ABOVE: Robbie is Keane to play for his country
It still means as much to me now as it did when I made my debut at 18 years of age
Robbie Keane
ROBBIE KEANE last night blasted Rio Ferdinand and
England players who snub their country – insisting he would do anything
to play international football.
The Republic of Ireland skipper landed in London yesterday after scoring a hat-trick for LA Galaxy against Seattle Sounders before travelling halfway around the world.
Keane was desperate to play in the clash against the Three Lions and cannot understand why anybody would turn their back on their country.
He said: “I can never understand why players don’t want to play for their country. It’s hard to take in.
“That is my personal view. They have their own reasons why they won’t turn up, and say they are injured or whatever.
“It’s very simple, I want to play for my country more than anything.
“It still means as much to me now as it did when I made my debut at 18 years of age.
“Some players I played with over the years would prefer not to meet up with the national team. Me, personally, I find that hard to believe.”
Keane reckons England will miss Ferdinand in tonight’s friendly at Wembley.
He said: “Rio is so well respected, he’s one of the best in the world and made his choice.
“Maybe he went about it the wrong way or the manager did, I’m not really sure about the politics behind it.
“But England will be missing one of the best players in the world.”
Keane believes that the match means more to the Irish players than it does to Roy Hodgson’s men.
He said: “England are guaranteed to qualify for most tournaments.
“They have for a long time been used to playing in big games but for us it comes every 10 years or so. So it probably does mean more for us.”
It is the first time the fixture has been played in 18 years and the match has a huge significance for Keane.
He was a fan at Lansdowne Road in 1995 when hooligans forced the game to be abandoned in the first half.
Keane hopes tonight will pass without incident and the fixture can become a regular in the calendar.
He said: “I was at the game the last time. I was 14 as a kid in the stands and we all know what happened then.
“I didn’t think at this stage I’d have a chance to play England. This is a long time coming – it should have happened a good few years ago.
“Hopefully there will be a good rivalry and after the game we’ll speak about how good a game it’s been and play against each other many times in the future.”
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