On the day before he and Sigi Schmid go into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, Kasey Keller was at Sounders FC training on Friday to do some work with the goalkeepers. Keller also provided his thoughts on Sunday’s full-stadium, nationally televised match against the LA Galaxy (6:30 p.m. PT / FOX Sports 1, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM).
On the mood around the team heading into Sunday's match:
The mood is good. A few weeks ago, I was out at training before I went into the last camp with the U.S. Men's National Team, and the mood was a little bit different. The team hadn’t quite gotten on the decent recovery run that they’re on right now, so you can really notice the change in attitude. It always gets tricky because late in the season, guys want to play, and now you have a lot more guys that are fit and back from suspension. So there’s always some disappointed faces who know they’re not going to be involved. But I think for the most part, I’m excited about the attitude. You’re always trying to find that balance between serious, focused, and also being able to have a laugh. I sense a good balance between the two.
On missing a chance to grab a road win last weekend:
I know the guys were a little disappointed with the Sporting KC game – it wasn’t quite the performance they were looking for. But you always have to take positives out of that. You found a way not to lose despite not having a particularly good game. Sometimes it’s more difficult when you look at a team sheet and say, ‘OK, we should win this game, and we should win it comfortably.’
But now I think everyone understands you’re playing against the LA Galaxy, and where the Galaxy are at now. I think they’re looking at the same thing. They had a great run, and you thought they were going to run away with it. And then they kind of had a little bit of a stumble, and found a way to win last weekend. It’s an open stadium game, and this team has a great record with an open stadium. It would be great to be able to keep this run going.
On these being two of the best rosters in league history:
I don’t think there’s any question about that, if you just look at the money spent. You have to look at Toronto a little bit as well. There’s no doubt that these have been, for different reasons, the two marquee franchises in MLS since the Sounders have come in. What the Sounders have been able to do – playoffs every year, and the money they’re able to invest in players and facilities – and the LA Galaxy being able to bring in the names that they have…the titles LA has won are the only things separating the two teams right now.
The Sounders need to throw a couple of MLS titles in there to get into that equation. The Galaxy have been the benchmark, and whenever the Sounders play them, it’s always about challenging that benchmark that has set the standard in MLS.
On the possibility of clinching a playoff spot on Sunday:
The team goes on a bad run in the summer – the worst run in club history – and to be able to come out the other side is one of the cool things about the playoff system. In Europe this wouldn’t even be possible. So to be able to get a couple of wins, scramble a couple of draws, have the opportunity to clinch a playoff spot and then get focused on the prize…I think we’ve all seen clubs that have gotten in form at the right time and won MLS Cup.
After coming through that poor run and coming out the other side, finding ways to get results when they haven’t played particularly well, the Sounders just need to up that form in the final few games. There’s no reason why they can’t win that first MLS title.
