On Saturday night, arguably the greatest American goalkeeper of all-time and one of the brightest young American goalkeepers will take the same field.
The Colorado Rapids’ Tim Howard and the Earthquakes’ David Bingham together represent the past, present and future of the United States goalkeeping position. Howard has led a phenomenal career, which began with 83 MLS starts for the MetroStars and later stops at Manchester United and his long-term home at Everton. Howard now finds himself back in MLS with the Rapids, who had the first option to sign him, thanks to their placement atop the Allocation Ranking order.
Howard, 37, has made 110 appearances for the U.S. National Team since his international debut in 2002. He was with the USMNT for the 2006 FIFA World Cup before establishing himself as the nation’s top keeper in 2010 and 2014. He would go on to set a World Cup record with 16 saves against Belgium in 2014.
Bingham, 26, took over as the Earthquakes starter in 2015 and paid immediate dividends. He recorded 12 shutouts, tying a 10-year-old club record, made 105 saves and helped the Quakes more than double their win total from the season prior (6à13). He received his first call-up to the U.S. National Team in January and subsequently made his international debut in early February, keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory over Canada. He now appears to be a legitimate option for the red, white and blue going forward, alongside other young net minders such as Ethan Horvath, Sean Johnson and Bill Hamid. Bingham has not only blossomed into one of the best keepers currently in Major League Soccer, but in the league’s 20-year history. All-time MLS statistics prove the sentiment, as Bingham ranks fourth in goals against average (1.12) and tied for fourth in saves percentage (73.2%) with, you guessed it, Tim Howard.
“When you’re growing up, you always look up to people playing on the national team,” said Bingham. “He was one of the main goalies while I was growing up.”
But while watching and studying Howard as a kid in the East Bay, Bingham never strayed from becoming his own player.
“I don’t really model my game after anyone. I’m completely different than anyone else. I think you can take bits and pieces from someone else or maybe try and figure out ways to improve your game in certain areas, but I don’t believe modeling your game after anyone really works.”
On Saturday, both offenses will surely face a stiff challenge in front of goal and fans will get to experience the past, present and future all in one place. When asked if he was planning to talk to Howard after the game or possibly swap jerseys, Bingham responded:
“We’re both going to be focused on helping our teams win.”
