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| Tuesday, February 12, 2002 18:31 EST |
U.S. No. 1 not ready to be No. 2 at Spurs
[Reuters]
CATANIA, Italy -- Kasey Keller may be first
choice for the United States national team but he has had to
play second fiddle at his English premier league club Tottenham
Hotspur and he wants to know what the future holds.
"I'm a bit confused on where I stand right now in the
(Tottenham) team," Keller said on Tuesday. "I'm 32 years old and
I'm not ready to be a number two."
Keller was speaking on the eve of a World Cup warm-up
friendly with Italy in Sicily in which he is expected to start
the match for a U.S. team which won the CONCACAF Gold Cup
earlier this month, surrendering just one goal in five matches.
"I really thought that I had won my place back (with Spurs)
before the Gold Cup," he said.
Keller joined Tottenham from Rayo Vallecano in the close
season after he had failed to command a first-team place at the
Spanish club, where he played for two seasons after successful
stints with English clubs Leicester City and Millwall.
"The club (Tottenham) was happy with the way I had been
playing and I really thought I had won the position. But I guess
that wasn't the case," said Keller, who has been deputy to
Scotland international Neil Sullivan since August.
Keller has played only four times for the Spurs first team
this season -- twice in the league and twice in the League Cup.
His last appearance was on January 1 when Spurs defeated
Blackburn Rovers 1-0 in a match which featured Keller's top
rival for the goalkeeper spot in the U.S. team, Brad Friedel,
who has been Rovers' keeper for two years.
Keller has won 55 caps in a 12-year international career and
has been first choice for the U.S. for the past six years. But
he says his performance at international level has no impact on
his club career.
"It really isn't something they (the coaching staff) are
watching to determine if I play or not," Keller said. "I'm not
an unknown quantity and I just want an explanation on why I am
not playing. I think things just have to be cleared up."
In the first year of a three-year contract, Keller says that
it is "far too soon" to determine if he made a mistake in moving
to White Hart Lane. But he does believe he should be in the
first team.
The U.S. has scheduled a number of friendlies in the run-up
to the World Cup finals. The squad is at home to Honduras (March 2)
and Ecuador (March 10) and away to Germany (March 27) and
Ireland (April 17).
"If I'm not going to be a part of the (Tottenham) first team
I will go home (to the U.S.) for the games in March," said
Keller.
"Anything can happen in soccer. I'm committed to playing at
Spurs and I've had some good conversations with (manager) Glenn
Hoddle, but I just want to know where I stand. I know things can
change and it's far too soon for me to make any decisions."
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