Sure, the two goals scored by LA Galaxy striker Robbie Keane (above and below videos) in a 2-1 victory over FC Dallas Saturday night weren’t quite as spectacular as some of the Irishman’s other work — in all honesty, they were rather routine — but two larger points come to mind when recalling Keane’s latest brace: 1) he scores big goals in big games, and 2) as he marked his 100th game in MLS, he is, in a weird way, underrated.
[ FOLLOW: All of PST’s MLS coverage | Standings | Stats | Schedule ]
As I noted Saturday night, Keane scores the 65th and 66th goals of his MLS career against FC, to go along with 40 assists. Quick math tells us that’s 106 goals contributed in 100 games played. Of the league’s current players, only Obafemi Martins (55 in 63 games) comes close to matching Keane’s career goals scored and assisted rate (minimum 30 league appearances).
Not only has Keane performed historically well on an individual level, but he’s also a three-time MLS Cup winner in his first four full seasons in the league.
[ RELATED: Week 24 Team of the Week — Oba, Villa and others join King Keane ]
As Keane barrels toward another season of 10-10 production (13 and five, having played in just 16 of LA’s 26 games thus far), let’s take a moment to recognize and bask in the fact that we’re very likely watching the best player over an extended period of time to ever grace an MLS field.
MLS Players of the Week
Week 1: Tyler Deric, Houston Dynamo
Week 2: Chris Wondolowski, San Jose Earthquakes
Week 3: Bradley Wright-Phillips, New York Red Bulls
Week 4: Kaka, Orlando City SC
Week 5: Harrison Shipp, Chicago Fire
Week 6: Jaime Penedo, LA Galaxy
Week 7: Fabian Castillo, FC Dallas
Week 8: Ethan Finlay, Columbus Crew SC
Week 9: Fabian Castillo, FC Dallas
Week 10: Mauro Diaz, FC Dallas
Week 11: Chad Barrett, Seattle Sounders
Week 12: Kei Kamara, Columbus Crew SC
Week 13: Krisztian Nemeth, Sporting Kansas City
Week 14: Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto FC
Week 15: David Villa, New York City FC
Week 16: Matias Perez Garcia, San Jose Earthquakes
Week 17: Darlington Nagbe, Portland Timbers
Week 18: Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto FC
Week 21: Cyle Larin, Orlando City SC
Week 23: Sebastian Giovinco, Toronto FC