When Robbie Keane returned to MLS from Ireland's failed run at Euro 2012, there was no emotional letdown or fatigue factor whatsoever. Instead, the Irish captain has turned in his most prolific stretch of play since coming to MLS last summer.
On the heels of a couple of strong games to close out June, Keane scored five goals and assisted on four others in a standout month of July to help lead the resurgent Los Angeles Galaxy to a 4-1-1 record and win SBI MLS Player of the Month honors. A lot of Keane's success can be attributed to the play of Landon Donovan and David Beckham, who combined to help set him up on multiple occasions, but with Donovan and Beckham out for Los Angeles' match against FC Dallas, Keane stepped up and facilitated the attack on his own, setting up Mike Magee for the game-winning goal.
Keane, who played 90 minutes in each of the Galaxy's six matches, tallied braces in road wins at Portland and Chicago and starred in the Galaxy's win over rival Chivas USA with a goal and an assist to pad his July portfolio.
Keane edged out the likes of Beckham (three goals, four assists in just three games), Donovan (three goals, three assists), Real Salt Lake's Alvaro Saborio (six goals, one assist), and Houston's Brad Davis (one goal, six assists, leading club to 4-0-2 record) to win the monthly honors.
What did you think of Keane's month? Which MLS player do you think was the top dog in July?
Share your thoughts below.