Kasey Keller has always been a bit of a soccer pioneer.
The Olympia native was the first player to play professionally in England on a U.S. passport, making the improbable jump from the University of Portland to Millwall ahead of the 1992–93 season. He would eventually spend 16 years in Europe and make four World Cup rosters, tied for the most in USMNT history.
With options to remain in Europe, Keller instead became the Seattle Sounders’ second-ever MLS signing ahead of the 2009 season. The goalkeeper insisted on playing in virtually every game in every competition during his three seasons, helping the Sounders win three consecutive U.S. Open Cup titles, make the playoffs each season and even winning Goalkeeper of the Year in his final season.
Now, he’s becoming the first individual player to be inducted into the Eternal Sounders Circle of Legends. Ahead of today's game against the Portland Timbers, the Sounders will hold a special induction ceremony for him along with former head coach Sigi Schmid and Jimmy Gabriel, who served a variety of roles from player to coach to mentor throughout the years.
It was Keller’s insistence on taking the Sounders seriously that helped them become arguably the best expansion team in MLS history.
“That was the responsibility I put on myself,” Keller told Sounder at Heart in an interview facilitated by Ozoon. “I said that if I am going to come home, I’m not going to project that it’s less than where I came from, where I’ve been playing. Every day I’m training, I’m going to prepare like I’m in the Premier League, or La Liga, or Bundesliga. I’m going to hold people responsible like I’m in the Premier League, I’m not going to just be like ‘ah, I’m home, it’s a semi-vacation, I’m finishing my career.’
“I truly believe that if you do things the right way that it has a knock-on effect.”
Having a player of Keller’s resume with such a high level of buy-in surely helped the Sounders in multiple ways, not the least of which was convincing fans that this was something worth supporting.
The Sounders drew 32,523 fans to their season opener, a 3–0 win against defending Eastern Conference champion New York Red Bulls. Most Sounders had never played in front of a crowd like that.
“I said if you want this, and you believe this is the direction you want, we have to make sure,” Keller said. “We’re not going to win every match, but we know that they know that we’re trying in every ounce of energy in your body every time you step onto the field. We put that responsibility on each other to make sure we kept that going.”
That crowd also gave Keller some assurances that he made the right choice.
Up until joining the Sounders, Keller’s professional career had mostly happened in parallel to MLS. Keller admitted that he was apprehensive about coming to MLS but was eventually won over by the level of professionalism he experienced.
Among the people who made a strong impression was Sounders Vice President of Business Operations Gary Wright, who had previously served as an executive with the Seahawks.
“I would have been so disappointed if I hadn’t been there for that first match, that was when I knew the decision was 100% right,” he said. “I was proud of what we were able to do for that first year — to establish a new norm for MLS, that you could have 25,000 plus at every game, regardless of if it was a Tuesday night or a Sunday afternoon. And have the presence in the city, the presence in the media, to truly be the closest thing the MLS has ever had to a team in their city being on par with the other major teams in their city.”
It wasn’t just about league games, either. In addition to starting 93 of the Sounders’ 94 regular-season games during his three seasons, Keller also started all six playoff games, 9 of 14 U.S. Open Cup matches and 10 of 16 Concacaf Champions League matches.
“I remember talking to a lot of the coaches of teams we were playing against and they’d say ‘Kasey, what are you playing in this game for,’ and I’d go what do you mean what am I playing in this game for?’, I said to win things.”
Keller moved into broadcasting immediately after retiring, serving as the Sounders color commentator from 2012–22 while also working for ESPN. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Keller has some strong opinions on the matter and believes coaches are a bit too willing to rotate players now.
“I always felt you don’t moderate matches, you moderate training,” he said. “I can reduce my training load to play matches, not reduce my match load to be ready for training. This whole stupid concept of you can’t play midweek games, that’s an absolute joke. What you can do is reduce your training load to play midweek games.
“I think there’s certain few individuals who maybe need to be monitored for their minutes, but everyone else can do it in their own ways. Here’s the other problem, if you tell somebody you can’t play midweek games, it’s amazing how mentally you can’t play midweek games. You didn’t have that option back in the day, go play!”
