| Godly Goalie |
 Tim Howard is at the peak of his career. He is the first choice for Everton and the He played 45 League games for Manchester United over four seasons including a winning FA Cup final. He failed to hold a free-kick in the closing minutes of a Champions’ League game against ‘I am not as great as people say I am in the papers, and equally I am not as bad as people say. You are the hero or the villain. It goes with the territory. You need to understand that and get on with it and not worry about it.’ Having a strong Christian faith and a relationship with God, helps him keep life in perspective. He became a Christian through the influence of his grandmother. ‘I have known the strength and the joy and the love of Jesus Christ all my life because my grandmother was such a strong influence on me. I saw her and the way she acted. Around the age of 20 I decided for myself, having seen the power of the Lord and the peace that he gives – in other people – that I wanted it for myself.’ When Manchester United signed one of the world’s best goalkeepers, Edwin van der Saar, the writing was on the wall for Tim. He went on loan to Everton before making the move permanent. He has played nearly 100 games for Everton. Tim has a medical condition known as Tourette’s Syndrome which can make one curse randomly and without warning or feel compelled to touch objects and people in specific ways. When asked what it was like to suffer from Tourette’s, he replied ‘I have it but I don’t suffer from it.’ He has seen it as an opportunity, not an affliction. In 2001 he was named Humanitarian of the Year by Major League Soccer in the He first played for his country at Under 19 level in the World Youth Championship in How does he cope with the pressures and disappointments in professional football? ‘It has definitely allowed me to grow. My happiness, make no mistake about it, does not come from my success, or my financial standing. It doesn’t, and I need peace and joy, and there is no money in the world that could buy that. That can only come from one source and that’s God. Everything is in God’s hands. I am here because God has me here and I am here for his purpose. Perhaps his purpose was to put someone at the highest level you could play, let someone chop them down and still show their faith. In the Bible Job has everything taken from him but he showed his faith in the end.’ As Everton try to break into the top group in the Premier League, the pressure is on Tim to maintain his form. It is a pressure he will revel in. |
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