Naby Keita is already onto his second club since leaving Liverpool at the end of the 2022/23 season, and he now has a new manager whose name will be familiar to Reds supporters.
The Guinea midfielder is on loan at Ferencvaros from Werder Bremen, where he’s endured a nightmare of things since his departure from Anfield 20 months ago, and the Hungarian side have had a notable change in the dugout.
The Budapest-based club announced on Monday (via fradi.hu) that Robbie Keane has taken over as their new head coach, with the ex-LFC striker replacing Pascal Jansen.
The 44-year-old – who had half a season at Liverpool in 2008/09 – was most recently in charge of Maccabi Tel-Aviv, who he guided to the Israeli top-flight title last year and also led to the last 16 of the Europa Conference League.
It’s the Irishman’s second post as a manager in senior football, having previously held assistant roles at Middlesbrough and Leeds, as well as his country’s national team (Transfermarkt).
For different reasons, both Keita and Keane have been at the centre of controversy over the past 12 months.
The ex-Liverpool midfielder was suspended by Werder Bremen last April following reports that he refused to board the team bus for a match against Bayer Leverkusen upon learning that he wouldn’t be in the starting XI, an accusation that he strongly contested.
Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland’s all-time leading goalscorer faced condemnation from pro-Palestine campaigners during his year in charge of Maccabi Tel Aviv for not resigning from the post until eight months after the attacks which triggered the Israel-Hamas war.
With Keita turning 30 next month and enduring an injury-ravaged career following his £52.75m move to Liverpool in 2018, it should be interesting to see if Keane can instigate an upturn in fortunes for the talented but enigmatic Guinea international.
The Irishman’s on-field success with his previous club suggests that Ferencvaros have made a shrewd appointment, and hopefully both men can enjoy success in Budapest.
The post Ex-Liverpool marksman lands new managerial post; he’ll now be in charge of Naby Keita appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
