Kevin KEEGAN

For every naturally gifted footballer to achieve his dream of pulling on an England shirt, there is a player who has had to work hard at his own game to reach the same standard. Kevin Keegan was quick, but also small and not blessed with a great first touch when he emerged on to the lower league scene, but had enough raw promise to be watched and snatched by Liverpool, for whom he vowed he would not be a disappointment. Keegan made demands of himself to improve the aspects of his game which needed to be improved if his ambitions as a Liverpool player were to be achieved, so when after little more than a year at Anfield he was called up to play for England (the photo above shows a young Kevin prior to an England U23 game in 1972), he knew he was doing the right things. The England supporters took a little while to be convinced of Keegan's worthiness - he wasn't tall but alleviated that by working on the timing of his leaps, eventually making it so natural that he looked inhumanly tall when he sprung into the air. He wasn't blessed with natural skill but was determined that his footwork would improve, not least in the art of hitting a shot first time or on the turn. He used his pace and natural fitness to enhance these improvements to his game, and it was Liverpool who initially felt the benefit with domestic and European honours. Alf Ramsey clearly felt he could trust his new young recruit as he deployed him up front in a qualifier for the 1974 World Cup versus Wales in Cardiff. Keegan had one glorious chance which keeper Gary Sprake saved with his legs, and the match ended in a 1-0 England win thanks to a strike from Colin Bell.

The next qualifier was against the same opposition at Wembley two months later, and again Keegan was pitched in and the game was drawn. Ramsey's response was to revert to experience for the remainder of England's qualification campaign which consisted of a brace of games against Poland. Kevin stayed out of the squad as England won their three Home Internationals prior to travelling to Chorzow for the first game against Poland which ended in a sorry 2-0 defeat. The return game at Wembley in October 1973 saw Keegan recalled as a substitute and at one late point in the match he thought he was going on when Ramsey famously said "Kevin, get changed" as England were stuck at 1-1 and unable to get the winner. Sadly for Keegan, the player Ramsey was addressing was Kevin Hector, who had barely entered the field of play when the whistle went and England's place in Germany for the 1974 World Cup vanished. (Matthew Rudd)

Kevin Keegan didn't play for Alf Ramsey again, as the FA dispensed with the coach who had won the World Cup and brought in Joe Mercer on a temporary basis to see England through the summer Home Internationals and a hastily-arranged mini-tour of Eastern Europe which was put together when it was clear England wouldn't be spending the summer in Germany. Keegan, who is pictured above in Liverpool colours, became a Mercer favourite straightaway, scoring the opener against Wales in the first Home International fixture - three caps, and all three against Wales - before featuring in all three of the tour games, though when he was beaten up by Yugoslav police at Belgrade airport there was grave danger of a diplomatic embarrassment forcing England to withdraw from the game. As if to show his aggressors that they had little effect, Keegan scored England's second goal in a 2-2 draw. Don Revie's subsequent appointment would coincide with Kevin's full establishment as one of England's top turns in a struggling team as he took part in three of the opening four qualifiers for the 1976 European Championships.

England won all three - Keegan scored the only goal of the game in one, away to Cyprus - but only drew the game Kevin missed. Revie quickly stamped his authority and his oddities on the England set-up, dropping in-form or senior players without warning - most notably Emlyn Hughes and Alan Ball - while getting the backs up of others by making changes without explanations. Keegan, for one, stormed off in disgust after Revie dropped him for a Home International against Wales, but the coach went after him and persuaded him that he just wanted to keep him fresh for the tougher task against Scotland. Keegan duly played a blinder as England destroyed the Scots 5-1 and then scored the opener in a 2-0 friendly win in Switzerland before the resumption of the European Championship campaign. The last two matches were both away - in Czechoslovakia and then a month later in Portugal. Kevin played in both but England were defeated in Bratislava and only drew, in a dismal manner, against the Portuguese. A second consecutive major finals had slipped through England's grasp and still Keegan waited for his stage. (Matthew Rudd)

