Keane: I'm not on holiday at LA Galaxy
Reuters - Friday 19 August 2011, 23:07
LOS ANGELES - Robbie Keane may have put
his English Premier League days behind him but he is determined
to show Los Angeles Galaxy's fans the striking prowess that made
him a prolific goal-scorer with a host of top clubs.
"I'm not here on holiday, I'm here to win and score a lot of
goals," said the 31-year-old forward who made his
debut at home to the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
"I'm excited about the opportunity," Keane told reporters.
"I'm looking forward to hopefully bringing a lot of success."
Financial details of his move from Tottenham Hotspur to the
Galaxy were not disclosed when the transfer was announced
earlier this week but media reports said the fee was about 3.5
million pounds.
Keane, who has won 108 caps for Ireland and notched a record
51 goals for his country, trained with the Major League Soccer
(MLS) pacesetters for the first time on Friday.
Wearing his new strip, Keane was flanked by coach Bruce
Arena and high-profile team-mates David Beckham and Landon
Donovan at a news conference.
The signing of the Irishman means his club now have a trio
of world-class players capable of bringing the Galaxy their
first MLS championship since 2005.
"As a player you always have expectations and pressure on
you. I've had that since I was 17," said Keane who also had
spells with Liverpool, Inter Milan, Celtic, Wolverhampton
Wanderers, West Ham United, Leeds United and Coventry City.
"It's up to me to accomplish [my targets] and I think I can
do it. I played in the Premier League for a long time and I did
what I had to do - I felt it was time for a new challenge."
Midfielder Donovan, who enjoyed a successful loan spell with
Premier League Everton in 2009, said he was impressed with Keane
at training.
"Our job just got easier by bringing Robbie here," Donovan
said. "He looked good, looked sharp and I think he's going to
fit in well with this team."
Former England captain Beckham said: "We know he's going to
score goals. He's scored goals everywhere he's been."