Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy has paid tribute to Robbie Keane ahead of his last game in an Irish jersey by taking out a front page ad in The Irish Times.
Keane is due to line out for his last international cap on Wednesday night as the Republic of Ireland take on Oman at the Aviva Stadium. The game will bring his impressive 18-year international career to an end.
Marking the occasion, Keane’s US club took out an ad on the front page of Wednesday’s Irish Times.
Accompanying a photo of the Dubliner with his fist held up, the ad reads: “Congratulations Keano! The LA Galaxy would like to congratulate Robbie Keane for all of his accomplishments in his remarkable 18-year career with the Republic of Ireland.”
Speaking on Monday, Keane said he was grateful to Martin O'Neill for giving him the opportunity to play on Wednesday.
“I’m going to take it all in as much as I can and enjoy it - everything I’ve done - but it will be an emotional night for me and my family,” he said.
“Physically, I feel I can go on for another couple of years and I’ll keep on playing as long as I can, but in terms of international football this is the right time for me to go.
“It’s important to focus on my club career for a couple of years; after that we’ll see what happens.”
Keane said Ireland had a special place in his heart and he never imagined he would earn 145 caps.
“I played for a lot of teams, wore a lot of shirts, but it always seemed to be the Irish one that fitted me the best.”
Ireland versus Oman kicks off at the Aviva at 7.45pm and can be viewed on eir Sport 1 from 7pm.
