Call from Obama convinced Tim Howard he’d made it in football

Tim Howard has no difficulty picking out his highlight of 2014.

It was the moment he took a phone call from President Barack Obama during the World Cup in Brazil.

The Everton goalkeeper had just set a record 15 saves in a match for the first time ever in the tournament when the White House came calling. Although the United States lost 2-1 to Belgium, Howard and his team-mates were heroes back home. Obama said he might just make the keeper his next Secretary of Defence!

“You get a knock on your door, and it’s the team administrator telling you to be downstairs in five minutes to take a call,” Howard recalls. “You just try not to say anything stupid!

“It was me and our captain, Clint Dempsey, and it was a big moment. It lets you know what you just did captivated people. The President doesn’t just ring people out of the blue!

“We’ve qualified for every World Cup since 1990, but it’s only now the game has taken hold beyond the regular soccer fan.

“During the World Cup, Corporate America was taking time off to watch the games. That’s never happened before. To be a part of that is cool. I even heard they were going to name an airport after me though I’m still waiting!

“But I didn’t particularly enjoy the spotlight. I like my private time, and when I go home to Memphis it’s to shut off and relax. But that changed. It was pretty much in your face. I couldn’t go anywhere without being recognised.”

Howard has been a Premier League player for 11 years, playing almost 450 matches for Everton and his previous club, Manchester United. When he arrived in Britain in 2003, he was best known as a sufferer from Tourette’s Syndrome, whose symptoms include nervous tics and involuntary noises. It’s to his credit that his condition has largely been forgotten and he’s grateful to have had the opportunity to show that sufferers can succeed in their chosen career.

“I think I’ve dispelled some myths about Tourette’s,” he says. “It was the easiest job in the world because I’ve had a global audience every week. I feel I’ve helped to shed some light on the condition and maybe re-educated a few people. It hasn’t been a disadvantage, and maybe my concentration levels are a bit higher because I’ve had to focus, especially early on.

“It’s important for kids especially. I remember when I was young and you have questions: ‘Will I be able to date? Will I be able to drive? Will I be able to work? They seem silly, but that’s what you think at the time. So it’s nice to have an influence.”

Howard aims to call it a day after the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He’ll be 38 by then and he’s banking on being there with the USA. Until then, he is busy soaking up everything he can from the manager he believes has changed his whole approach to the game, Roberto Martinez.

Howard has been one of the country’s most consistent keepers over his eight seasons at Goodison Park, but he feels that his eyes have only just been opened.

“I worked with Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the best managers in football history,” says Howard. “Just because my time at Manchester United didn’t work out doesn’t make him less a manager. David Moyes I’m forever indebted to. He was there at a crossroads in my career and played a huge part in me kicking on.

“But Roberto Martinez and I have had this incredible connection from day one. Maybe it’s because we’re closer in age than I’ve ever been with a manager before. I can become a better keeper even now because of Roberto. His management style has invigorated me. He’s taught me things, concepts I maybe didn’t believe in or hadn’t been taught before.

“It’s a thinking man’s game. On the field and in the dressing-room, I try to be his voice. I see the game differently now. I see it the way he sees it, the way he wants the team to take shape. In his system, you have to be communicating at all times and you have to make the right decisions. It’s like playing everyone else’s game inside my head. I appreciate that outfield players are in the thick of it, and they can’t always see everything. I’ve found that to be a positive role for me. And you can never talk too much as a goalkeeper.

Tim Howard’s autobiography The Keeper: A Life of Saving Goals and Achieving Them, published by HarperCollins, is out now.