Ireland soccer great Robbie Keane hired to coach Hungarian champion Ferencvaros

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Ireland soccer great Robbie Keane was hired to coach Ferencvaros, which is chasing a sixth straight Hungarian league title and looking to advance in the Europa League.

Ferencvaros said on Monday that Keane will take charge of the team on Tuesday during a midwinter training camp in Spain. He replaces Pascal Jansen, the former assistant to Arne Slot at Dutch club AZ Alkmaar, who left the Budapest club last week midway through his first season.

Keane’s first competitive game is in the Europa League at Eintracht Frankfurt on Jan. 23. Ferencvaros is on track to advance to the knockout stage by placing in the top 24 of the 36-team standings.

Five-time defending champion Ferencvaros resumes its domestic league games in February, sitting in second place behind leader Puskas Akademia.

The 44-year-old Keane returns to soccer after leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv in the offseason. He won the Israeli league title in his debut season with Maccabi, which was affected by security issues after the attacks by Hamas.

Keane previously coached as an assistant with the Ireland national team, Middlesbrough and Leeds. His 146 appearances and 68 goals for Ireland are both national records.

In a two-decade career, Keane played for clubs including Tottenham, Inter Milan, Liverpool, Leeds and LA Galaxy.

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