As Tim Howard's voice comes in over the phone line, it's clear he's in an ebullient mood. It's not down to the recent uptick in form of club side Everton, or the fact that he's using international fixture dates to see more of his two children.
"The sun is shining. I don't complain when it's sunny," he says with a laugh.
Howard certainly can't complain about 2014 as a whole, either. His club performances to finish the season last May were outstanding but they was outdone by his play for the U.S. at the World Cup. He became a legend in the Americans' 2-1 round of 16 defeat to Belgium, nearly leading them to victory with 15 saves and spawning countless Internet memes. His overall performances in the tournament were the foundation for much of the U.S. team's success.
So now Howard is taking full advantage of his fame and has written a memoir, "The Keeper," in which he chronicles the ups and downs of his career from his days in youth soccer to the heights of playing in the Premier League and for the U.S. national team. He also chronicles how he coped with Tourette's syndrome as well as the pain of his divorce from his now ex-wife, Laura.
Howard spoke exclusively to ESPN FC to talk about his book, his formative days with the North Jersey Imperials, the game in which he felt the most fear, as well as how he has maintained his self-belief, as well as the bizarre episode that took place when he tried to secure a work permit to play in England.
ESPN FC: What prompted you to write this book?
Tim Howard: I had the offer to write books plenty of times during the early stage of my career, and I always kind of just pushed back because it wasn't the right time. I wanted to finish playing. Clearly, when this offer came up, I wasn't quite done playing, but I also thought it came at a good time. I've accomplished a lot of things I wanted to accomplish, and I hope there are more chapters to be written, but if there's not there's still a really good story to tell.
ESPN FC: How has the break from international soccer worked out for you? Is it working out like you hoped?
Howard: Yes, exactly as I had hoped and I had planned. With the good graces of [Everton manager] Roberto Martinez, I've been able to get back to Memphis and spend a week of each international break with my children. That's time I've never had before and it's worked well. We've had a few extra games in our schedule with the Europa League so I've gotten lots of games, but that break has been good for me.
ESPN FC: What kinds of things have you been able to enjoy doing that maybe you hadn't otherwise?
Howard: I've had the chance to unpack my bags [laughs]. Usually I'm there for 36 to 48 hours and I'm away again. My son had a soccer tournament and I was able to cheer on his team. That might not mean a lot to a lot of people because it's under-9 club soccer, but it was awesome. I watched my daughter do her horseback riding, take them to and from school and gave Laura a break. That's been fun.
Where it all began
ESPN FC: You talked in the book about your first professional experience with the North Jersey Imperials. How fondly do you look back on those memories?
Howard: For me, those were fun days. Still a lot of pressure. When you look at it, you're probably scratching your head, thinking, "How could that be pressure?" But that was the infancy of my professional career. It was bigger than the Imperials and I wanted to do greater things, so you're conscious of that. But some unbelievable days. I was lucky, I kind of get bled into it.
You look at most professionals now, that's not the route they take -- certainly American kids. It was good for me to be on these long bus rides up and down the East coast, playing teams like the Myrtle Beach Sea Dogs. Then going up to Vermont with beer and pizza on the bus after the game. That's old school. You're playing with guys who have day jobs and who are plumbers and electricians and who do youth coaching on the side. But they take the game as seriously as you can possibly imagine.
ESPN FC: How much did it help to make those young pro mistakes out of the spotlight?
Howard: That helps. It doesn't make it any better. They still hurt. You have to learn from them. It takes a strong character to do that. But it was helpful. The road that I took for me was good. I trained hard, I trained every day, I got a game. I think that's the way forward for goalkeepers, though it doesn't always happen that way. It's certainly important.
Howard and the U.S. national team
ESPN FC: Is it still your intention to come back to the national team?
Howard: Absolutely. That was always the intention. In the distance is Russia 2018. Clearly we've got a long way to go before that and we know how tough qualification is, but yeah, absolutely. I'm looking forward to the chance to get back into the fold. As I've always said, mentally I'm strong and physically I'm strong. There's never ever been a sign of burnout. That fire still burns strong. I'm excited for it. But [the break] has been good. It's exactly what I needed.
ESPN FC: Looking back on your international career, what has playing for the U.S. meant to you, and has it changed or evolved over the years?
Howard: It only evolved in a positive sense. I think as you are starting off your career, you think that the sky's the limit, that you can play forever. I think as time wears on, you realize how each moment you pull that jersey on becomes more special. Not because it could be your last, but they start to get fewer and farther between and you understand that it's a privilege and not just a given that you'll play for the national team. So for me, it's gotten more and more important.
ESPN FC: One part of the book that was interesting was when you talked about the fear you felt when you lined up for Manchester United in a 2003 friendly against Juventus. What's the most fear that you've felt on a soccer field, and how did you cope with it?
Howard: I'm not sure how I coped. I still get that same anxiety. I really do. Every game is almost a big game but when we play the big matches where the atmosphere is 70,000 and you need a result, whether it's U.S. vs. Mexico or Everton vs. Liverpool or whomever, in those big moments it's a battle against fear.
