Our boy quick to strike

So far so good for Robbie Keane. Inter Milan's IR£16 million signing got his new career off to an impressive start yesterday, neatly side-stepping provocative questions in his first official news conference at the club's country club-cum-training HQ, La Pinetina, just short of the Italian-Swiss border, north of Milan.

On the day of his official presentazione, Keane came across as a determined, self confident young man, perhaps wiser than his 20 years of age.

The British tabloid press was there, ready and waiting for a slip-up, but destined for disappointment.

For example, the man from the Sun wanted to know what young Keane would have to say to Alex Ferguson, now. For the uninitiated, let us recall that Ferguson expressed a certain amount of scepticism re Keane's £6m move from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Coventry 12 months ago, suggesting that he might have been interested in the young Irishman at a tenth of that price and only then as a player to put in the reserve team for a couple of seasons.

"That's all behind me now," said Keane. "I'm just looking to the future. Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the greatest football managers in the world . . . After Mr Lippi, of course."

Lippi by the way is the current Inter Milan coach, Marcello Lippi. With one neat answer, straight out of the Iveagh House manual of "Conversational gambits for would-be ambassadors," Keane turned possible provocation into diplomatic triumph.

Asked how he assessed his chances of winning a team place at the expense of an Italian household name such as Christian Vieri, the elfish Dubliner replied: "Well, it would be nice to play alongside him now, wouldn't it."

Asked about another of his future teammates, Brazilian ace Ronaldo, currently out through injury, Keane struck a diplomatic note again, saying: "Ronaldo is absolutely fantastic, I've always admired him, and it's just tremendous to be playing in the same team as him."

When your ageing correspondent pointed out that the last Irishman to play in Serie A, namely Liam Brady, also played for Inter Milan, the new boy on the block again struck a suitably respectful tone, saying: "I was only five years old when he was playing here, so I cannot say that I saw him play for Inter; but I know that he was a great player and its great to be following in his footsteps."

One British colleague was curious to know if - now that he was on an IR£1.2 million annual after-tax salary - he had celebrated with a little present of any sort to himself. "Have your read the contract, have you? What I earn is confidential. As for presents, my present to myself will be goals, lots of goals for Inter."

The men from the tabloids were by now under pressure. Our boy had successfully side-stepped incriminating answers on Ferguson, Ronaldo, Vieri and money. As a desperate last gambit, they threw a final dastardly card on the table. Sex. Are you engaged? Who will you be living with? (In other words, are you going to tread the primrose path of late night, disco dalliance and get into trouble like so many of your British colleagues?)

"Oh, I'm engaged alright, engaged to Inter Football Club." Game set and match to Keane.

Yesterday's presentazione had of course begun with the time-honoured ritual whereby the new man stands grinning madly as he holds up his new team shirt. The fact that the shirt in question had no number immediately prompted speculation. Perhaps there had been an argument with other players as to what number he should have. Again, the tabloid men were to be disappointed.

"Robbie will wear number seven, because that was his Coventry number," said Inter's team director, Lele Oriali, adding: "We are delighted to have bought Keane. We have been following him for a year now. Even though he is only 20, and while we expect him to improve with us, we have not bought him as an investment for the future, rather as a player ready to play now."

Asked if he was superstitious about numbers and if he had insisted on having number seven, Keane then reverted to diplomat mode.

"The shirt number does not matter, even if I like number seven. But I can tell you this, I would have signed no matter what number they gave me."

At £1.2 million per year, we can believe him.

Wrapping up his impressive Inter debut, Keane struck the sweetest note possible for the massed ranks of Italian journalists when saying that he has already started Italian lessons. Soon, they too can try to catch him out - probably with as little success as their British colleagues.

All that remains now is to play some football. That could come as soon as tomorrow evening when Inter travel south to Bari, to play in a triangular friendly tournament involving Juventus and the host club. Keane said yesterday that he is reasonably fit and clearly he considers himself ready for a runout. Whether coach Lippi sees it that way remains to be seen.

As to the longer term future, our man finished up on a upbeat note when answering yet another question about the huge challenges now facing him. "If I thought I was going to struggle out here, then I wouldn't have signed for Inter."

If he faces football as well as he handles his news conferences, the boy will do just fine.