Newcastle United and Liverpool paid emotional tributes to Kevin Keegan before their Premier League season-opener at St James’ Park, honoring a legendary figure who forged eternal bonds with both clubs as a player and manager. Keegan died at the age of 75, thirty-three days prior to the fixture, following a battle with stage four cancer that he had publicly revealed at the end of May at an event near the stadium.
Emotional Tributes Paid at St James’ Park
Ahead of the match, wreaths were laid in the on-site memorial garden by Liverpool representatives Sir Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush, alongside Newcastle figures Bobby Moncur and Shola Ameobi. Both squads warmed up wearing shirts bearing Keegan’s name and his famous number seven, and the teams wore black armbands during the game. Before kick-off, players and fans joined together for a minute’s applause in honor of the former forward, while supporters sang one Kevin Keegan
from the stands, as reported by the BBC.
Fans Unveil Massive Displays and Mosaics
The tribute featured extensive displays organized by the supporters’ group Wor Flags and supported by both home and away fans. A centre-circle mosaic made of more than 500 shirts—which had been left outside St James’ Park by Newcastle supporters following Keegan’s death—was unfurled in the middle of the pitch.
Inside the ground, Liverpool supporters in the away end displayed a banner reading, Keegan is the greatest that Shankly ever found
, according to Yahoo Sports. Home fans filled the stands with visual tributes: “Keegan 7” was spelled out in the Leazes End, a massive tifo of ‘King Kev’ was raised in the East Stand, and the Gallowgate End featured a famous quote from the former manager: I want people to dream about their football club. They should. We should all be dreamers at heart. Some people are the opposite and say, ‘We can’t do that’. But when you ask them why, they can’t give a reason. Well, I say, ‘Why not?’
Inside the home dressing room, Newcastle hung a replica away shirt with the number seven and ‘Keegan’ on the back between the places of Malick Thiaw and Fabian Schar. Matchday programmes featured a greyscale photo of Keegan on the cover and a printed letter from his family inside, expressing gratitude to the city and club for their overwhelming support, empathy, and warmth.
Celebrating a Legendary Career with Reds and Magpies
Keegan enjoyed a stellar playing career with Liverpool in the 1970s under manager Bill Shankly, scoring 100 goals and winning seven major trophies across six seasons. As detailed by The New York Times, his haul on Merseyside included three League titles, one FA Cup, two UEFA Cups, and a European Cup. Shankly famously called Keegan the inspiration of the new team
in his autobiography.
A decade later, after twice winning the Ballon d’Or and captaining England, Keegan joined Newcastle United as a player in 1982 when the club was in the old Second Division. He later returned to St James’ Park as manager in 1992, taking the club from the brink of relegation to the third tier to the cusp of winning the Premier League. Former midfielder Lee Clark reflected on that era, stating that Keegan gave the club its belief back
and gave the city its identity back,
according to BBC Sport. Former first-team coach Derek Fazackerley added that the two-time Ballon d’Or winner was never happy with mediocrity or just accepting what we were.
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