Tim Howard

Despite its worldwide appeal there have never been many Americans running the pitch for football, a game they insist on calling soccer. But that is changing and at the forefront of the invasion is Tim Howard, arguably the best goalkeeper currently in the sport. The rise from obscurity in a country that does not give football the credit its due, Tim worked his way through a broken home and what has been called a mild case of Tourette’s syndrome.

Tim excelled in several sports through high school but “soccer” was by far his preferred game. He says, “I knew I wasn’t going to play for the NBA.” He was recruited to the MetroStars out of high school and proceeded to play in his signature winning fashion.

Tim’s goalkeeping was so outstanding that their Goalkeeping Coach, Tony Coton, recruited him for Manchester United. Even with the press making rude and tactless remarks about Tim’s Tourette’s he did the unprecedented and started playing immediately. Tim didn’t let his new team or the fans down. Showing the American determination to be number 1 Tim ignored the press and hit the pitch with an intensity of focus that has propelled him to fame.

Unlike the flashy styles and egos of many great goalkeepers, Tim feels that stopping the ball is more important than looking good at it. The American puts it simply, “if it looks great, fantastic. If it looks ugly and works, that’s OK. I just try and stop it. That’s it.” Such an attitude is why this American is at the head of England’s prime sport.

Tim Howard started life in North Brunswick, New Jersey under several handicaps that could have defeated him from the onset. Faced with the ubiquitous racial prejudice that is still a strong undercurrent in American culture he was also diagnosed in the fifth grade as suffering from Tourette’s Syndrome. Such a combination could have led many less strong-willed people down the road to ruin. Tim on the other hand, fueled by a love of sports his father instilled in him, continued to challenge the playing field.

In high school he was a standout soccer player who also excelled in basketball and played very effective baseball as well. His raw talent drew the notice of Tim Mulqueen, the then Assistant Coach of the United States U-17 men’s national soccer team. Through excellence on the playing pitch, Tim proved himself an above average goalkeeper and by 1998 had been recruited by the Major League Soccer Team, the MetroStars. Tim quickly became a fan favorite and at 22 became the youngest player ever to win the Major League Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year Award in 2001.

Good talent is hard to find and this accolade brought him to the attention of Sir Alex Ferguson and Tim transferred to the Manchester United Team in 2003. He continued his winning ways as goalkeeper for one of the largest and most famous clubs in the world. In 2004 he became the first American to win the FA Cup while playing for Manchester United. A faux pax later that year seemed to slow Tim down a bit, but it is hard to keep a champion down. Denied a chance to redeem himself at Manchester, Tim finally headed to Everton, one of the Premiere Soccer Teams in the UK based in the City of Liverpool, and has since regained the accolades and praise as one of the best goal keepers in the world despite being an American.