'Ridiculously clever' - Former Premier League defender names Robbie Keane as his toughest opponent

RIDICULOUSLY CLEVER: Ferencvaros' head coach Robbie Keane during the Europa League opening phase match. Pic: AP Photo/Omar Havana.

Clarke Carlisle had to the deal with the challenge of defending against Thierry Henry, Denis Bergkamp and Didier Drogba over the course of his playing career, but there is one player he believes caused him even more problems than that legendary trio.

The William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award judge has insisted that Robbie Keane was the toughest opponent he faced in the Premier League, adding that the former Republic of Ireland forward was ‘ridiculously clever’.

“I was blessed to come up against some of the best strikers the Premier League has ever seen,” began Carlisle.

“I defended against the likes of Thierry Henry, Denis Bergkamp and Didier Drogba who were incredibly difficult, but there’s one player that gave me the most trouble. That man was Robbie Keane.

“His footballing intelligence was magnificent. He would drop into places that I couldn’t go, but also places that I couldn’t leave him. He challenged me as a defender on a different level to anyone else I faced.

“I knew how to handle players that were particularly quick or strong, but when someone is so clever like Robbie, they’re asking cerebral footballing questions, that’s not what I was good at. If it moved, I kicked it, if it didn’t move, I kicked it until it did!

“He challenged me on a level I hadn’t been exposed to before, but that’s not to say other Premier League strikers weren’t like that.

“Henry used to always drift to the left and come in from my blind side, but that was a standard action that strikers do, which I knew how to manage.

“Keane was so ridiculously clever, he tore me apart.”