Every player feels it whether they admit it or not. On a certain level they're scared to death because the opportunity for failure is right there. But the opportunity for success is also right there. You have to be mentally strong to deal with that. I've been fortunate enough to be headstrong, to be full of self-belief, and those things have never wavered for me.
ESPN FC: How much does manufacturing confidence help you deal with that fear?
Howard: I think confidence comes from how you train and how you play. I think if you're training like crap and goals are flying by you, and the last two games you haven't played very well, you're not going to be very confident. Confidence is on one side of the line, and self-belief is on another. People all think those are mixed up.
There were times when I was low on confidence but never lost self-belief. There's a difference, so I've always given myself the opportunity to go out there and make history and be successful. I've never shirked behind having been low on confidence or not wanting to be out there. I always wanted to be out there. There have been times when I failed, of course. I've failed miserably. But I also recognize the opportunity for success.
Confidence is I've made a bunch of saves and I feel great. Self-belief is I have a belief in myself that I can get it done whether I'm in great form or not. I still bank on myself being out there. It's just that personal arrogance inside that says, "I can do this." For me there's a difference, but there's a gray area where people get that mixed up.
ESPN FC: So was there ever a game where you were like, "I'm really feeling the pressure today?"
Howard: You know what, probably Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup. Only because they were the best team on the planet. We were leaking goals in the first round. That's never good for a goalkeeper's confidence. You're thinking, "This could get ugly today." Like I said, the other side of that is success. You have to put yourself in a position to be successful.
ESPN FC: So how did it feel to walk off the field as winners that day? [The U.S. won 2-0]
Howard: Incredible. One of the greatest feelings of my sporting career. It's in the top two or three for sure.
ESPN FC: Along those lines, if you had to pick an all-time favorite moment, what would it be? Is it something that happened during a game or something off the field?
HOWARD: I've been lucky. I've had so many good ones. I feel like a kid in a candy store when it comes to that. I think my first international cap [against Ecuador] was certainly one of those moments. Winning the FA Cup with Manchester United was a huge thing for me as well.
ESPN FC: Finally, the current U.S. national team coach. What do you make of the current disagreements between Jurgen Klinsmann and MLS?
Howard: Jurgen has his opinions on how he thinks soccer should be played. He also is the manager of a team that [MLS] directly affects. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if his opinion is that he thinks one thing, if he feels players going to Europe is going to make his team better, surely as the coach of a team, he has the right to say that. In fairness to MLS, they have the right to oppose it. They think their league is top as well. I have no doubt that [the MLS owners] have an issue with it.
Making it in England
ESPN FC: Having read your book, to me one of the more fascinating parts of it was the episode involving Brad Friedel and how he seemingly worked against you getting a work permit at Manchester United. (Ed. Note: Friedel has since denied that claim.) What do you make of that?
Howard: I didn't have much contact with him, but from all the things that I had heard about him, I wasn't surprised by it.
ESPN FC: Why?
Howard: I think that's kind of his character. Obviously it didn't hinder me getting a work permit at the time, thankfully, but it obviously could have. It's unfortunate. From everyone I've ever known since I've been over [in England], I've been asked 10 times to sign a form for a player who was going through the appeals process, and other Americans have been asked to sign those same forms. I've never heard of anybody saying no to another American. That's who he is, I suppose. It's certainly not up to a 23-year-old Tim Howard to change his mind.
ESPN FC: What players have you been involved in with the work permit application process?
HOWARD: I want to say Juan Agudelo, Brek Shea, Geoff Cameron, Robbie Rogers at one point, [also] Maurice Edu. I'm probably missing a few, and I might be getting those wrong, but any time I've been asked, I just ask for the pen and where to sign because you want more American players here and you want to pave that road for them, and that's one way you can do it.
ESPN FC: What's your assessment of Everton's start to the season and your start to the season? How has that gone?
Howard: We've caught some good form in the last month and a half. This season has been strange. If you look at the way the table is going, it's tight, it's tough, but it's strange. There's teams you wouldn't normally see near the top of the table, and most teams, bar Chelsea, are finding it really difficult to maintain that form. There's teams beating other teams that don't seem to make sense. It's an odd year in that regard.
I think we started off a little bit slow, but having said that, the league's been a bit slow and recently we've caught form. We're a really good team. Front to back, we're a top team. Once we found our rhythm, we were never going to be in trouble. We've kind of found that rhythm. We're going really well in Europe, we're top of the group, so I feel like we're doing well.
My form, always and forever, goes on the form of the team, not the other way around. Me playing lights out doesn't mean the team starts playing lights out. It's the other way around. If the team is playing well, I'm usually playing well. If the team is struggling to find form, the goalkeeper usually suffers. Right now we seem to be in a really good way.
ESPN FC: What's the difference between playing on the Europa League nights and playing in the Premier League?
Howard: There's a different atmosphere [in Europe] because it is under the lights. There's a special feeling about it. The Premier League is amazing of course, but being in Europe is a privilege to most teams. We've embraced that; the atmosphere is electric. You're playing against European competition who finished in the top half of their domestic leagues. These aren't guys you see every day. In the Premier League, you know everyone's tendencies. So there's different tactical strategies and you have to deal with travel, different environments. We've enjoyed it, we seem to have embraced it and we're playing as such, but it's not an easy task.
