I'm a fan of Robbie Keane, as I've made clear on ANR and in The Professor, so these pages were among the most intersting in the stuff Ken Early sent me from Dublin.
Henning Berg played for Blackburn, Manchester United and Blackburn again.
But his biography was never published in English.
Sir Alex signed him because he notced that Berg's man never scored.
The book was written with Joachim Forsund and translated from the Norwegian by P.J. Bakke.
The author asked Henning Berg to rank the most difficult forwards he’s faced.
Number one? – Robbie Keane at Tottenham, HB says without pausing to think.
Robbie Keane is incredibly difficult to play against. I’m not going to say he’s the best forward in the Premiership, he probably isn’t, but he’s the one I’ve had most problems controlling. Both when he was at Leeds and after he went to Spurs. My strength as a defender is that I’m good at reading my opponent. I’m good at thinking fast. To see what my opponent is going to do at any time. But Robbie Keane doesn’t really have a style of play. He doesn’t move in any particular pattern. He’s quick. He takes chances. He goes straight at goal at full speed and it’s impossible to tell if he’s going to dribble, shoot or pass the ball.
– How do you contain Robbie Keane?
– If you want to be sure, there’s only one way to contain him. That is getting so tight that he doesn’t get the ball, or at least don’t get to turn around.
Two?Number two has to be Ruud van Nistelrooy.
He's clever. Very good tactically. He's brilliant at losing his marker right at the decisive moment. He holds and shoves. He purposely lies offside right until the second the ball is played, so that it will be difficult to pick him up. Suddenly he's got ten centimetres and then it's there. He scores almost all his goals inside the area.
-How do you counteract RvN?
– Total concentration. You’ve got to know where he is at any given time. Look for him all the time. Be alert when battling for positions *before* the ball enters the area. If you wait, you've lost.
Three? Alan Shearer.
When I played with him at Blackburn the year we won the league we were always one nil up after 20 minutes. Shearer isn’t particularly big, not quick, not very good technically. But he’s incredibly good in the air and has a very good shot. He’s scored around 30 goals every season for over a decade now.
-How do you stop him?
– Be physically strong in the challenge inside the area to prevent him winning in the air. And get tight so that he can’t turn and shoot from a distance. And it’s a bit like with Ruud. If you lose track of him, he’ll score.
Four? Ole Gunnar.
He’s a little like Ruud actually. He's got the same footballing brain, the same mobility. He doesn't have quite the body strength, he's easier to shove away. But he is perhaps the best finisher in the Premier League. He's got a hard and precise shot with both feet and he sees openings constantly. He'll pass the defender and shoot in the same movement, and that is hard to defend against. And maybe most importantly: He takes advantage of the keeper being unsighted. He purposely shoots so that the goalie can’t see the start of the shot, often between the defender’s legs.
– How do you stop him?
– Prevent him from getting into a scoring position. Be physical with him. Get so tight that he can’t shoot around or between your legs.
Five?Michael Owen.
When he’s on form, mind you. When he’s on fire and not as cowardly as he’s been the last couple of years. Owen at his best is extremely good at timing his runs and finding space inside the area.
– How do you counteract Michael Owen?
– Either drop off early to deny him space. Or prevent him from turning and running at goal, no matter if he’s got the ball or not. And somebody else has to prevent the through-balls from being played. From Gerrard or Murphy for instance.
You haven’t mentioned Henry.
– No. I’ve always had the upper hand on him. Because he’s faster than me, more skilful, bigger and has better jumping ability, I’ve got to use my brain. Be quicker in the head. At all times read his mind and then stop him. It’s gone quite well. He hasn’t managed to do much. Henry is pretty easy to read.