Tim Howard

Timothy Matthew "Tim" Howard (born June 3, 1979, in North Brunswick Township, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States) is a football (soccer) goalkeeper, the second American to play for Manchester United F.C.'s first team, the first being Paul Rachubka. He began the 2006-07 in English football season on loan at Everton F.C., and on 14 February 2007 he signed a five-year deal with the Toffees, making the move permanent with immediate effect.

Club career

Early years and the MetroStars

Howard spent the first years of high school attending Montclair Kimberley Academy (MKA), a small private school in Montclair, New Jersey. Howard participated in both soccer and basketball and was a varsity athlete his Freshman year. 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.

Howard started his pro career immediately after high school, playing with the North Jersey Imperials of the United Soccer Leagues. 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 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award in 2001 and to the league's MLS 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 France national football team Fabien Barthez as the club's first-choice goalkeeper. He started off very well at Manchester United, saving the decisive penalty in the FA Community Shield against Arsenal F.C.. However, later in the season Howard suffered from loss of form, starting with a poor save that handed a goal to Futebol Clube do Porto, eliminating United from the UEFA Champions League. After a period of rest, Howard reclaimed his starting position ahead of Roy 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 year with Manchester United, he shared the goalkeeping duties with Carroll, as a number of high-profile errors from both players made it impossible for Sir Alex Ferguson to choose between the two with any consistency.

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 has replaced Howard as first choice keeper).

Everton

In May 2006 a deal was agreed between Manchester United and Everton F.C. 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. Howard made his Everton debut against Watford F.C. 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 United Kingdom newspaper The Sun (newspaper), however, held it to be more likely that this affair would result in a tightening of the rules on loan deals. 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.

International career

Howard started for the United States men's national soccer team in the 1999 FIFA 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 (football), against Ecuador national football team. Howard has appeared for the US 17 times so far (as of February 7 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 national football team.

Honours

Winner:
- FA Cup: 2004 (Manchester United) - The first and so far only American to have won the FA Cup
- English League Cup: 2006 (Manchester United)
- Community Shield: 2003 (Manchester United)
- 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2007 (United States men's national soccer team)

Runner-Up:
- FA Cup: 2005 (Manchester United)

Humanitarian

Howard has Tourette syndrome and was named MLS Humanitarian of the Year Award 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.

Personal Life

Howard is the son of an African-American father and a Hungary mother who immigrated to the United States after the 1956 Hungarian 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.