Tim Howard

Timothy Matthew "Tim" Howard (born June 3, 1979, in North Brunswick, New Jersey, United States) is a football (soccer) goalkeeper, currently playing for Everton F.C., as well as being the first choice goalkeeper for the United States national team. He has scored 64 goals from goal kicks and free kicks in and around his own area in his whole career.

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Club career

Early years and the MetroStars

Howard spent the first years of high school attending Montclair Kimberley school, a small private school in Montclair, New Jersey.^[1] Howard's nickname in high school was "Tim-Dawg". Howard left MKA his junior year to go back to North Brunswick where he grew up, and graduated from North Brunswick Township High School.^[2]

Howard started his pro career immediately after high school, playing with the North Jersey Imperials of the USISL. He was signed by Major League Soccer in 1998 and was assigned to the MetroStars, for whom he played until 2003. Tim backed up first Tony Meola and then Mike Ammann, but became the starting goalkeeper as the latter was traded before the 2001 season. Tim was very consistent, and was deemed "The King of East Rutherford" by the fans. Tim was subsequently named MLS's Goalkeeper of the Year in 2001 and to the league's Best XI in 2001 and 2002.

Manchester United

Manchester United paid a $4 million transfer fee to sign Howard in the middle of the 2003 MLS season, and he immediately replaced French international Fabien Barthez as the club's first-choice goalkeeper.^[3] He started off very well at Manchester United, saving the decisive penalty in the Community Shield against Arsenal. Other notable performances followed, including Bolton and a home FA cup tie victory over Manchester City. However, in March 2004, Howard's poor parry handed a last minute goal to FC Porto, eliminating United from the UEFA Champions League. The error appeared to shatter Howard's confidence and he was replaced by Roy Carroll After a period of rest, Howard reclaimed his starting position ahead of Carroll for the 2004 FA Cup Final, picking up a winner's medal. He was the first American to do so. Howard was also named in the PFA Best XI in his first season at Manchester United, making him the only United player in the team. In his second season with Manchester United, he started poorly, making several errors and was dropped again for Carroll. After Carroll made several errors as well, Howard forced his way back in but his performances were unconvincing, leading to Carroll retaining his place again, playing in the FA cup final defeat to Arsenal.

At the end of the 2005–2006 season, Howard signed a new contract, which was to run until 2009. In the summer of 2005, Manchester United released both of his competitors for the goalkeeper position—Ricardo López Felipe and Carroll. However, they also bought experienced Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar soon after. An uncharacteristically outspoken Howard fumed in an interview that he would not have signed the new contract had he known van der Sar was on his way to United (van der Sar replaced Howard as first choice keeper). Howard was the first choice United keeper for two seasons.

Everton

In May 2006 a deal was agreed between Manchester United and Everton that would see Howard join the Merseyside club on loan for the 2006–07 season. Everton looked to Tim as a replacement for their newly-retired goalkeeper Nigel Martyn, in much the same way as Manchester United, when they were involved in the search for a successor to Peter Schmeichel ( after many unsuccesful replacements). Howard made his Everton debut against Watford on the opening day of the season. Since his debut, Howard has established himself as Everton's first-choice goalkeeper.

On February 14 2007, Everton announced that Howard had signed a permanent deal with the club through the 2012–2013 season. The permanent deal is believed to be worth around £3 million, but the exact fee paid by Everton remains undisclosed.

On April 28 2007, Everton faced Manchester United at Goodison Park. Howard did not participate in the game, and there was some speculation that this came from a clause in his loan contract which states that he cannot take part in games against Manchester United. However, since a permanent deal had been signed by the two clubs, such a clause would not be permitted. This was investigated by the Football Association and according to some newspapers, both Everton and Manchester United could have been fined for this and possibly receive point deductions. But the British newspaper The Sun, however, held it to be more likely that this affair would result in a tightening of the rules on loan deals.^[4] The F.A. eventually stated on May 6 that neither Manchester United nor Everton had broken any rules regarding Howard's transfer and that both clubs had confirmed that Everton had been free to play Howard against Manchester United if they had wished to do so.^{[citation needed]}

International career

Howard started for the United States national team in the 1999 World Youth Championship in Nigeria and was a backup to Brad Friedel at the 2000 Summer Olympics. On March 10, 2002, he received his first senior cap, against Ecuador. Howard has appeared for the US 25 times so far (as of December 23 2007). On May 2, 2006, Howard was named as one of three goalkeepers on the US roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Howard was also the starting keeper for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup final, a 2–1 win over Mexico. He has recently established himself as the first choice keeper for the US national team, over players such as Kasey Keller (who was first choice for the 2006 World Cup) and Marcus Hahnemann.

Honors

Winner:

• FA Cup: 2004 (Manchester United)
• English League Cup: 2006 (Manchester United)
• Community Shield: 2003 (Manchester United)
• 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2007 (United States national team)

Runner-Up:

• FA Cup: 2005 (Manchester United)

Humanitarian

Howard has Tourette syndrome^[5] and was named MLS Humanitarian of the Year in 2001 for his work with children with Tourette's. He is a committed Christian and has been involved with Athletes in Action, a ministry arm of Campus Crusade for Christ.^[6]

Personal Life

Howard is the son of an African-American father and a Hungarian mother who immigrated to the United States after the 1956 revolution. He grew up in North Brunswick, New Jersey. In July of 2003, days before his move to Manchester United, Tim married his girlfriend, Laura, with whom he has two children.

Notes

References

• Staff (April 2006) "Tim Howard 1979-" Biography Today 15(2): pp. 60-70