Kevin Keegan was football's first modern superstar - but most of all he showed us the value of humility

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Twice the European Footballer of the Year, he defined the image of the clean-cut, TV-friendly hero whose appeal transcended his many achievements on the pitch.As a manager, his Newcastle United team produced some of the most thrilling football the Premier League has ever seen. And he more than earned the right to lead his country.

For a man whose impact on the game cannot be overstated, his self-assessment was characterised, as so often, by understatement."It's not an easy decision..." he said. Many in public life could learn from a man whose own political outlook was shaped by being the proud son of a mining family.While his talent took him around the globe and earned him many of the trappings of celebrity, he was never anything other than true to himself and his fundamental values of decency, honesty and hard work.

Passionate, articulate, curious about the world around him, he was sometimes praised as "making the most of his talent". His partnership with John Toshack, his number 7 shirt and his instantly-recognisable look were all indelibly linked with the second, glorious phase of Bill Shankly's time at the club.He is adored in Newcastle and, of course in Hamburg, a city with so many links to our own, and where he perhaps hit the very heights of his playing career.