Perfect place to finish

SEATTLE – After nearly two decades proving that an American goalkeeper can have a productive, successful career in Europe, Kasey Keller thought about retiring to his home in Idaho and spending his days learning to snowboard in the winter and golf in the summer.

But then Keller realized that would be a disservice.

“I felt like I maybe wouldn’t be doing the game a service if having gained all the experience I have in Europe and then coming home and closing up shop,” Keller said. “Having the platform in Seattle and actually coming home, because if I’m doing this in Chicago or doing this in Salt Lake, I’m not home. I might as well be doing this in Europe. So having the opportunity to come back to Seattle and do it here made all the difference in the world.”

The skinny kid who grew up on an egg farm 60 miles from Seattle and later became the most capped goalkeeper in U.S. national team history is back home with the expansion Seattle Sounders FC to help Major League Soccer get off the ground in the Pacific Northwest. The team begins the regular season at home in Qwest Field on Thursday night against Red Bull.

After trolling around the top leagues in Europe – the English Premier League, La Liga in Spain and living in a castle while playing in Germany’s Bundesliga – the 39-year-old doesn’t argue with the idea that this stop in Seattle is the final chapter of his playing career.

Keller spent the 2007-08 season playing with Fulham in the EPL, but found himself mostly in a reserve role. By the time his season at Fulham ended, Seattle had already been awarded an expansion franchise and was in the beginning stages of building the framework of its roster.

A marriage with Keller seemed almost too perfect.

“I’m absolutely confident that now that Kasey is going to be donning a Sounders FC jersey that that pride will be even more defined – that a player who is from the Northwest coming back to the Northwest will be unbelievably proud to wear the Sounders FC jersey,” general manager Adrian Hanauer said the day Keller’s signing was announced. “That’s a really important part of what we’re building here.”

What Hanauer described – the connection with a region that has long been a youth soccer hotbed – might be best personified by Chris Eylander, Seattle’s backup goalkeeper. Eylander grew up in nearby Auburn. He was 15 the year Keller was named U.S. player of the year for a second time.

Now Eylander is sharing time in the net with one of his childhood idols.

“On the field it’s great to train with him. He’s really good at what he does. He has a lot of the fine details, he’s got those all hammered out,” Eylander said. “It’s cool to be in the goal watching what he does and learning from him at the same time.”

Keller will likely get plenty of opportunity to prove there’s a little bit left in his 39-year-old body. The Sounders are loaded with offensive talent and shouldn’t have any problems scoring goals. But with an inexperienced defense, Keller is likely to see a lot of shots.

“I feel like I can still compete, and if I couldn’t I wouldn’t be out on the field. I’d be having a coaching coat on instead of a player’s jersey,” Keller said.

This opportunity with the Sounders is also a test to see if Keller wants to move into the coaching ranks. Seattle coach Sigi Schmid has already taken notice of Keller’s willingness to be a magnet in the locker room for younger players trying to soak up some of his experience.

“Sometimes players will listen to a coach, but sometimes a coach will become like a father and they won’t listen to them and they’ll listen to a friend,” Schmid said. “Kasey’s got those experiences. His ability on the field is still an important aspect for us, but it’s what he contributes away from the field that’s also very important.”