This is the guy that did not play one minute in the last WC. Now he's playing all the time. On the shot that hit the post, his dive was only about 4 feet short of where the ball was. Good thing Mr. Post was there. I really hopw Arena plans on going with some youth in the future. Cause the springs have left Mr. Keller's legs
Keller is the #2 goalkeeper after Friedel. Howard's going thru some struggles so you can't start him in that game (although I would for the Jamaica game). Who would you go with? Cannon? Walker?
i do not think that Friedel is the first choice Keeper. Keller and friedel have always been 1a and 1b and still are. Do not let WC02 fool you, that was just a case of staying with a hot keeper. Had Keller got the first game you may have never seen Friedel. At this point its obvious that howard is 3rd choice. Still trying to figure out why walker is there and not cannon
Keller's always been #1. Keller picked up a knock right before WC 2002, so Bruce went with Brad and stuck with him because he was playing well. I think if Keller hadn't gotten hurt, he probably would have started all the games in Korea.
I think Keller definitely lost his #1 place to Friedel. If Friedel wants it, I think it's very hard to make a case for Keller above him. Friedel has consistently outperformed Keller over the last 3 years. This year, Keller has lost his place for his club (albeit to another good GK). He's grown increasingly erratic for Tottenham, making one wonder how he'll perform against a good team at the international level. He's saved because Howard, the #3, has also been dropped by his club and played poorly before that. The GK situation doesn't look as strong as it did last year. Hope that Keller finds regular playing time, Howard regains his starting spot, and perhaps most importantly - that Friedel doesn't retire.
Here are my thoughts on Keller and the national team. Keller was brought back into the mix after the world cup because Brad needed a break and Keller needed games with the team. Then Brad got injured and Keller was the used along with Howard and occasionally Walker. In these games, Keller has done a good job. Nothing extraordinary or spectacular, but been good and solid. He now has a good working relationship with some of the defense. Add in that Brad is playing regularly while Keller is not, its easier to call in Keller ... and this keeps him fresh. I hope that Brad gets called back in ... soon... but for now Keller is doing fine. How strange is it that the fact you aren't playing with your club team helps you cement a spot on your national team
Tha'ts highly debateable. Leading up to the cup, they shared most of the playing time... and Brad was definitely having the better year with his club team. Actually, that year heading up to the World Cup, Brad was arguably the best keeper in England with only Cudicini as competition. Keller wasn't picked for the Portugal game because Brad was considered a better option against Portugal's style of play. Then Brad played very well in a big win for the USA which made it hard to take him out of the team.
I completely disagree. Keller maybe be getting up there but he is still a quality player. Hopefully he transfers in January and comes to MLS to finish out his career. Keller has a strong sense of leadership on the team, I think more that Friedel does.
Question:What if Brad retires from international play as has been rumored?Does KK become the lock #1 going to Germany? Allow me to be the first to say "EeeK".....
Friedel has played better at the club level, but he's hardly figured in any US matches recently. Keller has been more than solid for the nats, to the point where you can say he's got as good a chance as Friedel at being our #1 again. Yes, Friedel saved us many times in Korea, but Arena needs to consider what's happened more recently as well. Of course anything can happen between now and 2006. Keller may (and IMO, should) sign with another Premiership club and get a starting spot again. Howard could get his spot back at United, or possibly somewhere else. Fact is we've got solid keepers, and most national team goalkeeping coaches would love to be in our situation.
If Seattle gets a team in 2006 he's going there no question. Also isn't Friedel retiring from international duty soon? Or has he already? I've heard rumblings about that. Also when I first saw this thread I thought you guys were refering to this: Keller Kommandos Rock Rock On!
Amen. A few months ago I watched the Rapids play the Metrostars and Cannon was only about 3 times better. Johnny Walker is on Convey status for some reason.
Keller may not be as agile and acrobatic as he was but look at the whole picture. Brad has trouble getting to low balls he takes too long to drop down, imho Keller still can turn aside the low lazer shot. Brad covers more of the frame with his longer arms but Kasey still is more agile. Don't forget how well Kasey positions his defense I think his communication is better amongst the pool of defenders and he is on the same page with guys like Pope and Berhalter he has spent more time with them. And lastly but not least Keller hands down distributes the ball better than any other keeper we have. I gotta think Keller may be more hungry than Brad is at this point of their careers as he has not had the accolades Brad has had over the last 3 years(epl best keep of 2002 and his performance in WC2002) Kasey has something to prove.
