I think every US nat coach in the future will have big headache choosing team's no.1 keeper, too many too good keepers. ... last summer we'd seen the clue.
I think its time to stop putting Zach Thornton on the short list to back up Keller/Friedel. Adin Brown has been the best keeper in the Revs/Chicago series. If you look at the last 10 games, Brown has been terrific. I am not advocating putting him back "into the mix" as a Nats call up yet, but if he keeps this up, he will be considered. Thornton, however, no longer impresses me. He's big, he's imposing, but he makes mental and positioning errors that would be punished on the International level
Granted, it came from his teammate, but Joe Franchino said in an interview that Adin Brown should be playing for the US.
I really hope Bruce Arena gives Johnny Walker of Universidad Catolica in Chile a look sometime. Although the Chilean league has had its problems off the field recently (i.e., financial difficulties and a players strike), it's a very very tough league. He's been the best goalie in Chile the past year or two (and a fan favorite to boot). Sure, the guy played in the A-League, but that was several years ago. He's really developing into a top class keeper.
Brad, Kasey, whoever between the two we have great goalies and which ever we put in will get the job done. The Germans have Kahn, but then they don't really have anything after that, same with the French. The English, Brazilians, Argentines, and Dutch have a few mediocre goalies but no one really incredible. The only other teams with two strong keepers are the Italians (Buffon, Toldo), and the Spanish (Canizares, Casillas).
I didn't mean to denigrate the A-League. Heck, one of MLS's top keepers statistically this season (Busch) played 5 seasons in the A-League before making the jump. My point is, playing overseas doesn't automatically make a goalkeeper better than a domestic one. Our domestic ones are quite good, and I think nearly any of the starters in MLS could be successful pros in a good number of foreign leagues. All I am saying is, there is no compelling reason (in my mind) to place Walker above any of the domestic guys. I'm not adverse to him getting a look, but I suspect he won't be able to distinguish himself from any of the top domestic keepers.
OT: Dutch Keepers Sorry, but the Dutch duo (van der Sar & Waterreus) rate a bit higher than "mediocre".