With Emlyn Hughes and Alan Ball ditched - Ball would never return - and replacement skipper Gerry Francis injured, Kevin Keegan was handed the skipper's armband for the first time at the beginning of 1976 for a 2-1 friendly win over Wales in Wrexham. There followed the annual Home Internationals, a competition Keegan was growing to like, and he featured in all three games - though Francis was back as captain - as England dispensed with Wales and Northern Ireland before losing to Scotland at Hampden. With no European Championships to grace, England accepted an invitation to take part in the US Bi-Centennial tournament and Kevin played in the opening game against Brazil which England lost 1-0. The more serious business of the World Cup loomed, with England determined to make amends for the disappointment of missing the 1974 tournament by qualifying for the 1978 competition in Argentina. Keegan scored twice in a 4-1 win in Finland and, with Francis sustaining a long term injury, was handed the captaincy for the foreseeable future. This suited Kevin down to the ground, even though he'd never been Liverpool captain - indeed, his club skipper Hughes wasn't far away from having his international exile ended - and Keegan proudly led out the team at Wembley for the first time in a friendly victory over the Republic of Ireland in September 1976. A month later he led England to a return victory against Finland at Wembley, preparing England ideally for the massive qualifier in Italy which would follow a month later. Keegan was playing, at this stage, in a free role - using his industrious qualities and natural fitness to hover behind one or two main strikers or work the flanks if Revie had not plumped for natural wingers.

He had started to develop an almost telepathic understanding with Trevor Brooking, who saw in Kevin a willing ally in terms of finding the right positions to reach the West Ham prompter's mixture of crosses, teasing diagonal through balls and low slide rule passes. But in Italy, it went wrong as Revie packed the defence and forced Keegan to operate alongside Brooking rather than ahead of him. The natural creativity was missing and the hosts won 2-0. This was the beginning of Revie's end and Kevin's chances of appearing in the World Cup looked set to disappear for a second tournament in a row. Keegan scored in the group's shoo-in qualifier against Luxembourg at Wembley as England won 5-0 but was crucially missing as the 1977 Home Internationals reached a peak at Wembley when Scotland won 2-1 and their fans took home clods of turf as keepsakes. Hughes captained England that day, but Revie had made it clear that Keegan was only being rested and the armband would still be his. Kevin spent the summer putting the finishing touches to his move from Liverpool to Hamburg before joining his England colleagues on the scheduled tour of South America. (Matthew Rudd)

Kevin Keegan captained England to three creditable draws on their tour against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. However, the tour was disrupted and almost declared unimportant when news filtered through that Revie had resigned after claiming that there had been a witch hunt to have him removed. Ron Greenwood took over, initially temporarily, and took the talismanic Keegan to his bosom, assuring him of his worth to the team while also gently giving the captain's armband back to Hughes, using the reason that a club captain based in England was a more sensible appointment to the job. Keegan, who cherished the captaincy, was professional in his reaction and worked hard on his game, concentrating on establishing himself both as a footballer and as a resident in Germany. The World Cup campaign was dying - England needed a cricket score in Luxembourg to give themselves half a chance against Italy at Wembley, but only beat the whipping boys 2-0 - but Keegan was determined to depart the group on a high, showing off his wonderful understanding with Brooking by running across the Italian defence to meet the West Ham midfielders curler with his head and loop it over Dino Zoff, demonstrating his fantastic aerial ability for a man not blessed with feet and inches.

Kevin became official vice-captain under Hughes as Greenwood reshaped the side for the 1980 European Championship qualification group which would begin at the end of 1978. In the interim, Keegan thumped home a free kick to earn England a 1-1 draw with Brazil in a friendly at Wembley - a game which Hughes missed, thereby giving Kevin the captaincy for the night - but injury ruled him out of the Home Internationals, though England emerged with three wins from three despite his absence. The European Championship campaign began in September 1978, with Keegan scoring twice and combining divinely with Brooking in a thrilling, if barmy, 4-3 win over Denmark in Copenhagen. On the occasion of his 40th England appearance he was captain again as England defeated Czechoslovakia at Wembley in a friendly.

