Source: TheGuardian
Tim Howard ends a career of individual brilliance but not much team glory
The former USA and Everton goalkeeper will retire at the end of the 2019 MLS season. He was the last of a generation that helped expand US soccerOn 1 July 2014, Tim Howard delivered his finest performance. Facing the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and the rest of a golden-generation Belgium side in the World Cup last 16, Howard made a tournament-record 16 saves and dragged the United States to extra time after 90 goalless minutes. No one else in a US shirt could match his heroics, and Belgium prevailed, 2-1. After the defeat, Howard was optimistic: “This is a young group – we’ll be back for more.”Four-and-a-half years and one World Cup qualifying disaster later, that night at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil, is still the most recent World Cup venture for the US men’s team. Howard won’t be back. He announced on Tuesday the 2019 Major League Soccer season will be his last as a professional. With US stars Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey already enjoying retirement, this feels like the end of what has been, though it has had just as many valleys as peaks, the greatest era of US soccer. Related: Christian Pulisic realises his dream by moving to the Premier League Continue reading......read full article
