Steven Gerrard, Michael Carrick and Pele also praise the iconic Irish striker.
In recent seasons, Spurs aren’t exactly what you would call goal-shy but if you were to ask any of the fans that visited White Hart Lane over the last decade about their favourite strike partnership, it’s very likely that the names of Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov will feature highly.
Last night in Dublin, the Irish football community were keen to show their appreciation for Robbie Keane at the FAI awards.
Ireland’s record goalscorer was the deserving recipient of the Hall of Fame award on the night – Keane bagged a phenomenal 68 goals for his country – and it wasn’t just his fellow Irishmen that were quick to lavish him with praise.
Some of Keane’s contemporaries also paid the former Coventry, Leeds and Celtic striker a special tribute on his big night, including his former teammate at Liverpool and LA Galaxy Steven Gerrard, and former colleagues at Tottenham, Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov.
The greatest of all time, Pele, also weighed in with a few words.
Gerrard, Carrick and Pele had some genuinely lovely and warm things to say about Keane both as a player and a man, but it was Berbatov, perhaps not surprisingly, who stole the show with a glowing tribute to his old partner in crime in the Spurs attack.
Steven Gerrard, Michael Carrick, Dimitar Berbatov and some bloke called Pele lead the Keano tributes! #faifootballawards #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/EF0EKNBTFe
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) March 19, 2017
“Remember, you and me, on the pitch,” Berbatov said.
“Making fun of the defenders. Scoring for fun. You running for both of us. Talking for both of us. I do remember. Me playing with you actually made me a better player.”
Keane was also the subject of a beautiful, nostalgic trip down memory lane from RTÉ to mark his induction into the Hall of Fame (see below); an award for whom we can’t think of a more deserving recipient.
The pride of Tallaght, the pride of Ireland – Robbie Keane enters the Hall of Fame at the #faifootballawards https://t.co/cIlBxNDRdu pic.twitter.com/SPuUnwIvkr
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) March 19, 2017
Congratulations, Robbie.
