Mike Murray Ashland, Mo. Goalkeeping has been touted for years as the strength of the American game, the one area in which the USA is supposedly competitive at the highest levels. Yet Kasey Keller rides the bench in Spain. Brad Friedel faded at Liverpool, only caught on with Division I [second tier] Blackburn, and is described as erratic by the English press. Tony Meola played well above the MLS level this year but gets no serious interest from top flight foreign clubs. Our lesser keepers playing abroad languish. What gives? How about a a realistic appraisal of U.S. goalkeeping? Mike Woitalla: Thanks for giving me a chance to address the Great American Goalkeeping Myth, which has been around for a couple of decades now. The question reminds me of an oft-uttered statement from American coaches: ôIf thereÆs one problem we donÆt have, itÆs finding good goalkeepers.ö Surprise! That applies to almost every country. The USA, it is clear, does not produce good goalkeepers at a rate that is more impressive than other soccer-playing nations. But a myth that the USAÆs goalkeeper production is something special has arisen for several reasons. The most famous American athletes have played sports dominated by ball-handling, so Americans and foreigners assumed that the first soccer stars produced by the USA would be goalkeepers. It may be true that some basketball or football players can be taught goalkeeping quicker than they can be taught central midfield playmaking, but that doesnÆt mean theyÆll be any better than keepers reared in real soccer environments. And history has shown that the USA isnÆt producing goalkeepers — when rated against foreign counterparts — at a more impressive rate than field players. But American soccer successes tend to be exagerrated, perhaps because we are so anxious to see signs of progress. So when Kasey Keller plays second-tier soccer in England for six years we get giddy about it and start believing America is a world-class keeper source. I do believe Keller is an excellent goalkeeper, that he is the best the United States has ever produced, but scores of other nations have produced many more keepers who have accomplished at least what Keller has. Also, when a developing soccer nation, like the USA, has an international success, itÆs often by upsetting superior teams. Such feats tend to require good goalkeeping performances (eg: USA 1 Brazil 0, Feb. 1998). Indeed, most winning teams need good goalkeeping, but goalkeepers from the lesser countries often get more work and more attention. Name a team with an unexpected success on the international scene and youÆll invariably find an outstanding goalkeeper performance. Costa Rica reaching the second round of Italia æ90, for instance, was thanks very much to keeper Gabelo Conejo. (He missed the TicosÆ second-round loss to an injury.) Yet there wasnÆt much talk about Costa Rica being a great producer of goalkeepers. In fact, itÆs rare to ever hear a country, besides the USA, being dubbed as a great producer of goalkeepers, because almost all countries do a fine job of producing keepers. The USA has three very good keepers — the ones you mentioned. I believe Keller, Friedel and Meola can all step into the national team goal and we wouldnÆt have to worry about them doing well. And they all rate well compared to goalkeepers in top divisions around the would. But as for Americans excelling in foreign leagues — it can be even harder than for field players. Because they face a major problem: A team only needs one keeper. So no matter how good Keller is, he doesnÆt get to play when his colleague gets the nod. That doesnÆt mean Keller isnÆt better than other starters in the Spanish League, but since he canÆt play another position, heÆs out of luck. Compare that the Claudio Reyna, a central midfielder who moved into Glasgow RangersÆ right back position. Finally, Mike, like most of us, youÆre probably able to watch soccer from around the world on TV, and if you compare MLS to top European and top Latin American leagues, you wonÆt find a huge difference in the quality of goalkeeping. (If you have a question for a Soccer America Magazine editor, click “Q&A with SA Editors” in the left column of the home page under “Interactive.”)