Robbie Keane during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Leeds United at the London Stadium, London, England on 21 May 2023. Photo: IMAGO/Pro Sports Images via Reuters Connect

Irish former soccer player Robbie Keane has been appointed the new head coach of the Premier League’s Maccabi Tel Aviv for the 2023-2024 season, the Israeli soccer team announced on Monday.

Keane, 42, has signed a two-year-deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv and will arrive in Tel Aviv with his staff “in the coming days” to began preparing the team for the next season. He is replacing Aitor Karanka, who Maccabi said on Sunday that it is parting ways with “effective immediately.”

“I am delighted to take on this challenge at Maccabi,” Keane said in a statement posted on Maccabi Tel Aviv’s website. “My team and I look forward to beginning work and we have confidence in our ability to do what is necessary to prepare the team for the coming season.”

As a soccer player, the former Irish captain played for a number of clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, Leeds United, Liverpool, Coventry City, West Ham, Aston Villa and the Republic of Ireland, where he is the record caps holder and top goal scorer. He scored more than 400 goals during his career as an athlete.

He was the first team coach at Leeds United from May to June and prior to that was assistant manager at both Middlesbrough (2019-2020) and the Republic of Ireland (2018-2020). He played for the Indian soccer team ATK for three matches in March 2018 and coached Ireland’s soccer club the Shamrock Rovers for free but this is Keane’s first gig being the head coach of a team, according to The Irish Times.

“I’m a people person, and I played the game for 25 years, so I know what players want,” Keane said in 2021. “I know training sessions that keep players engaged and demand a lot from them. As a player, I demanded a lot from myself and that’s what I want from players I’m coaching.”

Maccabi’s owner Mitch Goldhar said, “Robbie brings the mentality, character, energy and focus of a winner, traits he exhibited everywhere he played. These characteristics now combined with ambitions to succeed as a coach are aligned with our objectives at Maccabi.”