Tim Howard

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Tim Howard
Personal information
Full name	Timothy Matthew Howard
Date of birth	March 6, 1979 (age 28)
Place of birth	North Brunswick, NJ, USA
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Nickname	Timmy Tourettes, Twitch, T-Ho
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Everton
Number	24
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1997 1998-2003 2003-2007 2006-2007 2007-present	North Jersey Imperials MetroStars Manchester United → Everton (loan) Everton	0? (0) 85 (0) 45 (0) 25 (0) 04 (0)
National team2
2002-	United States	18 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:49, 24 February 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 26 March 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Timothy Matthew Howard (born March 6, 1979, in North Brunswick, New Jersey, United States) is a football (soccer) goalkeeper, the first American to play for Manchester United's first team. He began the 2006-07 season on loan at Everton, and on 14 February 2007 he signed a five-year deal with the Toffees, making the move permanent with immediate effect.^[1]

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 New Jersey.

Contents 1 Club career 1.1 Early Years 1.2 Manchester United 1.3 Everton 2 International career 3 Humanitarian 4 Notes 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Club career

[edit] Early Years

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 named MLS's Goalkeeper of the Year in 2001 and to the league's Best XI in 2001 and 2002.

[edit] Manchester United

Manchester United signed Howard in the middle of the 2003 MLS season, and he replaced French international Fabien Barthez as the club's first-choice goalkeeper. He started off very well at Manchester United, saving the decisive penalty in the Community Shield against Arsenal. However, later in the season Howard suffered from loss of form, starting with a poor save that handed a goal to FC 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).

[edit] 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 goalkeeperNigel 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 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. Under Premier League rules, the transfer is permanent as of this date, and as such Tim is eligible to play against Manchester United this season. The permanent deal is believed to be worth around £3 million, but the exact fee paid by Everton remains undisclosed.

[edit] 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 17 times so far (as of Feb 7th 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.

[edit] Humanitarian

Howard has Tourette's syndrome 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.^[2]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

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

[edit] External links

• Tim Howard career stats at Soccerbase
• Tim Howard profile at Soccernet

	United States squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Howard | 2 Albright | 3 Bocanegra | 4 Mastroeni | 5 O'Brien | 6 Cherundolo | 7 Lewis | 8 Dempsey | 9 Johnson | 10 Reyna | 11 Ching | 12 Berhalter | 13 Conrad | 14 Olsen | 15 Convey | 16 Wolff | 17 Beasley | 18 Keller | 19 Hahnemann | 20 McBride | 21 Donovan | 22 Onyewu | 23 Pope | Coach: Arena

Everton F.C. - Current Squad
1 Wright | 2 Hibbert | 3 Naysmith | 4 Yobo | 6 Arteta | 7 Van der Meyde | 8 Johnson | 9 Beattie | 11 McFadden | 15 Stubbs | 16 Lescott | 17 Cahill | 18 Neville | 19 Valente | 21 Osman | 22 Vaughan | 23 Pistone | 24 Howard | 26 Carsley | 28 Anichebe | 30 Ruddy | 36 Boyle | 37 Fernandes | 38 Anderson | 41 Viðarsson | Manager: Moyes