Keller unhappy about playing backup

SEOUL, South Korea - Kasey Keller watches Brad Friedel&#39;s brilliant play in the World Cup and wishes he could be the one out there. <br> <br> Keller, the U.S. starter at the 1998 tournament, is happy for the team&#39;s success, but disappointed and frustrated with the way he&#39;s been treated. His teammate&#39;s great play hasn&#39;t tempered the hurt. <br> <br> ``Oh, I don&#39;t know. You always think you can do it better,&#39;&#39; he said Wednesday, two days before the United States faces Germany in the World Cup quarterfinals. <br> <br> For the past four years, Keller and Friedel have been co-No. 1s. Keller started eight of the 16 World Cup qualifiers and Friedel started six. U.S. coach Bruce Arena said before the tournament that he might split the first two matches between them, but because Friedel played so well in the 3-2 upset of Portugal in the opener, Arena stayed with him. <br> <br> ``In this sort of situation, you have to think of the team first,&#39;&#39; Keller said. ``You wish you were involved. You wish you were treated a different way. You wish people were honest with you. But the first thing first is to support your teammates.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Keller wouldn&#39;t say who hadn&#39;t been honest with him. When told of Keller&#39;s comments, Arena dismissed them with a wave of his hand. <br> <br> ``I&#39;m not going to deal with that,&#39;&#39; the coach said. <br> <br> Friedel, asked if it was hard watching when he wasn&#39;t the No. 1 pick four years ago, said, ``Of course, you want to play,&#39;&#39; but he clearly didn&#39;t want to talk about the competition. <br> <br> Friedel has started all four games for the United States, enjoying its best World Cup performance since the first tournament in 1930. In the 1-1 tie with South Korea, he became the first goalkeeper from any country to save a regulation-time penalty kick since the 1990 World Cup, and he saved another in the 3-1 loss to Poland. Monday&#39;s 2-0 victory over Mexico in the second round was the first World Cup shutout for the Americans since the 1-0 upset of England in 1950. <br> <br> Keller, who had minor knee and elbow injuries in the weeks before the World Cup, has become the team&#39;s forgotten man. <br> <br> ``You do all the good work for the five, six, seven years previous, and a little misfortune in the last few weeks and you find yourself a spectator,&#39;&#39; he said. ``That&#39;s the difficult side of it.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> While Friedel was the starter for Blackburn in England&#39;s Premier League this season, Keller sat most of the time at Tottenham Hotspur before starting the final seven games. He played for the United States as it won the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the championship of soccer&#39;s North and Central American and Caribbean region. <br> <br> ``I had the feeling that from back last summer I was trying to be moved out and I just wouldn&#39;t cooperate&#39;&#39; by continuing to play well, Keller said. <br> <br> Arena has used 19 of his 23 players, all but defenders David Regis and Steve Cherundolo (who is injured), and Keller and No. 3 goalkeeper Tony Meola. The coach went with Friedel against Portugal because of superior footwork. <br> <br> ``I really feel the one player who has been shortchanged a little here is Kasey Keller,&#39;&#39; Arena said Tuesday. ``He could easily be in the goal for us and do well.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Keller did not seek out reporters to make his comments, like some unhappy players did on the 1998 World Cup team, which went 0-3 and finished last. Keller mentioned that defender Jeff Agoos was in a similar situation at that tournament, and while the goalie repeatedly said the team comes first, he is frustrated and disappointed. <br> <br> ``The choice is whether to support the team, and I&#39;m not a quitter,&#39;&#39; Keller said, ``so I&#39;m here.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Arena praised Keller and expressed understanding. <br> <br> ``Kasey, I think, has been a great professional,&#39;&#39; the coach said. ``Certainly I can&#39;t say he has been elated and jumping for joy, but he is very happy for the team.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Keller probably hurt his position when he returned to England after two seasons with Spain&#39;s Rayo Vallecano. Arena had said during the winter that it would be hard to start players who didn&#39;t play regularly for their clubs. <br> <br> ``You can always second-guess the choices you make,&#39;&#39; Keller said. ``I&#39;m not too worried about the way things have gone.&#39;&#39; <br>