Kevin Keegan was an under-appreciated national treasure and a joy to be around

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For what he achieved as a player and for his warmth and generosity, he would have been knighted nowadays.But to many of us, and to our parents, he WAS a national treasure. And he was an Anfield treasure, even though his place in Liverpool’s history books is nuanced.He is one of the club’s greatest-ever players, that much is certain, but he left the club of his own accord, joining SV Hamburg in 1977 for a new challenge and a lucrative payday.Keegan did not just collect an array of medals during his time at Anfield - three league titles, two UEFA Cups, an FA Cup and a European Cup - he produced defining individual performances.One of those was in the 1977 European Cup final when he destroyed Berti Vogts - acknowledged then as one of the world’s best defenders - in Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach in Rome.It was one of THE great displays in a European Cup final.

He was truly a talismanic player.Can you imagine the fuss in this era if an English player won the Ballon D’Or twice in two years, as Keegan did in 1978 and 1979 when in Germany?Over half a decade, Keegan was the Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo of his time, but incredibly down to earth. He always had an amusing tale to tell us when the notepads were away and the voice recorders were switched off.He told of the time when he was almost late for his Liverpool debut, a police officer not recognising the new £33,000 signing outside Anfield.

He would laugh with is about the time he fell off his bike on the TV programme, Superstars.Our relations with Keegan became strained during Euro 2000 when his relaxed regime at the squad's base in Belgium came under scrutiny, and when England failed to make it out of the group stage.But Keegan was that type of relaxed manager, a manager who treated his players to fish, chips and beer after a good win. But he never held our fierce criticism of England’s showing at the tournament against us.And, of course, he gave the media a truly memorable moment with his ‘I’ll Love It’ rant at Sir Alex Ferguson in 1996 as his Newcastle United team surrendered a 12-point lead in the title race.Later generations of fans remember Keegan as much for that as they do for his brilliance on and off the field.