Keegan scored the opener in a 4-0 friendly win over Northern Ireland in February 1979 before the three Home International fixtures beckoned, which oddly featured three different captains. Greenwood rested both Hughes and Keegan for the game against Northern Ireland so Mick Mills led out the team; then Hughes and Keegan were recalled for a 0-0 draw with Wales so Hughes wore the armband; before the last game in Scotland saw Keegan retained but Hughes rested, so Kevin skippered the team. That game ended in a 3-1 win for England, with Keegan getting a memorable goal thanks to a superb one-two combination on the run with Brooking which tore Scotland's defence to shreds. Fewer than two weeks later, Kevin opened the scoring in a vital 3-0 win in Bulgaria which enhanced England's claims for a European Championship spot and he then scored again in a bizarre 4-3 friendly defeat in Austria. By now he was captaining the team more often as the ageing Hughes was seeing Greenwood scale down his England career. (Matthew Rudd)

Kevin Keegan skippered England in four of the last six games of 1979 as they won three more qualifiers for the European Championships. Their place for the finals in Italy was confirmed after a 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in February 1980, with Kevin scoring both goals - one of which, an angled, left-footed chip on the run from 25 yards, was one of the finest of his career. In the next game, a friendly against Spain, Keegan won his 50th England cap. Emlyn Hughes, by now winding down his career with Wolves, was still technically the England captain as Greenwood's squad flew to Italy for their first major finals in a decade, although it was deemed unlikely that he would play, despite having a place in the squad. In his first major international tournament, Keegan led out the England team for all three group games - a draw with Belgium (the picture above - which was voted best photo of the championships - shows Kevin flying through the air after being challenged by Raymond Mommens), a defeat against Italy and a win over Spain - but didn't play particularly well individually as England struggled to find any rhythm until it was too late.

A draw, defeat and victory wasn't quite enough to take them through to the semi-finals and the tournament ended suddenly and disappointingly. Hughes was cast aside straightaway and Keegan, who had surprisingly left Hamburg for Southampton, was officially installed as England captain, although injuries would rule him out of the opening three qualifiers for the 1982 World Cup, two of which were victories and one a defeat. Keegan returned for a friendly defeat against Spain in March 1981 but the rest of the year would be a huge frustration to him as injury troubles robbed him of a regular place as England failed to win two more qualifiers and had a wretched Home International tournament. Kevin came back for the four crucial qualifiers at the end of 1981, scoring a penalty and creating a famous goal for Brooking which lodged in the stanchion as England beat Hungary 3-1 in Budapest. A defeat in Norway followed, meaning that the return against Hungary - England's final qualifier - was a win-or-bust game. Keegan had sat on the Wembley bench eight years earlier as England failed to get the victory required against more Eastern European visitors, but this time the luck went his way. Paul Mariner scored the only goal and Kevin, at last, was going to a World Cup, providing Greenwood selected him. Keegan won his 60th cap and scored his 21st England goal as England beat Northern Ireland 4-0 at Wembley in the first warm-up game of 1982, but a back injury was to play havoc with his preparations, and he only featured in two of the five remaining preparatory matches as a result. (Matthew Rudd)

With his back injury still seriously troubling him there were major doubts whether Kevin Keegan would be fit for the World Cup - and Brooking was also struggling - but Greenwood included them both in his squad for Spain. Keegan was finally going to a World Cup, but there remained question marks about whether he would get a game. He was certainly not going to be fit for the group matches and therefore had to rely on his team-mates to help him with his dream. This theory presented Greenwood with the problem of accommodating his captain and inspiration in a side which was winning and settled, but first England had to get through their opening group. As France, Czechoslovakia and Kuwait were swept aside, Keegan's back was improving too gradually for his liking so, with Greenwood's reluctant blessing but without media knowledge, he hired a car and drove from Spain to Germany to see a specialist he trusted and knew.

He received his treatment as England drew 0-0 with West Germany in the first game of the unpopular second group phase in Madrid, and returned to the camp to tell Greenwood he could play. Brooking had also recovered and England prepared for the game against Spain knowing that it was win or bust. Greenwood, however, had seen his team perform admirably without his two most respected players and kept the faith. As the game wore on and the deadlock remained unbroken, Greenwood threw both players on and Keegan finally joined a game of World Cup football at the age of 31. It was no fairytale introduction though, as for all the great goals he had scored for his country, it would be for the worst miss that he became unfairly remembered, flashing a header from a Brooking cross wide with the goal at his mercy (see photo above). England came home wondering what might have been, and when Bobby Robson omitted Kevin from his first squad after taking over the job, a raging Keegan found out through the media, further souring the end of what had been a magnificent, committed and patriotic England career from an extremely special professional whom the country's football fans never stopped loving. (Matthew Rudd)