CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy forward Robbie Keane has turned the page, shut the door and moved on completely from Thursday’s friendly against Real Madrid in order to focus on Sunday’s crucial league match against the Seattle Sounders.
Keane had several dangerous opportunities on Thursday, but was denied repeatedly by Madrid’s star goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Performances against Real Madrid aside, Keane enjoyed a stellar month of July in which he tallied five goals and four assists en route to being named MLS Player of the Month. The Irish forward will face another stiff test on Sunday against a motivated Seattle team that is currently undefeated in their last eight matches throughout all competitions.
Keane’s comments from Friday’s training session are below…
(On getting the friendlies out of the way to prepare for Seattle…)
KEANE: “Of course, the last couple of weeks have gotten in the way of preparation for the games that are important so it’s finished now and we looked forward to Sunday’s game.
(On the magnitude of Sunday’s match…)
KEANE: “It’s one of the big games and it’s a game that we’re all looking forward to. As I said, it’s nice to get the other games out of the way so we can focus for a couple of days on Sunday’s game. It’s going to be a big game, but with the way that we’re playing and the way that the team is set up, we can go there and certainly get a result.”
(On whether or not he watches the standings…)
KEANE: “No. Not interested to be honest with you. I’ve never been that kind of player, I don’t worry about results and I always look forward. Always, since I’ve been a kid, it’s been the same thing so I never worry about the past. It’s just something that has always been in me. When you since you're 17 at the highest level…it’s installed in you and I think that when you’re a soccer player, there’s upsets and when you’re a striker, you miss chances or you don’t score so it’s important that you blank it out of your mind as soon as possible. And that’s what I’ve learned to do over the last ten years or so.”
(On what he expects from Seattle….)
KEANE: “It’s always good to play in front of good crowds and it certainly makes the game and for players, you always want to be involved in games like this. I’m used to playing in front of 60 thousand a week in the UK, so for me it’s a normal thing but I know the Seattle fans and certainly when we played against Portland, the fans were magnificent as well. So it’s a major game and I look forward to playing in games like that.”
(On Seattle’s performance as of late…)
KEANE: “I don’t we have to worry too much about what they do, I think it’s about what we do. As I said, the way we’re playing at the moment, if we continue to keep progressing, we have every chance to heading in and getting a result.”
(On a rivalry with Seattle…)
KEANE: “I think that’s the case with very team in the league. We’re kind of the team that everyone wants to beat so we’ve earned that reputation and we’ve done that. Certainly last year with the way that we played and the way that we won the championship and in that respect, it’s kind of flattering rather than taking it too serious. Because they know we’re a good team so we look forward to it and hopefully we can go in and get a good result.”
(On whether or not he considers Seattle a rival…)
KEANE: “I don’t consider anyone a rival, I’m a loving person.”
