kinstlinger
06 Sep 2005, 01:13 PM
During the game Sat night, DellaCamera mentioned that Ramos was the best US player he had ever seen. I came to watching the USMNT in 1994, and so was only able to see him in the '94 WC and the games after that, post his injury and during his MLS career. Many people give Tab this title, and I'm sure they know more than I do.
But, IMHO, since I've been watching this team, I give that title to Kasey Keller. With Tab, it's always been about "what if..." What if he was able to have a more consistent overseas career, or what if he were able to play with guys like McBride, Donovan, Beas, etc. Those are all good questions, but with Kasey, there is no "What if ?". We've seen what he did, and how good he is at doing it.
I think that athletes need to be rated in 2 ways - peak performance and consistency. Kasey was good enough to be #2 behind Meola in '90 and is our most important player going into 2006. He has 44 shutouts in 88 appearances.
He turned in one of the best games ever by a goalie playing against Brazil in 1998, and has the highest rating of any US player on Sam's Army, (I believe).
His only knock is his '98 World Cup, which isn't a small thing. I'm not giving him a pass on those 2 games, but he was playing behind guys like Mike Burns, Chad Deering, Brian Masoneuve, and a coach who had lost touch with his players. There's no way that squad would have made it to the round of 16 in 1998, looking back.
But, IMHO, since I've been watching this team, I give that title to Kasey Keller. With Tab, it's always been about "what if..." What if he was able to have a more consistent overseas career, or what if he were able to play with guys like McBride, Donovan, Beas, etc. Those are all good questions, but with Kasey, there is no "What if ?". We've seen what he did, and how good he is at doing it.
I think that athletes need to be rated in 2 ways - peak performance and consistency. Kasey was good enough to be #2 behind Meola in '90 and is our most important player going into 2006. He has 44 shutouts in 88 appearances.
He turned in one of the best games ever by a goalie playing against Brazil in 1998, and has the highest rating of any US player on Sam's Army, (I believe).
His only knock is his '98 World Cup, which isn't a small thing. I'm not giving him a pass on those 2 games, but he was playing behind guys like Mike Burns, Chad Deering, Brian Masoneuve, and a coach who had lost touch with his players. There's no way that squad would have made it to the round of 16 in 1998, looking back.