Benali: Outpouring of love tells you everything you need to know about Keegan

EVERY one of us in football received some very sad news this week, and there was only ever one thing I could write about in my column as a result.

To hear that Kevin Keegan had passed away was devastating, and that is shown by the outpouring of love and support that we have seen since.

Kevin's legacy has dominated the news with people recalling fond memories of things that he did on the pitch, and how he was as a person off it.

I think that's the bit that speaks volumes. Kevin is one of the finest footballers our country has produced, but he was a universally loved person too.

I remember him falling off his bike on Superstars in 1976, and insisting on getting back up and trying again. He loved to compete and to entertain.

From a personal perspective, as a young lad, I can remember him playing for Liverpool, and then the well-documented story of him joining Saints.

It was incredible. Something like that would just not happen nowadays. He was the current Ballon d'Or winner, and became a surprise Saints signing.

I was in middle school at the time, and I remember the buzz around the place. I think it was around a similar time that I first went to The Dell.

At the end of my last year in middle school, I went to watch Saints with a friend, and the side included Keegan, along with many other brilliant players.

The Patrick shirt with the Rank Xerox sponsor is iconic and fixed in my memory, picturing Kevin and other players like Alan Ball and Mick Channon in it.

But especially Keegan, I can visualise him in that kit now. The thick white stripe, the club badge in the middle of the chest, and the sponsorship underneath.

And the Patrick logos on the sleeves. It was such a cool kit.

(Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

Kevin was probably the first superstar footballer with all his endorsements, and I remember he had a full range of football boots that you could buy.

There were the Keegan Kids, which were real basics, to what I would call my first proper pair of football boots - a pair of Patrick International boots.

I was absolutely thrilled when I bought them at the Saints shop at The Dell. They were beautiful, and they had the biggest tongue ever on them.

It was made of the softest leather, with the Patrick logo on top, that you could fold right down almost to your toes. You had to tie your laces over it.

A beautiful boot to wear. Really classy, just like Keegan.

I posted a photograph on social media this week, and you can see it on the thumbnail of this article, taken from my very first appearance at The Dell.

I had the great honour of introducing Kevin Keegan to my teammates ahead of a Southampton schoolboys game - in the final of a competition we were in.

We played straight after a first team game at The Dell, and we beat Poole Town 4-1. Believe it or not, I scored a couple of goals and set up another.

So to meet Kevin Keegan, introduce him to my teammates, and score some goals... that was a very special day, and they are fond memories I treasure.

My wife, Karen, remembers when she was a young girl, going with her mum to join a small group of women taking organ lessons in East Street.

She says she remembers seeing two beautiful women there, and not realising until the end of the session that they were Anne McMenemy and Jean Keegan.

You can imagine they were the glamour of the time, and it is a funny little Saints connection Karen told me about this week - from a time long before me!

As I said earlier, Kevin was a brilliant footballer and a brilliant person, and to have him in Southampton for two years was great for the city.

I join everyone in the football world in extending my condolences to Kevin's loved ones. The mark he left on everybody is a testament to the man.