CF Monterrey vs. Los Angeles Galaxy: Rating Robbie Keane’s Performance

One of the most disappointing things about Robbie Keane is his tendency to appeal to the referees for a foul. From my own perspective, it’s a played act that has to stop, and stop immediately for the sake of his own team, his fans, and himself. On Wednesday night at Estadio Tecnologico in Monterrey, Mexico, Keane and Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy fell to CF Monterrey, 1-0, to lose 3-1 on aggregate in the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League semifinals.

Apr 10, 2013; Monterrey, MEXICO; Los Angeles Galaxy player Robbie Keane (7) goes up for a header with Monterrey player Iram Mier during the match at Estadio Tecnologico. Mandatory Credit: Miguel Sierra/EFE via USA TODAY Sports

On the Opta Chalkboard, Keane only had 31 touches but did have an 84 percent pass success rate. Otherwise, the Republic of Ireland international was disturbingly quiet, with just one unsuccessful flick on, a lay off, a header, two unsuccessful crosses, one key pass, a tackle won and a recovery. In addition, he lost possession on the challenge seven times while winning just one foul.

But what annoys me about Robbie Keane is his tendency to complain too much about the game and appeal for a foul or a whistle. The way I see it, the foul that his way in the second half was out of sympathy, more than anything else.

Here’s a thought, Mr. Robert David Keane: get on with it and stop complaining. You know you’re playing a competition where simulation and appealing for a challenge is discouraged and the repercussions are heavy. Never mind that this was another unimpressive display by Keane as a striker.

Keano was taken out of his game by one of the finest back lines in Liga MX: the Monterrey tandem of Hiram Mier, Darvin Chavez, Severo Meza and the captain, Jose Basanta. They closed the space he tried to create and keyed in on him all 180 minutes.

A poor performance against a middle-of the-road Liga MX outfit like Monterrey, combined with too much complaining and less playing, elicits a poor rating from the View from Avalon. Smarten up, Keano, because in North America, nothing is handed to you.

Rating: 4/10