Tim Howard

At 45 years old, Tim Howard has this physical status:

Club career

Mulqueen, a coach for the North Jersey Imperials (USISL), was hired in 1997 as the goalkeeping coach for Major League Soccer (MLS)'s MetroStars; he preferred Howard for a spot on the Imperials. Howard debuted with the Imperials in his first professional game after graduating from high school. He made six appearances with the North Jersey Imperials.

Howard was brought up by Mulqueen, who at the time was the MetroStars' goalkeeping coach.

Howard was victorious in his MLS debut with the MetroStars on August 18, 1998, making five saves in a 4–1 victory over Colorado at Giants Stadium (his first appearance of the year). He later appeared in one game with the Nike Project-40 Team, a 3–1 victory over the Staten Island Vipers at Giants Stadium on May 6, 1998.

Howard made eight starts in nine games with the MetroStars in the 1999 MLS season. Howard had a 1.58 GAA and lost just one game in a season in which the Metros lost just seven games. He also spent the majority of the international season with the United States Under-20 team, leaving the team to compete in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship in April and the 1999 Pan American Games in July.

Howard set a record of 1.59 GAA in 2000, dividing time between the MetroStars and the United States Olympic team while still winning all three of his U.S. Open Cup starts that season.

Howard received the 2001 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year award, achieving 146 saves and ending the year with a 1.33 GAA, four shutouts, and a 13–10–3 record. He has also been named as the MLS Humanities of the Year Award winner.

Howard appeared in 27 of the MetroStars' regular season games in 2002, recording four shutouts. For the second straight season, he was selected to the MLS Best XI. In thirteen games and had three clean sheets before leaving the MetroStars in 2003, he was in thirteen games and had three clean sheets as the club attempted to claim first place in the season's first half.

In the middle of the 2003 MLS season, Manchester United paid a US$4 million transfer fee to sign Howard, and he replaced Fabien Barthez as the club's first-choice goalkeeper.

Howard had a good start at Manchester United, saving the vitale penalty in the Community Shield against Arsenal. Bolton Wanderers and a home FA Cup tie victory over Manchester City followed these two performances. Howard's poor parry handed over Porto's last-minute goal, effectively terminating United from the UEFA Champions League in March 2004. Howard's confidence was shaken by the mistake, and Roy Carroll was brought on to replace him. Howard regained his starting position ahead of Carroll's 2004 FA Cup Final after a time of stalemate, winning a winner's medal. After Julian Sturgis of Wanderers in the 1873 final, he was the second American player to win a winner's medal in the FA Cup. In his first season at Manchester United, Howard was also selected in the PFA Best XI.

He started poorly, making several mistakes, and then was kicked out by Carroll in his second season with Manchester United. Howard recovered the starting position after Carroll made several mistakes as well, but Carroll returned to his position as a coach in the FA Cup final loss to Arsenal.

Howard Howard signed a new deal during the 2004-05 season, which was to run until 2009. Ripez Felipe and Carroll were both released by Manchester United in the summer of 2005. However, Fulham's Edwin van der Sar, a veteran Dutch goalkeeper, was sold shortly afterwards.

Howard joined Everton on loan from 2006–07 and made his club debut against Watford on the first day of the Premier League season. In February 2007, he agreed to a fee that was expected to be worth about £3 million.

Howard made his 100th appearance for Everton against West Ham United on November 8, 2008. Everton defeated Chelsea on April 19, 2009, after saving two points against his former club Manchester United in a penalty shoot-out. Howard set the club's most league match clean sheets in a season during the 2008-2009 Premier League season. Howard started the 2009-10 Premier League season with four straight clean sheets, including ones away from Portsmouth, where he helped his team win by 1–0. Howard saved a Jermain Defoe penalty in injury time to help his team win 2–2 with Tottenham Hotspur on December 6, 2009. Howard captained Everton in a 3-3 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on December 12, 2009.

Howard scored his first goal in professional soccer in a 2–1 loss to Bolton Wanderers during the 2011–12 Premier League season. Goodison Park's wind-assisted 101-yard clearance made him the fourth goalkeeper to score in a Premier League match since its inception in 1992. He described his aim as "cruel" and refused to celebrate out of sympathy/respect for his beaten opposite number, dám Bogdán.

