Kevin Keegan, football's charismatic force, dies at 75

Kevin Keegan died this week at 75, and with him went one of football's most vital forces—a man whose career moved through so many chapters that it seemed almost impossible to contain him within a single story. He was a superstar player at Liverpool and Hamburg, a captain of England, and the manager who made Newcastle United matter again. But more than the trophies and the records, Keegan left behind a kind of electricity, a belief that football could be joyful and honest and thrilling all at once.

He arrived at Liverpool in 1971 sitting on a bin outside Anfield while Bill Shankly and Ron Ashman haggled over a £35,000 transfer fee—one of football's great bargains, as it turned out. Keegan scored on his debut that opening day of the 1971-72 season and never really stopped. He was not, by some accounts, a naturally gifted player in the way others were. What he had instead was an almost ferocious will to be great, a work ethic that turned him into something more than the sum of his parts. He formed a telepathic partnership with John Toshack, the Welsh striker, a classic small-man-big-man pairing that became so synchronized Granada Television once filmed them sitting back to back trying to guess the color of cards the other held. They succeeded so often that people wondered if actual telepathy was involved. It turned out there was a mirror in the studio. Under Shankly and then Bob Paisley, Keegan won three league titles, the European Cup, and the UEFA Cup twice. He scored twice in the 1974 FA Cup final against Newcastle, a performance that prompted BBC commentator David Coleman to deliver one of sport's most enduring lines: "Goals pay the rent—and Keegan does his share."

When he left Liverpool in 1977, he did so with characteristic honesty, announcing his departure midway through the season so the club could find his replacement. Kenny Dalglish arrived to fill the void. Keegan's final game was the European Cup final in Rome, where he ran the great German defender Berti Vogts ragged as Liverpool beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1. He had scored 100 goals in 323 appearances. Rather than move to Real Madrid, he chose Hamburg, a surprise decision that proved transformative. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1978 and 1979, cementing his status as a global superstar. He appeared in aftershave advertisements with Henry Cooper, recorded a song called "Head Over Heels in Love" that climbed to number 10 in Germany, and became the kind of athlete whose face sold products worldwide. When he returned to England in 1980, he joined Southampton, where he won the Professional Footballers' Association player of the year in 1982, still operating at the highest level even if trophies eluded him.

His England career, by contrast, never quite fulfilled its promise. He won 63 caps and scored 21 goals, captaining the side 31 times, but the team failed to qualify for the 1974 and 1978 World Cups. At the 1980 European Championship in Italy, England did not progress from the group stage. Two years later in Spain, a chronic back injury limited him to the final 26 minutes of a goalless draw against Spain that sent England home. He was dropped afterward and never played for his country again. It was a career that burned bright but never quite reached the heights his talent suggested.

Newcastle changed everything. Keegan signed for the club in 1982 when they were in the old Division Two, and from that moment forward, the relationship became something almost mythical. He scored on his debut and led them to promotion to the top flight. When he retired as a player in 1984, he left by helicopter from St. James' Park after his testimonial against Liverpool, still wearing his Newcastle kit. But he could not stay away. In February 1992, almost eight years after his final game, Keegan returned as manager. What followed was a transformation. Newcastle had been heading toward the third tier when he arrived. Within two years, they were promoted to the Premier League. By 1993-94, they finished second to Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers, playing a thrilling, attacking brand of football that made them the most entertaining team in England. The following season brought the peak and the heartbreak. With Les Ferdinand and David Ginola added to the squad, Newcastle moved 12 points clear in the title race. Then it all unraveled. There was a 4-3 loss to Liverpool in stoppage time in April, Keegan's head bowed as the goal went in. And then came the moment that would define his time at Newcastle: his eruption at Sir Alex Ferguson during a television interview, his voice rising as he said, "I will love it if we beat them. Love it." Newcastle did not beat them. Manchester United won the title.

Some believed Newcastle never recovered from that blow, but Keegan's charisma was enough to convince Alan Shearer, England's top striker, to reject Manchester United and join Newcastle for a world record £15 million that summer. Yet the magic had begun to fade. On January 8, 1997, Keegan resigned, saying simply: "I feel I have taken the club as far as I can." He moved to Fulham, eventually becoming manager and leading them back to the First Division. Then came the England job. He was appointed caretaker manager in February 1999 after Glenn Hoddle was sacked, initially insisting he did not want it. But a 3-1 win over Poland at Wembley in his first game pulled at his emotions and he stayed. It was a mistake. By his own admission, Keegan lacked the tactical sophistication required at international level. "If it's a 0-0 draw in the Ukraine you want, then I'm probably not your man," he said. England qualified for Euro 2000 but the tournament was a disaster—a 3-2 loss to Portugal after leading 2-0, a win over Germany, and then a calamitous 3-2 defeat to Romania that sent them home. Keegan carried on but the criticism mounted. In October 2000, after England lost to Germany in the final match at the old Wembley Stadium, he resigned in a toilet at the ground, later admitting on television: "I just don't feel I can find that little bit extra you need at this level to find a winning formula." It was a brutal recognition of his own limits.

He managed Manchester City after their relegation in 2001, leading them back to the Premier League as First Division champions with 108 league goals. There were moments of magic—a 4-3 FA Cup comeback from 3-0 down at Tottenham, a 4-1 thrashing of Manchester United. But he left in March 2005. His final managerial role came in January 2008 when Newcastle brought him back. It lasted only eight months. Keegan clashed with owner Mike Ashley and executive director Dennis Wise over his lack of control, eventually resigning and later winning damages for constructive dismissal. It was his farewell to football. What remained was the love—from the Toon Army at Newcastle, from the supporters at Anfield, from everyone who had watched him play and manage with such passion and integrity. When he announced his illness, the outpouring of affection was immediate and overwhelming. He had been, in the end, exactly what he appeared to be: honest, decent, hard-working, emotional, and utterly devoted to the game he loved.