This from USSoccerPlayers.com: A brief rehash of the first ever win against Brazil for the USA. http://www.ussoccerplayers.com/exclusives/369128.html I wasn't there, but I was at the now closed soccer bar on the corner by Kemper Arena. I called everywhere to see who had the game, they were the closest to Blue Springs I could find. Keller was many levels above what Friedel did at the WC. It's difficult to get across how quick, agile, and skilled he was that day. Preki in this article is way to modest. He came in and changed the game, so much so that I started cheering at the little screen I had commandered in the corner of the bar. The other 10 people in the bar (it was a weeknight) started to ask what was going on. I told them and they switched all the screens to the game. Just after, Preki juked his guy (a rare move to the right, BTW) and unleashed hell in the form of a 25 yd. bomb with a slight tail-swerve perfectly placed in the top-left corner past a horizontal Brazilian keeper. Nobody in the bar knew Preki played for KC's outdoor team, they only remembered his exploits against the Comets (It was an indoor soccer friendly bar). After Preki's late heroics the magic of the game didn't end there. Keller and the US "D" were severely tested for the final 10-15 minutes. Keller "stood on his head" for save after save as Brazil worked runs from seemingly everywhere. The three memories I carry with me are 1)Preki's bomb - It's one of the very few goals I can see in my mind easily. 2)The look on the people's faces in the bar as they were actually excited by the end of a game they previously had no idea was actually being played. They had clearly never seen the alien athleticism displayed by Keller in the context of soccer, even in that bar. - It was then I knew MLS had a shot. 3)Watching the parting TV shot of the incredible group of Brazilians walking off the field in splendid Nike dress with (all of them) their hands clasped behind their backs and head's hanging.
I wish I could say I watched that game. I do remember the highlights and reading much about it. I have a usmnt media guide from the costa rica qualifier a couple years ago, and that would have the lineups, but I don't have it with me at work. Anyone have it? I remember romario pelting keller with shots, so I know he played.
I remember that game. I watched it in a hotel in Collinsville Ill. I was on the edge of the bed the whole game and I think I jumped 3 ft into the air after Preki "Banged it Home like Roco".
I didn't get to see the game but I have since seen the goal by Preki; unbelievable. Ramario talked after the game about Kellers performance, something about how amazed he was and how he had never seen a performance like it. I also remember the headline in Brazil was something like "Horror in the wee hours" I don't think they were too happy.