4 of the Best Moments of Kevin Keegan's Career

Kevin Keegan is number 39 in 90min's Top 50 Greatest Footballers of All Time series.

​An illustrious career in England and Germany, a trophy cabinet full of prestigious prizes, and two Ballon d'Or awards to his name - Kevin Keegan has to be one of the greatest players the world has ever seen.

While Keegan chiefly found fame and enjoyed his best times at Hamburg, the Doncaster-born attacker also enjoyed great success with Liverpool in the English top flight.

Dubbed 'Mighty Mouse', the former England captain revolutionised what it meant to be a footballer, with his unbelievable natural talent matching his superstar status off of the pitch. But Keegan was far more than just a sporting celebrity, the Anfield icon was one of the trickiest and most skilful Englishmen to ever play the beautiful game.

Let's reminisce about four of the greatest moments of Keegan's esteemed career.

FA Cup Final Brace (1974)

​Keegan was prolific during Liverpool's 1974 FA Cup run, scoring twice in the opening round against Doncaster Rovers, as well as netting a beautiful chip in the semi-final against Leicester.

But the final would prove to be 'Keegan's final', with the attacker bagging himself a brace - one a fiercely struck shot from the edge of the box and the other a tap-in following a gorgeous ​Liverpool move.

The Reds beat Newcastle United 3-0 and lifted the trophy in front of 100k fans at Wembley.

European Cup Win (1977)

While Keegan couldn't find the back of the net in this cup final, he would still play a crucial role in Liverpool lifting their first ever European Cup (Champions League). 

Keegan put in a characteristically energetic performance, with his incisive and tricky running eventually winning a penalty following a foul from Berti Vogts. Up stepped Phil Neal to hammer home, helping the Reds beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 in Rome.

Bundesliga Victory With Hamburg (1978/79)

Despite receiving offers from far more prestigious sides, Keegan chose to join Hamburg after leaving Liverpool. The German outfit hadn't won a league title in nearly two decades, but the introduction of the Englishman would soon change that.

Keegan's second season in Hamburg was by far his most prosperous, with the attacker scoring 17 goals in all competitions and helping HSV become ​Bundesliga champions. 

Considering Hamburg had finished ninth in the previous season, their upturn in form under their new coach Branko Zebec and talisman Keegan was quite remarkable.

Successive Ballon d'Or Awards (1978 &1979)

Winning the Ballon d'Or once is hard enough, winning it twice - in back-to-back years - is incredibly impressive. 

Keegan's glistening performances for Hamburg had earned him plaudits from across the globe and saw him win the award in both '78 & '79. This made Keegan the first Englishman since Bobby Charlton in 1966 to win the prestigious prize, and only the fourth man to have won the award more than once (at the time).

Having already conquered England with Liverpool and Germany with Hamburg, Keegan had now conquered the entirety of Europe with his dazzling and unrivalled performances.

90min's 'Top 50 Greatest Footballers of All Time' can be found here. 

Number 50: Luka Modric

Number 49: John Charles

Number 48: Hugo Sanchez

Number 47: Jairzinho

Number 46: Omar Sivori

Number 45: Paolo Rossi

Number 44: Paul Breitner

Number 43: George Weah

Number 42: Kaka

Number 41: Lev Yashin

Number 40: Gunnar Nordahl