official website said: ‘We announce the successor to Dutchman Pascal Jansen to lead our 35-time champion and 24-time cup winner team, as the 146-time national team player of the Republic of Ireland Robbie Keane has signed 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 scored a record 68 senior international goals during a 19-year playing career which included spells with Wolves, Coventry, Inter Milan, Leeds, Tottenham, Liverpool, Celtic, West Ham, LA Galaxy and Aston Villa.
He 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, and later took up a similar role under former Spurs team-mate Jonathan Woodgate at Middlesbrough.
Robbie Keane has been appointed as head coach of Hungarian champions FerencvarosÂ
Keane received significant abuse after managing Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv last season
Claudine, Robbie Keane’s wife, said their family felt ‘at risk’ after ‘threatening’ messages
He was part of Sam Allardyce’s staff at Leeds as they unsuccessfully tried to pull off an unlikely escape from Premier League relegation at the end of the 2022-23 season, but was then offered the chance to manage in his own right by Maccabi.
Keane guided the Tel Aviv club to a league and cup double and took them to the last 16 in the European Conference League in his one season at the helm.
However, his reign attracted criticism at home in Ireland after he opted to remain in his post following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict.Â
Keane, who will be joined in Budapest by assistant coach Rory Delap and analyst Phill Hudson, later said he had stayed on for the sake of his players and staff and revealed he had rejected a lucrative offer to carry on his work.
However, in November, the footballer’s wife Claudine Keane said the safety and wellbeing of her family have been jeopardised after claiming Robbie had become a ‘political pawn’ as a result of staying in his role in Israel.Â
Claudine also said the former Republic of Ireland captain’s status as the country’s record goalscorer has done nothing to shield him from ‘hurtful, threatening and dangerous’ messages, before claiming the ‘outrageous accusations’ levelled against Keane have ‘incited hatred’.
‘I would just like to remind a certain small group of individuals my family, my children and I live in Ireland, this is our home,’ she wrote on social media at the time.
‘I feel extremely uncomfortable and sometimes intimidated by some messages again from a small group that are hurtful, threatening and dangerous.
Claudine claimed their family felt ‘intimidated’ by people ‘inciting hatred’ against her husband
Keane will take over a Ferencvaros side who are currently second in the Hungarian top flight
‘They not only put genuinely our safety and wellbeing as a family at risk, they are using a sportsperson as a political pawn and in doing so inciting hatred by making absolutely outrageous accusations.’
‘I always felt safe in Ireland until now. I always wanted to move home, bring my kids up here and enjoy the Ireland that both me and my husband love.
‘They are taking every bit of enjoyment and safety away from me and my family. We love our country, we are not politicians, we have never done any wrong.’
The Keanes, who have two sons, have been together since 2002, when 18-year-old Claudine was an aspiring model and Robbie was establishing himself as a rising star following successful spells at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coventry and Leeds United.
Meanwhile, Keane, who won 41 of his 56 games in charge of Maccabi, will get his reign underway on Friday when Ferencvaros travel to Preuben Munster in a friendly, with his first competitive game set to be a Europa League trip to Frankfurt on January 23.Â
Ferencvaros sit second in the Hungarian league, while they are 16th in the Europa League League Phase and have a strong chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. Â