The China Mail - Kevin Keegan: The 'Mighty Mouse' who conquered Europe

Keegan, who has died aged 75 after battling cancer, made an impact on English and European football that cannot be understated.

He won a host of trophies with Liverpool and Hamburg, became a managerial icon at Newcastle and is the only English player to earn the prestigious Ballon d'Or twice

Despite his self-confessed lack of elite-level skill as a player, Keegan's workaholic personality fuelled his rise from modest beginnings.

"It's amazing really. I look at the players who have won the Ballon d'Or, like Platini and Cruyff. Then you see my name there twice!" Keegan said of those 1978 and 1979 European Player of the Year accolades.

The son of a miner, Keegan was born in the Yorkshire village of Armthorpe in 1951.

After being snubbed by Doncaster and Coventry as a teenager, Keegan finally got his chance with fourth tier Scunthorpe in 1968.

The diminutive Keegan would run up and down the Scunthorpe stands while holding weights to add muscle to his slender frame.

He soon caught the eye of Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, who converted him from a midfielder to a forward after his 1971 move to Anfield.

It took the 20-year-old only 12 minutes to score in his Liverpool debut against Nottingham Forest as he established a formidable partnership with John Toshack.

Liverpool won the English title and UEFA Cup in 1973 and the FA Cup a year later.

By 1976, he was approaching the peak of his powers as Liverpool were crowned champions again and lifted another UEFA Cup.

Keegan's profile went beyond the sports world and he even recorded a song 'Head Over Heels' that he performed on iconic BBC programme Top of the Pops.

Before the 1976-77 season, Keegan stunned Liverpool by announcing he would leave the following year.

He bowed out in style, winning his third title and running Borussia Monchengladbach ragged in a 3-1 victory that gave Liverpool their first European Cup.

By now modelling his famous bubble perm, Keegan accepted a lucrative offer from German side Hamburg.

No player exceeded his potential like the tireless Keegan and his aerial prowess, for a player just 5ft 7in, led Hamburg fans to dub him 'Mighty Mouse'.

Hamburg won the German title in 1979 and then reached the 1980 European Cup final, where they were beaten by Nottingham Forest.

Keegan made 63 England appearances and captained his country over 30 times, although his only World Cup was an injury-scarred flop in 1982.

He surprisingly joined Southampton in 1980 before finishing his playing career with Newcastle, where his love affair with the Geordie fans was born during their 1984 promotion-winning campaign.

Keegan was working in a children's 'soccer circus' in Glasgow when he was lured back to Newcastle as manager by new owner John Hall in 1992.

Despite his lack of experience, the effervescent Keegan's second coming galvanised Newcastle, who romped to the second tier title in 1993.

Keegan's commitment to a cavalier attacking style saw his team labelled 'the entertainers' as they became a Premier League force.

In January 1996, Newcastle sat top of the table, 12 points clear of title rivals Manchester United.

But Newcastle imploded in the home stretch and Keegan's frustration boiled over in a memorable rant at United manager Alex Ferguson.

Keegan's "I'd love it if we beat them" tirade showed he had been sucked in by Ferguson's mind games and it was little surprise when United pipped them to the title.

Unable to recover from that collapse, Keegan's reign ended abruptly when he quit in January 1997.

"I've taken the club as far as I can," he claimed.

He resurfaced at third tier Fulham and won promotion in 1999.

Keegan accepted the England job that year, but his reign lasted just 20 months as they crashed out of Euro 2000 in the group stage.

He memorably handed in his resignation in a lavatory in the dressing room following a 1-0 defeat against Germany in England's last game at the old Wembley.

"I didn't like it. I like everyday team-building with players. People say, 'Well tactically you weren't very good', but tactically what can you do with players when you don't have them?" Keegan said.

At Manchester City, where he spent four years after taking charge in 2001, Keegan won the second tier title.

But an emotional return to Newcastle in 2008 misfired as he resigned after less than a year following clashes with owner Mike Ashley.

Keegan's career might have ended on a low note, but the memories of his remarkable life will live forever.

M.Zhou--ThChM