Howard negotiated a new deal in March 2012 to keep him at the club until the summer of 2016. Howard's streak of 210 consecutive Premier League appearances dating back to September 2007, came to an end, when he missed a match against Reading due to a finger injury. He was two games shy of equalizing Neville Southall's club record. Howard kept his 100th clean sheet for Everton against Liverpool in a 0–0 draw in the Merseyside derby in May.

Howard was sent down by 1–0 loss to Sunderland on December 26, putting an end to Everton's hopes of remaining undefeated at home for the full year. Everton Howard Howard's deal was extended by two years until 2018.

Everton boss Roberto Martnez announced Howard would serve as the back-up to Joel Robles on February 19, 2016. Howard was recently affected by a knee injury and a lack of confidence. Howard spoke to the fans before his last game with the club, saying, "I will always be an Evertonian for life." This will always be my team and my club."

Howard will return to MLS on March 20, 2016, after committing to a three-and-a-half contract with the Colorado Rapids and becoming available when the MLS transfer window opens on July 4. Howard was given the number 1 jersey in his first press conference with the club on June 28. Howard saved two penalty kicks against the LA Galaxy on November 6, 2016, a third of which was also sent off the crossbar, bringing Colorado to the Western Conference Championship.

Howard's season as a professional began in January 22, 2019. In October 2019, he announced his retirement.

Howard returned to professional soccer on March 4, 2020, joining Memphis 901 FC in the USL Championship, where he also serves as both a sports manager and minority owner.

International career

Howard played for the United States under-20 national team at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship in Nigeria, winning in group stage victories over England and Cameroon before losing in the Round of 16 to Spain.

Howard was selected for the United States under-23 national team for the 1999 Pan American Games tournament. The United States earned a bronze medal after defeating Canada in the Bronze medal match.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Howard was used as a back-up to Brad Friedel. He received his first senior cap against Ecuador on March 10, 2002. Howard was named as one of three goalkeepers on the United States roster for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, but he served as a back-up to Kasey Keller on May 2, 2006. Howard was the team's first choice goalkeeper under Bob Bradley and began winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup final, a 2–1 victory over Mexico.

Howard was the starting goalkeeper for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, from the semi-final in which the United States defeated Spain, to the number one-ranked team in the world. Howard's eight saves earned him his first clean sheet of the tournament and the first shutout of the Spanish side since 2007. Howard was named the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper following the United States' second-place finish in the tournament.

Howard was the starting goalkeeper for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and he put on a man of the match show against England in his first World Cup appearance. Howard's contribution to Landon Donovan resulted in the game-winning goal of the final group match against Algeria, which earned the United States a spot in the round of 16. Howard conceded two goals in a 2–1 loss in the United States' round of 16 games against Ghana.

Howard made a contentious argument about the post-match ceremony after Mexico defeated the United States to win the 2011 Gold Cup Final. Despite the tournament being held in the United States, the trophy presentation was entirely in Spanish. Howard continued to say that it was a "disgrace" and that if the final had been in Mexico City and the United States had won, the ceremony would not have been held in English.

Howard earned his 100th cap for the US in a 2–1 victory over Nigeria on June 7, 2014. Howard was named man of the match for his performance during the United States' 2–2 draw with Portugal on June 22, his most notable save was a reaction stop to deny Éder, who had previously diverted Nani's shot onto the post.

Despite the United States losing 2–1 to Belgium after extra time in the round of 16, Howard was named man of the match on July 1. During the game, he set a record for the most saves in a World Cup match with 15. His success was lauded around the world, with the hashtag #ThingsTimHowardCouldSave trending on Twitter.

Howard asked Jürgen Klinsmann, the head coach of the United States national team, to take a break from international football until September 2015; as a result, he missed the 2015 Gold Cup. In August 2015, he was called up again for the team's friendly against Peru, which took place at RFK Stadium.

Howard was a member of the 2017 Gold Cup team. However, after a disappointing 2–1 away loss to Trinidad and Tobago on October 10, he was no longer capped at international level, due to his national team's inability to qualify for the 2018 World Cup later this year. He is the most captained goalkeeper in the United States men's national team history with 121 appearances.

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