Kasey Keller Bio Send To Friend  

Keller made a second return to the English game in August 2007, with Fulham signing the American after some high profiles errors from Tony Warner.

Still behind first choice Antti Niemi, Keller will provide competition for Warner at Craven Cottage, and at 37-years-old, brings considerable experience to the club.

The goalkeeper first returned to the English game in August 2001 to be Neil Sullivan's understudy at Tottenham Hotspur - but was eager to stress he hadn't joined the club just to sit on the bench and would fight for the number one jersey.

The American first came to these shores back in 1992 when Millwall snapped him up from Portland. Keller stayed at the Den for four seasons, notching up more than 200 appearances, before Leicester City signed him for £900,000.

He soon became the undisputed number one at Filbert Street, but when his contract expired at the end of the 1998/99 season he opted to try his hand abroad and signed for Spanish outfit Rayo Vallecano.

The stopper spent two years in the Premiera Liga and when his contract came to an end there it was time to find a new club yet again.

Keller had been offered guaranteed first team football with Turkish outfit Besiktas, but opted to return to the Premiership.

Keller said: 'I'm very excited. I had to weigh up the options that I had and I was very close to going to Istanbul but the Spurs thing came up and it seemed like the best move all round. I know there is going to be good competition here but it's a big club and it feels like a winning environment.'

He made his debut in a 2-0 Worthington Cup victory over Torquay United, and his Premiership bow came against Aston Villa, in a 1-1 draw, in the last game of 2001.

The experienced American goalkeeper finally got the chance to have a run in the side when Neil Sullivan was injured on international duty at the end of March 2002 - playing the final seven games of the season, but keeping just the one clean sheet.

Keller travelled to the 2002 World Cup finals with the USA as Brad Freidel's number two. He was expected to be first choice until late in the build up to Korea/Japan.

He spent the 2003/04 campaign as Tottenham's number one goalkeeper, sometimes brilliant but other times error-prone.

The signing of Paul Robinson from Leeds in the summer of 2004 provided serious competition for the goalkeeper's jersey.

That led to a loan move to Southampton in mid-November 2004 as the south coast club suffered a goalkeeping crisis. Keller only played four games for the club and soon chose to leave England again, signing for German side Borussia Mönchengladbach on a free transfer during the Bundesliga's winter break and playing an important role in saving the club from relegation.

After a successful CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign in 2005, the keeper was selected for the 2006 World Cup, becoming the first American (along with Claudio Reyna) to be named in four World Cup squads.

Playing in all three games, and being named Man of the Match in the 1-1 draw with Italy, Keller was unable to help the USA progress, but impressed enough and returned to Germany for the domestic campaign.

He was then selected by his teammates to captain the side for the 2006/07 campaign, but chose to return to England, with Fulham, for the 2007/08 season.