Martin Keown facts for kids
Keown in 2015
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Martin Raymond Keown | ||
| Date of birth | 24 July 1966 | ||
| Place of birth | Oxford, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Playing position | Centre Back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1980–1984 | Arsenal | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1984–1986 | Arsenal | 22 | (0) |
| 1985 | → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 23 | (1) |
| 1986–1989 | Aston Villa | 112 | (3) |
| 1989–1993 | Everton | 96 | (0) |
| 1993–2004 | Arsenal | 310 | (4) |
| 2004–2005 | Leicester City | 17 | (0) |
| 2005 | Reading | 5 | (0) |
| 2012 | Wembley | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 585 | (8) | |
| National team | |||
| 1983 | England U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 1983 | England Youth | 1 | (0) |
| 1987–1988 | England U21 | 8 | (0) |
| 1991 | England B | 1 | (0) |
| 1992–2002 | England | 43 | (2) |
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Martin Raymond Keown (born July 24, 1966) is a famous English football expert and former professional player. He played as a defender from 1984 to 2005. He is best known for his time at Arsenal, where he played over 400 games and won many trophies.
Keown also played for other clubs like Brighton & Hove Albion, Aston Villa, Everton, Leicester City, and Reading. He first played for the England national team in 1992 against France. Over ten years, he played 43 games for England. He often played alongside his Arsenal teammate Tony Adams in defense for both club and country. Keown played for England in four big international tournaments, including the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and Euro 1992 and Euro 2000.
Today, he works part-time as a scout and coach for Arsenal. He is also a football expert, called a pundit, for the BBC and BT Sport. In 2012, he briefly came out of retirement to play for Wembley in their FA Cup games.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Arsenal and Moving On
Martin Keown grew up in Oxford and played for local teams as a boy. He joined Arsenal as a schoolboy in 1980. His first professional game was on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion in 1984. He made his debut for Arsenal in November 1985. He played 22 league games that season. However, when George Graham became manager in 1986, Keown left to join Aston Villa for £125,000. He said it was a matter of principle because they couldn't agree on his pay.
Time at Aston Villa
Keown joined Aston Villa after they had a tough season, almost getting relegated. He played 36 league games in the 1986–87 season. Sadly, he could not stop Villa from finishing last and being relegated from the top league.
Then, Graham Taylor became the manager. Keown was a key part of his plan to rebuild the team. He played almost every game and scored three goals. Villa finished second in the Second Division and quickly got promoted back to the top league. Keown helped them stay in the top league the next season. In 1989, he moved to Everton for £750,000.
Playing for Everton
Keown had a great start at Everton. The team was at the top of the league for a while in late 1989. People hoped they could win the league title. But their form dropped after Christmas, and they finished sixth. Keown played 20 league games that season. He continued to play regularly for Everton. In February 1993, he returned to Arsenal for £2 million.
Returning to Arsenal: A Legendary Spell
When Keown returned to Arsenal, he couldn't play in their FA Cup and League Cup wins in 1993 because he had already played for Everton in those competitions. However, he played 16 Premier League games in different positions. He was a strong defender, often playing alongside Steve Bould and captain Tony Adams. Arsenal had one of the best defenses in English football in the 1990s. Keown was very versatile, playing at right-back, left-back, and even in central midfield.
He missed Arsenal's Cup Winners' Cup win in 1994 due to injury, but he had played in earlier rounds. He did play in the final the next season when Arsenal lost to Real Zaragoza.
Keown played almost every game in his first four full seasons back at Arsenal. In 1996-97, Arsène Wenger became the manager. Keown played 28 games as a defensive midfielder. He broke his shoulder playing for England, which kept him out for five months. Because of this, in the 1997–98 season, when Arsenal won both the league and the FA Cup (a "Double"), Keown played 18 Premier League games as a centre-back. These were his first major trophies after more than ten years of playing.
In the years that followed, Keown became a very important player for Arsène Wenger's team. In a 2000–01 UEFA Champions League game, Keown famously scored two goals in the last five minutes. This helped Arsenal come back from being 2–1 down to win 3–2. He won another "Double" with Arsenal in 2002. He continued to be a regular player until the end of the 2002–03 season. That year, Arsenal won their ninth FA Cup.
In September 2003, during a match between Arsenal and Manchester United, Manchester United got a penalty late in the game. The score was 0–0. When Ruud van Nistelrooy missed the penalty, Keown and Ray Parlour reacted strongly. Keown was later fined £20,000 and banned for three games for his part in the incident, which became known as the "Battle of Old Trafford". Arsenal went on to finish the 2003-04 season as unbeaten champions. Keown played ten league games that season. He left Arsenal in the summer of 2004 after 11 years in his second spell with the club.
Later Career and Retirement
After leaving Arsenal, Keown joined Leicester City. He stayed there for less than six months. In January 2005, he signed with Reading until the end of the season, and then he retired from professional football. In 2012, Keown and several other former professional players, like Ray Parlour, joined non-league Wembley. They played in the 2012–13 FA Cup games. Wembley was knocked out in a replay by Uxbridge.
International Career for England
Martin Keown played for England's Under-16 and Under-18 teams. His mother was Irish and his father was from Northern Ireland. Jack Charlton asked if he would play for the Republic of Ireland. However, Keown chose to play for England, the country where he was born. He also could have played for Northern Ireland.
He made his senior England debut in 1992 against France. When Mark Wright got injured, Keown was called up for UEFA Euro 1992. He played in all three of England's matches in that tournament.
After a period where he wasn't picked for the England team, Glenn Hoddle recalled him in 1997. Keown went to the 1998 World Cup, but he did not play in any games. He became a regular player under Kevin Keegan, even captaining the team against Finland. He played in two of England's games at Euro 2000.
By the time Sven-Göran Eriksson became manager, Keown was getting older. He still went to the 2002 World Cup, but again, he did not play. Keown stopped playing international football the day after England was knocked out by Brazil. In total, he played 43 times for England and scored two goals.
Life After Playing Football
After retiring from playing, Keown joined the coaching staff at Newbury in 2005. He is now coaching back at his old club, Arsenal, and is working on getting his coaching qualifications. Former Arsenal manager Terry Neill said that Keown was a key reason for the success of Arsenal's young defense in the 2005–06 season. During that season, Arsenal set a record for not letting in goals for many minutes in the Champions League. In 2007–08, Keown also coached the Oxford University Blues Football team part-time.
Keown often appears as a football expert on the BBC's football shows, including Match of the Day. He also covers the Champions League for the Irish TV channel TV3. He worked for ESPN UK during the 2011 Emirates Cup.
Honours
Arsenal
- Premier League: 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04
- FA Cup: 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03
- FA Community Shield: 1998, 1999, 2002
- European Cup Winners' Cup: 1993–94
Individual
- Arsenal Player of the Season: 1995−96
Personal Life
Martin Keown lives in Oxford with his wife, Nicola. His son, Niall, is also a footballer.
See also
In Spanish: Martin Keown para niños
