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Ireland's Robbie Keane: My focus is firmly on upcoming European Championship qualifiers against Armenia & Andorra
The LA Galaxy forward spoke with Goal.com exclusively and explained that he is determined to help his international team qualify for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine
Oct 4, 2011 9:18:00 AM
Getty
EXCLUSIVE
By Alex Labidou
Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane insists he is fully focused on his country's upcoming European Championship qualification double-header against Andorra and Armenia - and that any talk of international retirement will wait until the future.
The Republic of Ireland currently sit second in Group B, two points behind league leaders Russia, who face a tough trip to Slovakia and then the easier task of hosting Andorra.
Two positive results could see Keane, and Ireland, seal automatic qualification ahead of Russia - should they slip up in Zilina - and he says that he is only thinking about the job at hand.
"I’m concentrating on the two games that we have next week and my full concentration and focus is on getting into those games and getting Ireland into the European Championships," he said in an exclusive interview with Goal.com.
"I keep on saying in terms of my future that as long as I feel good and I’m fit, I’m a very proud Irishman, always have been, and I will continue to play as long as I feel it’s right for me."
The 31-year-old has also revealed that, although he was keen to continue playing for his country, he did not take his international future into consideration before making the decision to move to the United States to play with LA Galaxy.
"I didn’t have the chance to speak with him [Giovanni Trapattoni]," he added. "It happened so quick. Like anything in life, I’m old enough and brave enough to make my own decisions.
"Any club that I’ve gone to, I’ve never spoken to any manager so I’m not doing something that I’ve never done before. I’ve moved around to different clubs and I make my own decisions."
Keane signed a two-year deal with the Los Angeles-based side in August 2011. They currently sit top of Major League Soccer's Western Conference, seven points clear of Seattle Sounders, and have already qualified for the MLS cup play-offs.
And the former Inter, Liverpool and Tottenham striker is keen to stress that he has not moved to MLS for an easy life.
"It’s a tough league," he stated firmly. "All of the players are very fit so in that respect, it’s quite tough.
"Look at the games that we’ve played, they haven’t been easy games. They’ve been very tight games, one-nil, two-nil games so by no means is it an easy league.
"But the squad that we have, the players we have, are working well at the moment so there’s no complaints there."
And while discussing his team-mates' quality, Keane also made special mention of fellow Galaxy player, David Beckham, who has been linked with a move to Paris Saint-German.
"Obviously, that’s a priority for the club for David to stay. Having just come over to the team, I’ve seen that he’s a big part of this team," he explained.
"It’s always easy when you’re playing with good players. David certainly brings that. Of course, I’d like him to stay and I’m sure the club and David are at this moment speaking about him maybe staying."
In their upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers, Republic of Ireland face an away trip to play Andorra on October 7 before hosting Armenia in their final game on Tuesday October 11.
By Alex Labidou
Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane insists he is fully focused on his country's upcoming European Championship qualification double-header against Andorra and Armenia - and that any talk of international retirement will wait until the future.
The Republic of Ireland currently sit second in Group B, two points behind league leaders Russia, who face a tough trip to Slovakia and then the easier task of hosting Andorra.
| Bet: | Returns: | Houston Dynamo £21.00 | Draw £32.00 | Los Angeles Galaxy £32.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Houston Dynamo £19.09 | Draw £32.00 | Los Angeles Galaxy £34.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Houston Dynamo £20.00 | Draw £33.00 | Los Angeles Galaxy £38.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Houston Dynamo £20.50 | Draw £32.00 | Los Angeles Galaxy £33.00 |
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Two positive results could see Keane, and Ireland, seal automatic qualification ahead of Russia - should they slip up in Zilina - and he says that he is only thinking about the job at hand.
"I’m concentrating on the two games that we have next week and my full concentration and focus is on getting into those games and getting Ireland into the European Championships," he said in an exclusive interview with Goal.com.
"I keep on saying in terms of my future that as long as I feel good and I’m fit, I’m a very proud Irishman, always have been, and I will continue to play as long as I feel it’s right for me."
The 31-year-old has also revealed that, although he was keen to continue playing for his country, he did not take his international future into consideration before making the decision to move to the United States to play with LA Galaxy.
"I didn’t have the chance to speak with him [Giovanni Trapattoni]," he added. "It happened so quick. Like anything in life, I’m old enough and brave enough to make my own decisions.
"Any club that I’ve gone to, I’ve never spoken to any manager so I’m not doing something that I’ve never done before. I’ve moved around to different clubs and I make my own decisions."
Keane signed a two-year deal with the Los Angeles-based side in August 2011. They currently sit top of Major League Soccer's Western Conference, seven points clear of Seattle Sounders, and have already qualified for the MLS cup play-offs.
And the former Inter, Liverpool and Tottenham striker is keen to stress that he has not moved to MLS for an easy life.
"It’s a tough league," he stated firmly. "All of the players are very fit so in that respect, it’s quite tough.
"Look at the games that we’ve played, they haven’t been easy games. They’ve been very tight games, one-nil, two-nil games so by no means is it an easy league.
"But the squad that we have, the players we have, are working well at the moment so there’s no complaints there."
And while discussing his team-mates' quality, Keane also made special mention of fellow Galaxy player, David Beckham, who has been linked with a move to Paris Saint-German.
"Obviously, that’s a priority for the club for David to stay. Having just come over to the team, I’ve seen that he’s a big part of this team," he explained.
"It’s always easy when you’re playing with good players. David certainly brings that. Of course, I’d like him to stay and I’m sure the club and David are at this moment speaking about him maybe staying."
In their upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers, Republic of Ireland face an away trip to play Andorra on October 7 before hosting Armenia in their final game on Tuesday October 11.
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