MLS MVP award reinforces ideal fit between Robbie Keane and LA Galaxy

LOS ANGELES

Perhaps the best way to tell the tale of Robbie Keane in MLS starts with how he entered this season. Keane ended last year with pain in both his heels and regret about the way LA Galaxy failed to defend MLS Cup. He shipped off to London in late November and watched surgeons slice open both of his Achilles tendons in a bid to alleviate the lingering complaints.

The surgery dashed any offseason plans and shunted him quickly into rehabilitation mode. Keane didn’t check out or take his sweet time to recover. He buckled down and worked his way back. And he spent most of this year reaping the corresponding benefits.

“Since the operation, I’ve only had a few days off,” Keane explained after claiming MLS MVP honors on Wednesday. “I’ve been at rehab every day for six weeks before I came back to preseason. It’s been a long year, but it’s been worth it. I’d been waking up in the mornings and I could hardly walk. It took me ages to get going for training. Since the operation, I feel great.”

It shows. Somehow, he continues to improve and perform despite his advancing years. He produces for his club. He turns out time and again for his country, though he dropped to the bench for the EURO 2016 qualifying defeat to Scotland last month. He wades through the inevitable fatigue of the burdens heaped upon him without suffering the expected repercussions.

Keane’s persistence makes him an ideal fit for the peculiar demands presented in MLS. Galaxy manager Bruce Arena said he always stuck Keane in the back of his mind as a potential acquisition, the sort of player who might fit well into his plans and the league. He picked his target wisely. Keane met and exceeded just about every reasonable expectation from the moment he stepped off the plane in the summer of 2011.

ROBBIE KEANE IN MLS

“What has made Robbie unique to many of the international players we’ve had in this league is that he bought into our league and what we do right away,” Arena said. “It wasn’t a fight. It wasn’t, ‘I played at Tottenham or Liverpool or in Italy or what have you and this is how they do it.’ He fully accepted what our league is about. He accepted the challenges that go along with that and that go along with our team. He’s fully bought in from day one. He’s been a great leader and a great player for us.”

Keane also offers a formidable presence. He functions as the constant and reliably excellent touchstone for the Galaxy. He produces game after game after game, even if his teammates lag behind him occasionally or even if he spends more time than he probably should carping at opposing players or referees. It doesn’t matter whether he’s crisscrossing the Atlantic to play for the Republic of Ireland or trundling down from his downtown L.A. digs for a home match with the Galaxy at the StubHub Center. By and large, he doesn’t let those external factors influence his work on the field.

“The most important thing for me is consistency, consistently doing well for the team, consistently scoring goals and assisting them,” Keane said. “I’ve been very lucky that every year since I’ve come here, I’ve gotten better and better.”

Although Keane insists he hasn’t changed during the course of his time in southern California to aid that progression, Arena said he noticed subtle tweaks in his game to adjust to the evolving circumstances around him. Keane is a willing team player. He poses the greatest threat behind the line and in front of goal, but he often drops into other areas if the circumstances require him to amend his approach. His clever and malleable approach poses a variable and ultimately potent threat to the defenders charged with tracking him, particularly if he locates space to combine with the similarly crafty Landon Donovan in the final third.

“As our team gets a little bit better, it allows him to do different things,” Arena said. “He played a little bit differently when (former Galaxy midfielder David) Beckham was here. Beckham could deliver the ball wherever he was. At times with our team (now), he’s the playmaker. At other times, he’s the goalscorer.”

The potent combination of flexibility and precision inside the penalty area -- plus those restored Achilles heels -- spurred Keane to post his best MLS totals in goals (19) and assists (14) this season. They proved enough to claim MVP honors after missing out last season, but the individual accolades pale in importance to the wider picture. He remains committed to his team, the overarching goal of winning a third MLS Cup in four years against New England on Sunday and the sustained pursuit of those objectives in the future.

Keane -- now a sprightly 34-year-old who contended he feels much, much younger -- said he believes he can play for another four years if he manages to avoid injury. He cites his desire to engage in the day-to-day toil as the bedrock behind those claims and insists his engagement will not wane as he continues to turnout for club and country.

“If I can keep myself fit, the motivation is there, the hunger is there,” Keane said. “I don’t think that will ever go away for me. If my legs go, you can’t really do anything about that. But I don’t see that for a long time. You have to have that desire and that hunger to still play the game. I’ve played with players over the years in England that were at a certain age like myself, but they never really had the hunger to carry on. That’s when the levels drop, when the hunger’s gone.”

It doesn’t look like that moment will arrive any time soon for Keane. His actions and his displays still reinforce his words. There is still more of his story to write. And, by the looks of it, he’s ready to grasp the opportunity with both hands.