Another noteworthy revelation from Rio was the record breaking number of saves by Tim Howard in the game against Belgium; one of the best to watch in the whole world cup. Able to do everything but score to get his team the win, Tim made a big impression for his home nation, enough to perhaps even grow the audience of soccer in the States!
His performance pretty much epitomised what being a good goalkeeper is: being there for your team mates, putting everything on the line for them, not worrying about conceding but focusing more on the task at hand, and playing with a gutsy and emotional approach.
Tim's story is also given greater depth by his personal struggle with Tourettes and his grandmother's inspiration for him playing in goal in the first place; the self belief and sticking to his dreams that turned him into the goalkeeper and person he is today. For that to happen, he has taught himself to deal with the condition and the self discipline and concentration levels that are needed to play at the highest tiers of football in the specialist position of goalkeeper.
And with this in mind, I would go as far as a so-called 'disability' has actually enabled him to play at the level his capable of, as it pushes him to concentrate and focus on the game more than say perhaps someone with 'normal' neurology. Not that I have a wealth of understanding of the specifics, but from a performance analysing perspective seems to definitely be the case.
His performance pretty much epitomised what being a good goalkeeper is: being there for your team mates, putting everything on the line for them, not worrying about conceding but focusing more on the task at hand, and playing with a gutsy and emotional approach.
Tim's story is also given greater depth by his personal struggle with Tourettes and his grandmother's inspiration for him playing in goal in the first place; the self belief and sticking to his dreams that turned him into the goalkeeper and person he is today. For that to happen, he has taught himself to deal with the condition and the self discipline and concentration levels that are needed to play at the highest tiers of football in the specialist position of goalkeeper.
And with this in mind, I would go as far as a so-called 'disability' has actually enabled him to play at the level his capable of, as it pushes him to concentrate and focus on the game more than say perhaps someone with 'normal' neurology. Not that I have a wealth of understanding of the specifics, but from a performance analysing perspective seems to definitely be the case.
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