Sir Alex Ferguson ya bayyana Kevin Keegan a matsayin wanda ya gina mafi kyawun tawagar Newcastle United a tarihi, yana yi masa godiya ta zuciya bayan mutuwarsa yana da shekaru 75.

Yana magana da Track Radio, Ferguson ya tuna da farin cikin fada tsakanin Manchester United da Newcastle United a tsakiyar shekarun 1990. "Ina da girmamawar kwarai a gare shi," Ferguson ya ce. "Mun yi fafutuka da dama shi yana kula da Newcastle, amma dole in ce aikin da ya yi a Newcastle ya kasance mai ban sha'awa."

Mutumin da ya canza Tyneside

Lokacin farko na Keegan a matsayin manaja na Newcastle ya kasance daga 1992 zuwa 1997. Ya jagoranci kulob daga tsohon First Division zuwa Premier League a 1992-93, sannan daga baya ya kai su matsayi na biyu bayan United a 1995-96 — lokacin da Newcastle ya yi suna ta hanyar zubar da fifikon maki 12 a saman tebur.

"Ya sake ba kulob din karfin gwiwa kuma ya kawo sha'awa da kishin da manyan masu goyon baya ke bayarwa," Ferguson ya ce. "Ya kuma kawo 'yan wasa uku manya — David Ginola, Faustino Asprilla, Philippe Albert — kuma ya kara daraja ga tawagar."

Ferguson ya danganta wadannan sayan da sha'awar Keegan mai yaduwa don samar da abin da yake ganin ya kasance mafi kwarewa na Newcastle. "Ina ganin hakan ya ba Newcastle mafi kyawun tawagar da suka taba da ita," in ji shi.

Ba rikodin rudi ba

Hamayya ta kai ga mafi shahararriyar wasan lokacin da Keegan ya fitar da kalaminsa na shahara "I will love it if we beat them" a kai a kai a talabijin, yana amsa bayanin Ferguson na jama'a wanda ya yi tambaya ko Leeds United da Nottingham Forest za su yi gwagwarmaya da karfin gwiwa iri daya da Newcastle kamar yadda suka yi wa United.

Duk da haka, Ferguson ya bayyana cewa tashin hankali ya wuce da sauri. Manajan biyu sun hadu a Wentworth Golf Club makonni kadan bayan karshen kakar wasa, kuma daren ya wuce ba tare da wata bacin rai ba. "Abin da ya fi burgewa a gare shi, bai rike rikodi ba. Wannan wata ingantacciyar hali ce da ya mallaka kuma mun yi daren da ya dace," Ferguson ya ce. "Na yi masa girmamawa sosai saboda hakan."

"Kevin ya dauki soyayya da wasanni a hannunsa," Ferguson ya kara da cewa. "Hakan ya kai kai tsaye ga masu sha'awa da 'yan wasa. Wannan lokaci a Newcastle ya kasance na motsin rai da sha'awa."

Godiya daga ko'ina cikin wasanni

Ferguson ya kasance daya daga cikin igiyar mutane a duniyar kwallon kafa da suka yi wa Keegan godiya, wanda aikin wasan ya kai shi ta Scunthorpe United, Liverpool, Hamburg, Southampton, da Newcastle United. A Liverpool tsakanin 1971 da 1977, ya lashe gasar gida sau uku, Kofin Turai, Kofin Uefa sau biyu, da FA Cup. Daga baya ya taimaka Hamburg ta lashe Bundesliga sannan ya lashe Ballon d'Or sau biyu a jere a 1978 da 1979 — daya daga cikin 'yan wasa hudu kawai na Ingilishi da suka taba lashe kyautar.

Alan Shearer, wanda Keegan ya sanya hannu don Newcastle da kudi na tarihi na duniya wanda a lokacin ya kai £15 miliyan a 1996, ya kasance daya daga cikin mafi motsin rai. "Shi ne abokin na. Mutumin da kowa ya fi so. Saboda sha'awarsa. Saboda kuzarinsa amma fiye da duka saboda abotarsa. Ya fi son kwallon kafa kuma ya fi son Newcastle fiye da komai," Shearer ya ce. "Ina alfahari sosai da sanin shi. Za mu rasa ka Kevin."

Manajan na yanzu na Newcastle, Eddie Howe, wanda ya tuntubi Keegan lokacin da aka nada shi a 2021, ya bayyana magabacinsa a matsayin "abin wahayi" da aboki na sirri. "Ya nuna min zafi da karimci wanda ba ya misaltuwa," Howe ya ce. "Kevin ya fahimci fiye da kowa gata da alhakin jagorantar Newcastle United."

Sir Kenny Dalglish — wanda aka sanya hannu daga Celtic don maye gurbin Keegan a Liverpool a 1977 kuma daga baya ya gaje shi a matsayin manajan Newcastle — ya kira Keegan "daya daga cikin mafi kyawun 'yan wasa a zamaninsa" wanda "ya sanya shahararren rigunar lamba bakwai ta Liverpool da daukaka". Dalglish ya kara da cewa : "Kwallon kafa ta rasa daya daga cikin manyan gaskiyarta."

Tsohon mai tsaron gida na Liverpool da Ingila Phil Thompson ya bayyana Keegan a matsayin "mafi kyau daga cikin duk mutanen da na sani a kwallon kafa da wasanni", yana cewa "tawali'u ya gudana a jijiyoyin Kevin". Thompson ya tuna da zuwan Keegan Liverpool a 1971 a matsayin abin burgewa : "Mun sami jarumi kuma shi ya kasance abin wahayi."

Keegan ya zira kwallaye 21 a wasanni 63 don Ingila tsakanin 1972 da 1982, kuma daga baya ya zama manajan tawagar kasa daga Fabrairu 1999 zuwa Oktoba 2000.