Kasey comes home

In a press conference and on-pitch meeting with Puget Sound soccer kids Kasey Keller began life after Europe and as a Seattle Sounders FC Major League Soccer goalkeeper.

It was a sunny, hot afternoon that saw Keller speak to media and then address soccer clubs and fans, sharing his excitement and relief at finally coming 'home.'

Along the way Keller dropped hints that his time with Sounders FC will be a long one if he has his way. Two years on the pitch and then he hopes to help the club from the front office or the coach's bench.



Keller also made it clear that signing with Seattle was not about the money, but about a chance he couldn't pass up. His kids will finally have the same school for a length of time. His family will finally be back home. The soccer journey of a lifetime is coming to a close in his own backyard.

And just beginning.

Keller's own words today...
"Adrian and I have talked for a long time. At different times is it ever going to happen? Is it not going to happen? And I'm so excited that it has. To bring my family home and to be back in the Northwest, especially on days like this, because we all know that in December we're not going to get many of this, so take advantage of it while it's good. But the key thing, and what I want to emphasize, is that I'm coming home to play. I'm coming home to help the Sounders win, to help the Sounders establish themselves as one of the top franchises in the country, if not really the benchmark for what soccer is going to become in this country.

Through Adrian, and through Joe Roth, Tod Leiweke, the Seahawks, and that whole organization, there is no reason why this won't be the benchmark of soccer in the U.S. Not only from the first year, but the many, many years to come and I'm very, very excited about that part and coming home and being a part of that.

Really that's the main reason I came back at this stage. I had offers to continue playing in the Premier League and possibly going back to some of the other countries that I've been to. I had a lot of fun, and it's been a great journey. But the biggest part of a new franchise, and to be a part of everything that I feel that this team is going to stand for is just to good of an opportunity to pass up.

I hope to be a part of this franchise... I would love to be what (Franz) Beckenbauer has become to Bayern Munich for example. I would love to work my way up and to really be a part of Sounders FC for life."

Keller talks with the Seattle Soccer Show.

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Reports:
King 5 TV
The Olympian
Sounders FC
Seattle Times
TNT Indirect Kick
Portland Tribune
Seattle P-I
Associated Press
Football365.com
SoccerAmerica
Real93.com