Alan Keane (born 23 September 1984) is a retired Irish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. Keane is a versatile player who can play anywhere across the back four, though his preferred position is

right back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He has also been known to play on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

Career

Galway United

Keane made his début for Galway United towards the end of the 2005 season and was mostly was used as a right back in his time with the club.

Sligo Rovers

In February 2009, Keane joined Sligo Rovers after four seasons at Galway United. Keane missed a penalty and scored an own goal in the

2009–10 UEFA Europa League The 2009–10 UEFA Europa League was the first season of the UEFA Europa League, Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The competition was previously known as the UEFA Cup, which had been in existence for 38 years. Spai ...

tie against Albanian side Vllaznia. In the second leg he scored at the right end. He went on to become Rovers regular penalty taker during the 2010 season scoring some important goals including one in the last minute of the season against St. Patrick's Athletic to secure third place. He did however miss in the FAI Cup final shoot-out two weeks later. He was an important part of the league winning Rovers team in 2012 although he missed the end of the season through injury. He only missed one game in the 2013 League of Ireland season and picked up his third FAI Cup winners' medal with the club following the win over

Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...

in the final. He made his 200th appearance for Sligo in the game against St. Pats towards the end of the season. In February 2016, he announced his retirement from professional football.

Dundalk

On 25 August 2016, Keane came out of retirement and signed for

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

in the League of Ireland Premier Division citing the influence of manager Stephen Kenny as one of the reasons he was attracted to the club. He made his debut five days later in an FAI Cup Third Round win against Crumlin United.

Crusaders

On 7 January 2017, Keane joined

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

in Northern Ireland on a six-month loan spell.

Personal life

Following his retirement from football, Keane worked as a firefighter.

Honours

;Sligo Rovers *

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...

(1):

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

* FAI Cup (3): 2010, 2011,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

(1): 2010 * Setanta Sports Cup (1):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

;Dundalk *

(1):

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Career statistics

Club

''Correct as of 7 November 2011.''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keane, Alan 1984 births Galway United F.C. (1937–2011) players Sligo Rovers F.C. players League of Ireland players Republic of Ireland association footballers Living people Association footballers from County Galway Mervue United A.F.C. players Association football defenders Crusaders F.C. players Dundalk F.C. players