What, so somehow form for country is completely detached from form for club? The sample size of playing for the club is larger. And, frankly, Friedel will have to make more saves than will Keller against minnows from CONCACAF. There simply isn't a magic line between club and country that makes Friedel better in the EPL, but Keller better for the USA. Friedel's a better keeper. Period. Imagine that Keller and Friedel were free transfered tomorrow. Is there a single manager in the EPL that doesn't instantly offer a deal to Friedel? Can you really say the same about Keller? Friedel's a better player. Period.
I believe Friedel is a slightly better option. But Arena has made comments recently that lead me to believe that Brad has not endeared himself to the Nats. I don't remember the exact quote, but the insinuation was that Friedel had not made himself available for National duty in the last couple of years (only 1 game in Poland). I think Friedel could have been called in for some of the recent games and wasn't. If it's a situation where Friedel and Arena don't see eye to eye, that's unfortunate for the National Team. That being said, I'm still pretty confident in Keller. Sure, he's older, and not quite as agile, but he still has a great command of the defense. Does a great job of organizing people in fronot of him, which results in the need for fewer spectacular saves. And, THAT being said, I'm still not too worried about the keeping situation. Howard may be going through a bit or a confidence problem, but he's a terrific keeper. Cannon is incredible and Walker's not bad. No offense to DC fans, but I'm glad we are boyond the point of having to consider Nick Rimando as third or fourth choice. The keeping is fine, I'm more worried (Panama result aside) about our ability to put it in the net at the other end.
Friedel was always rated higher in Europe, even when he was sitting in l-pool Accourding to last year stat KK had better season in EPL
Friedel is a great keeper, and I'd probably still take him over Keller. But as long as Keller continues to play solidly for the US, its going to be tough for Arena to switch for no apparent reason. I'm sure you know we've got a pretty good run going, not just in qualifiers against minnows but in friendlies as well. There certainly isn't a "magic line", but conversely you can't say that performance for club and for country are one and the same either. Kasey Keller has played well enough for the US recently to justify getting the starts. Obviously, though, competition gets much harder in the hex and if Arena feels Keller can't keep up, Friedel will hopefully be right there.
The thing with Keller is that he is better under pressure. Friedel doesn't seem to do as well in places like Saprissa. Keller loves the pressure of Azteca, or a penalty vs. Argentina, etc. Both are big guys who "get at it." They rock.
And you know this how, exactly? I'd be willing to bet (and it's unproveable either way, of course), that going into WC'02, if you'd polled BigSoccer members a larger percentage would have chosen KK over BF as our preferred starting keeper. It is my recollection that BA said he chose Friedel in that first match because he thought Brad was better with the ball at his feet and that that might be of vital importance against Portugal. The rest, of course, is history; there was no way you could have taken BF out of there after his (and the entire team's) performance against Portugal. (Though Arena has said that he regretted not starting Keller vs. Poland). And, of course, Friedel followed up his WC performance with a stunning season on the Premiership. His WC and following EPL performances pretty much solidified in a lot of people's minds this idea that Friedel was, for some reason, clearly the US No. 1. That's just silly. Keller has more wins and shutouts (11 more, I think) than does Friedel, which doesn't mean he's better than Brad, but certainly makes it hard to argue that Friedel's clearly better than Keller. I'm with BA; these guys are pretty much still 1A and 1B. Take your pick. I'd also argue that Tony Sanneh's status as a player was forever raised by his performance over a three month span in his career. Tony was always a good player, of course; a terrific athlete who was willing to play anywhere Arena told him to play (like right back). But going into the tournament there were a LOT of questions about whether or not he'd be able to hold his own on the right side. IN qualifying there were many shaky moments for Sanneh, especially against wide midfielders with speed. Thing is, from late spring through the tournament, Sanneh played out of his head, far better than I'd even seen him play before or since; he was instrumental in keeping his Bundesliga club from being relegated (though not at right back, as I recall) and was played almost flawlessly as a right back in Korea. Timing is everything, eh?
Playing a World Cup game at a neutral site is a lot different from Saprissa, The Office, Azteca, Mazatenango, and San Pedro Sula.
Well aside from our game against South Korea, arguably Brad's finest hour, hardly a neutral site. I agree that it's about as hard as it gets playing at some of those Central American stadiums. But playing well in a World Cup isn't exactly small peanuts. Can't believe I'm having to defend both Friedel and Keller in the same thread!