Sounders FC goalkeeper Kasey Keller glad to be back on field

Make no mistake, Kasey Keller was very upset Saturday.

The outspoken Sounders FC goalkeeper spent game night at Qwest Field watching Supercross motorcycle racing from a suite, unable to be with his teammates. A red card the previous week kept him home, but a TV in the suite was tuned to Seattle's match at Chivas USA.

"I sat in a box, watched the game and threw [things] around the suite while I was watching the game," Keller said dryly.

Keller has answered the question countless times this week, and he's grown tired of it: How tough was it to have to miss the game?

"Ridiculous," he said. "Absolutely smashed my head against the wall all week, so it's just nice that it's done and now I can just concentrate on Saturday and put things right."

Keller's state of mind has gone from being frustrated to focused. The Sounders FC captain, knowing he wasn't going to play last week, found a zone in practice. He stopped shot after shot, drawing rave reviews from longtime friend and Sounders FC goalkeepers coach Tom Dutra.

"The last week and a half has probably been the best week and a half of training," Dutra said. "He looks very sharp right now."

Keller couldn't be much sharper. Before his red-card suspension, he had a streak of 299 minutes without allowing a goal. That's three full games, plus the 29 minutes he played against Kansas City on April 11, the night he drew the card.

"I feel great," the 39-year-old said after Thursday's practice at Qwest Field, where Sounders FC prepared for its Saturday match against the San Jose Earthquakes. "I don't feel like I've lost a step. Everything feels as good as I want it to feel, put it that way.

"I just feel like it's very difficult to beat me right now, which is a nice feeling."

Keller's teammates certainly had plenty of nice feelings for Keller after he played Kasey Klaus on Thursday. With help from team sponsor Microsoft Xbox 360 Live, Keller gave every player a video game console, games and other accessories. Keller is an avid gamer, but doesn't get into the sports games.

Keller is settling into a nice life on Mercer Island with his family after a long career in European soccer, happy to be back in the Puget Sound area. He had offers to remain across the pond, but was waiting for something that he couldn't turn down. Two or three offers had him thinking, but none materialized into what he sought.

Sounders FC approached Keller while the franchise was still in the developmental stage and made its pitch.

Keller wasn't going to return stateside for a Major League Soccer team outside the Northwest. So when Sounders FC got rolling and made its offer, Keller and family were on their way home.

These days Keller isn't in any rush to see certain people or places in the Northwest, like he was during two-week summer breaks in the European season. He can take his time and do everything he wants.

"I've been able to do a lot of the same things, but at a lot more leisurely rate, which is nice," Keller said.

The Kellers are here to stay. They're renting while their home goes through a remodel. Keller's 11-year-old twins, Cameron and Chloe, are in school, and there's plenty of family around.

"We have free baby-sitting for once," Keller said.

Being home with a new team that is a hit in town is a bonus, and Keller is reunited with Dutra. The two were high-school rivals in Lacey, Dutra at Timberline and Keller at North Thurston. When Keller returned to the area from Europe, Dutra was coaching the United Soccer Leagues Sounders' goalkeepers, and Keller kept himself sharp by joining Dutra and the former Sounders in practice toward the end of that team's final season.

The two had worked together for years before that on a more individual basis.

"He knows where I'm coming from," Dutra said. "The one thing I always appreciate about Kasey, he never takes a day off. He works so hard, and I don't think people see that. It's hard on the body."

Keller was missed last week not only for his ability, but also his leadership. Those are two things Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid has come to count on.

"He's a presence in the locker room, as is any player with the amount of experiences that he has," Schmid said. "He's an integral part of the group. When there's a piece of the group missing, it feels like there's something amiss, or something not there."

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com