“The chairman and I pointed out it was a bad time to sell him with fans buying season tickets,” the 83-year-old said. As unthinkable today as it was back in 1980, Southampton – who had just finished 8th in the top-flight – signed the current Ballon d’Or holder Kevin Keegan. When Southampton signed the two-time Ballon d’Or winner Kevin Keegan – and no-one knew about it 29/04/2020 by Luke Osman 39 0. “In my first training session I can remember feeling deflated that I saw so little of the ball. He was desperate for fresh blood and was consequently aggrieved by Southampton’s business, or lack thereof, ahead of the 1982/83 campaign.Keegan’s irritation reached breaking point as he prepared to jet off to Ireland for a pre-season tour. Oh, and of course we have to mention the gorgeous perm.Starting his illustrious career at Scunthorpe in 1968, Keegan quickly rose to stardom, making 124 appearances for the Lincolnshire side before scoring an irresistible move to Anfield just three years later. The Saints were 3–1 up when Keegan felt his muscle restricting him, but having already used up his one allocated substitution, McMenemy ordered his star man to battle through the pain.Matters were made worse when Keegan was forced to attend a mid-season trip to Morocco, organised by sponsors, and then play for 70 minutes in a generally meaningless friendly against Raja Casablanca.
They quickly grew sick of the hotel and bought a bungalow in a suburb called Itzstedt, which allowed them time away from the hectic city life and enabled Keegan to concentrate fully on his football.Keegan was determined to prove his worth to the players and the fans. It was clear that McMenemy’s side could have finished far higher than the seventh place in which they eventually resided, but their defence leaked 67 goals over the course of the season.
His next destination, then, was Southampton, who had only returned to the First Division two years previously, further reflecting the magnitude of what was a gargantuan signing for the club. Keegan meraih Ballon d'Or setelah membantu Hamburg memenangi Bundesliga pada 1979 dan mengantar klub itu ke final Piala Champions pada 1980, kalah 0-1 dari Nottingham Forest di Santiago Bernabeu. And so it was Horst Blankenburg, a three-time European Cup winner with Ajax and popular dressing room figure, who was sacrificed at the expense of the new arrivals. He had always been fond of what Hampshire had to offer and enjoyed the New Forest, but more significantly saw Southampton as a place at which he could achieve stability for his new family.At one point during the 1979/80 season, it looked as though Keegan could have been headed to Turin. He called retired journalist Alan Montgomery and was insistent that he and his colleagues within the industry headed to Romsey. Ball, like everyone else, had no idea what was happening, and this was best summed up by the subsequent photographs of his baffled reaction when he first saw Keegan walk into the room.The attacker later explained in more detail just why he decided to make the unusual switch to Southampton. Kevin Keegan. Canada to evacuate passengers from virus-hit cruise ship Again, Keegan was crowned as the continent’s most exceptional player in 1979.Speculation surrounded the future of the forward as he geared up for his third season on German soil, but Keegan, touched by the affection of the club’s supporters and driven by his ambitions of a second European Cup after his first at Liverpool, was committed to helping Hamburg conquer. Famously suffered an … Keegan simply changed the role of a footballer, and perhaps has a greater influence on the modern football player than one could have ever envisaged.Premier League Clubs Vote Against 5 Substitutes Rule in 2020/21 for Second TimeNewcastle Confident of Securing 3 Signings in Next Few WeeksLeicester City Confirm Signing of Atalanta's Timothy Castagne on 5-Year DealAaron Ramsey 'Turns Down' Offer of Premier League Return at Newcastle After expecting to be joined by new arrivals, he arrived at Heathrow to see a plethora of Saints’ youth team players waiting to board the plane, with McMenemy joining them the following day. His wife had made clear to him that a return to England was the favourable option following three years in Germany, but the forward would hardly be short of potential suitors abroad. Kevin Keegan Poodle-permed Liverpool superstar and a Ballon D'Or winner with Hamburg before becoming a managerial Messiah at Newcastle (including a second coming).