Joseph Kevin Keegan OBE (born 14 February 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Nicknamed "King Kev" or "Mighty Mouse", Keegan was recognised for his dribbling ability, as well as his finishing and presence in the air, and is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

Keegan began his playing career at Scunthorpe United in 1968, before Bill Shankly signed him for Liverpool. There, he won three First Division titles, the UEFA Cup twice, the FA Cup and, in his final season, the European Cup. During this period, he was a regular member of the England national team, and captained the team on 31 occasions, including at UEFA Euro 1980. He moved to Hamburger SV in the summer of 1977 and was named European Footballer of the Year in both 1978 and 1979. Hamburg won the Bundesliga title in the 1978–79 season and reached the 1980 European Cup final. Keegan left Hamburg and played at Southampton for two seasons, before transferring to Newcastle United in the Second Division in 1982. He helped Newcastle secure promotion in his second season, and retired from playing in 1984. He scored 204 goals in 592 appearances in his club career, adding 21 goals in 63 caps for the England national team.

Keegan moved into management at Newcastle in 1992, and the team won promotion to the Premier League as First Division champions in his first full season, the following year. Newcastle finished second in the Premier League in the 1995–96 season, despite leading the way for most of the campaign. After managing Fulham for two seasons, he took charge of the England national team in February 1999. However, he resigned in October 2000, following a 1–0 loss against Germany in qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In 2001, he became manager of Manchester City for four years, until he resigned in 2005. Keegan had been out of football for almost three years when he returned to Newcastle for a second spell as manager in January 2008. However, this lasted only eight months, as he resigned in September, following speculation about a dispute with the club's directors. He has the unique distinction of being promoted as champions in his first full season with the three clubs he managed.

Keegan's paternal ancestors arrived in Newcastle from Ireland. In 1909, his grandfather Frank, an inspector, heroically saved lives in the West Stanley Pit disaster. His father Joe and uncle Frank were Newcastle United supporters, describing their favourite players as Hughie Gallacher and Jackie Milburn. His father moved to Armthorpe near Doncaster (then in the West Riding of Yorkshire) to work in a colliery, where he married Doris and they had three children: Mary, who was two years Keegan's senior, Kevin, and Michael. His father never saw Keegan play for Newcastle.

Keegan was born in February 1951 at his aunt Nellie's house in Elm Place in Armthorpe, as she had electricity that made it safer for childbirth. Keegan attended St. Peter's High School in nearby Cantley.

Keegan was given his first football by his uncle Frank and his first pair of football boots by his father after he won betting on horses. They were a second-hand pair of Winit boots bought from a sports shop run by former Doncaster Rovers centre forward Ray Harrison. Keegan played football at Hyde Park using his baby brother Michael's pushchair as a goal post. As a boy, he supported Doncaster Rovers. His favourite player was Alick Jeffrey, a player once described by Matt Busby's assistant, Jimmy Murphy, as the English Pelé, and once described by Milburn as "the best young player he had ever seen". As a schoolboy, Keegan had a trial for Coventry City under manager Jimmy Hill. Despite being one of two players kept on for an extra six-week period, the club did not offer Keegan a contract. They did offer apprenticeship terms to the right-back Brian Joy, who went on to have a 15-year career in football. Keegan had another trial with Doncaster Rovers arranged by his father, but when Keegan arrived he found out he had the wrong information — the trial was earlier in the day and at a different place.

Keegan participated in various sports, such as cross country running, rugby, and football, and served his school's cricket team as captain. He also boxed at his local club, run by the former British Heavyweight champion Bruce Woodcock. At age 15, Keegan and two friends completed a 50-mile run from Nottingham to Doncaster. In his autobiography, Keegan claimed this run prepared him physically and psychologically for any running he had to do in future pre-season training or football matches. Keegan left school with O Levels in History and Art.

At the age of 15, Keegan started working at Pegler Brass Works as an office clerk, though he has said he was more of a tea boy and messenger than a clerk. Whilst working at Pegler, Keegan played Saturday afternoon football for his local youth club, Enfield House, and Sunday morning football for the Lonsdale Hotel. It was during this time that a colleague named Harry Holland invited him to play for the Peglers Works reserves. His chance at professional football came when he was playing Sunday morning league football for the Lonsdale Hotel in a match against Woodfield Social in 1966. Keegan was marked by an older player named Bob Nellis, who was so impressed by the ability of Keegan that he offered him a trial at Fourth Division side Scunthorpe United — one of just two professional sides in the division. This trial would lead to the Scunthorpe manager Ron Ashman giving Keegan his first contract in professional football.