Racism, the cruelty of fans and the way forward
ESPN FC: You mentioned in your book how you encountered racism at the youth level when parents shouted things from the sideline. To what extent have you experienced that at the professional level, be it from fans, coaches or opposing players, either at home or abroad?
Howard: I haven't too much. There was an incident back in 2006 when we played Newcastle United, and Emre [Belozoglu] had said a derogatory term to Joseph Yobo. We went to an FA panel hearing of the charges. [Editor's Note: Emre was eventually cleared by the FA.] We obviously heard what we heard.
Every now and again it creeps up. Racism is unfortunately alive and well. It's part of society whether we like it or not. It has no place in football. We talk about stamping it out, but in order to stamp it out, you have to be very assertive. I don't think the governing bodies of football or certain associations really do anything to stamp it out. They slap people on the wrist. Until something major happens and there's proper repercussions to it, it will still exist.
ESPN FC: When you say proper repercussions, are you talking suspensions or fines or things of that sort?
Howard: It gives the game a bad name and it gets swept under the carpet. There might be a little fine here or there, but it needs to be stiffer. I think it's laughable. We as players have been told if you're playing in a certain arena and there's racist abuse or monkey chants or bananas being thrown on the pitch, you report it to the referee and you keep playing. It's absurd to me.
If someone came into your office while you were writing and started abusing you, you wouldn't be told to keep writing and stay in your office. That would be the stupidest thing in the world, but that's what we're told to do. I just think it's a little bit comical and until people really pay attention and stamp it out, it will still be there.
ESPN FC: But you never encountered anything personally along those lines?
Howard: Not particularly, no. Of course, people make fun of my Tourette's syndrome all the time in opposing stadiums. I'm able to deal with that, but that's still there. That's part of life I suppose. When you go to away grounds, sections of fans have songs with you in it, making fun of me and whether I tick or twitch. I'm kind of used to that. It's not something that irks me, but it's there.
ESPN FC: What's the latest with your Tourette's syndrome foundation, and how is that work going?
Howard: We started an advocacy awareness academy this summer on the campus of Rutgers University. It's good. We've finished our first year and it's growing and we're getting donations from all over. What we're trying to do is teach young people with Tourette's syndrome how to advocate for themselves, whether it be school or in the workplace or with their friends, just to be able to on a day-to-day basis stand up for themselves, to advocate, to help create awareness so that they can have an easier life day-to-day.
Of course, there's literature and there are shows and different symposiums that you can go to, but for the most part, they have to interact with people day-to-day, and we teach them the skills to do that. Just having the mental fortitude and the confidence to stand up to whomever it is. It doesn't even have to be a highly charged situation. To be able to explain to people, this is what TS looks like. Any questions, here we are. It kind of just defuses things. That's what we found; when you can explain and educate people on whatever level they're at, it defuses the situation. There's less bullying. When people understand something, they're not afraid of it.
What comes next
ESPN FC: You touched on the topic of coaching. Have you pursued your coaching licenses at all?
Howard: I haven't yet. I think it's something I will do. I think it's smart to stay ahead of the curve and make sure that I have all those requirements in place. It's not something that I'm overly excited about doing, but I also think I have ideas about the game -- how to play the right way -- and there are ways to get that across to a team, particularly as our league [in the U.S.] grows, getting more teams and more opportunities.
ESPN FC: What's the latest with your broadcasting endeavors. Is that something you plan to devote more time to?
Howard: I was supposed to do a game this weekend, but with scheduling, I wasn't able to. I'm contracted to do a whole host of games; that's going to continue through a busy, busy fall including Europa League, and a lot of our games getting moved to Sundays because of our Thursday Europa League games, so it's not been as easy this season. But yeah, I'm scheduled to do a broadcast in December. I'll continue to do that, and I've enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to getting back at it.
I like that I don't know it all. There's a huge learning curve, and I wasn't sure how I'd cope with that, but I've enjoyed trying to get better every game, learning new techniques, and getting more comfortable up in the gantry or in the studio. It's not as easy as it looks. When you have a day job, for better or worse, you master it to a certain extent. When you have to start at the bottom and work your way up, it's refreshing.
ESPN FC: In terms of club level, is it still your intention to play through this contract and have that be it, or might you change your mind when that contract expires?
Howard: The world of football is crazy, and it's topsy-turvy. All things being equal and if I had things my way, I'd play for Everton through 2018 and then play in the World Cup -- then I'm done. There are other things I want to do in my life. People always say "Play as long as you can," and all that nonsense. Not for me. My career has been great so far, and like I said, I hope I have more chapters to write in the next three years. But after that, I'm done.
ESPN FC: What other things do you want to do?
Howard: I kind of want to get bored with life. I want to be home every day with my kids. I want to pick them up from school, and be an everyday dad which I haven't had the luxury of being in four years. That's important, obviously. I don't know what will happen in terms of whether I stay in television, go into the coaching side or an executive role; I don't know. There will be lots of options that I'm looking forward to exploring. It's something that excites me. I'm not afraid of the future and what's to come.