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Tim Howard (born March 6, 1979, in North Brunswick
Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey|North
Brunswick, New Jersey) is a football
(soccer)|soccer goalkeeper, the first American to
play for Manchester United F.C.|Manchester
United's first team.

Howard started his pro career immediately after
high school, playing with the North Jersey
Imperials of the United Soccer Leagues|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. Although he often played behind an
atrocious Metro defense, Howard showed amazing
skill, and his athleticism was unmatched. Tim was
named MLS's MLS Goalkeeper of the Year
Award|Goalkeeper of the Year in 2001 and to the
league's MLS Best XI|Best XI in 2001 and 2002.

Manchester United signed Howard in the middle of
the 2003 MLS season, and he replaced France
national football team|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 FA Community
Shield|Community Shield against Arsenal
F.C.|Arsenal.  However, later in the season Howard
suffered from loss of form after Manchester
United's early exit from the UEFA Champions
League.  After a short period of rest, Howard
reclaimed his starting position and played in 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 Roy Carroll, as a number of errors
from both players made it impossible for Alex
Ferguson to stick with a single starter.  

At the end of the season, Howard signed a new
contract, which runs until 2009. In the summer of
2005, Manchester United released both of his
competitors for the goalkeeper position –
Ricardo López Felipe|Ricardo and Roy
Carroll|Carroll. However, they also bought
experienced Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar
soon after.

Howard started for the United States men's
national soccer team|United States national team
in the 1999 Football World Youth
Championship|World Youth Championship in Nigeria
and was a backup to Friedel at the 2000 Summer
Olympics. On March 10, 2002, he was received his
first senior cap, against Ecuador national
football team|Ecuador. Howard has appeared for the
US 12 times so far (as of 2005). His playing time
for the national team has so far been limited
because of the presence of two other world-class
and far more experienced keepers in Brad Friedel
and Kasey Keller. However, Friedel retired from
international football in February 2005, and
Keller is nearly a decade older than Howard,
making Howard clearly the national team's keeper
of the future.

Howard suffers from a mild form of Tourette's
Syndrome and was named MLS's Humanitarian of the
Year in 2001 for his work with children afflicted
with Tourette's.