Howard has also inherited the starting keeper position on the U.S. national team from longtime stalwart Kasey Keller. John Biever/SI

This is a bold statement for a player who's appeared several times for Man United against both its archrivals: Manchester City and Liverpool. "It's the passion," he says in a manner conveying emotion clearly stirring within him. "It's passion that verges on hatred, and by God, it runs deep both ways."

In the mid-'80s, Everton dominated English soccer (as did rival Liverpool): The Toffees won the FA Cup in '84 and were league champions in '85 and '87. In fact, the Merseyside rivals, with Man United, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, were termed the "Big Five" of England. Howard believes that heritage is still very much part of the club.

"For the fans, it's massive, and they still have fond memories of winning cups and all the great teams of the mid to late 80s and the early 90s," he says, "and in no way have their standards dropped. And certainly since [manager] David Moyes has been there in the last five years, the club has become more and more ambitious, which is reflected in some of our achievement and the players we've bought."

But can that history, passion and ambition be harnessed to propel Everton into the top four now? "We did it three years ago, so it can be done." Howard notes. "But it's a question of maintaining incredible consistency, something which is more than just having a set of great players."

Howard also sees similarities between Moyes and Man United manager Alex Ferguson. "Despite having accomplished the world, Ferguson still desperately wants to win things," he says, "while David Moyes, being much younger, is so eager and hungry for success. He's practically chomping at the bit, and to date, he's been pretty successful."

Yet a difference in style is clear. "Ferguson -- he had been there and done that, and so he would not therefore necessarily feel the need to justify a management move he made. David Moyes is much more open. What he says goes, but there's a two-way dialogue about his decisions."

Interestingly, Howard experienced a similar contrast with the managers of the U.S. national team when Bob Bradley took over from Bruce Arena last year. "With Bruce, it was very similar to the situation at Man United," he explains. "He'd give a decision, and on we'd go."

Howard likens Bradley, his former coach at the MetroStars, to Moyes. "Bob is very open in his dialogue; he's very honest, he's very matter of fact. The team dynamic is very different, but then there's a heck of a lot of young players, and most of the old guard with all their experience has gone, and that takes a different type of management."

Bradley has apparently changed his approach little since their MetroStars days. "He's four years more experienced now, and everyone benefits from that," explains his former protégé. "But he was a very experienced coach already back then."

And now, instead of being a young up-and-comer, Howard is expected to step in as a leader. Bradley has said that he'd like to pass the captain's arm band around the players he feels are the leaders of the team -- Landon Donovan, Carlos Bocanegra and Howard. Does Howard see himself as a leader?

"In soccer, a goalkeeper has to be a leader," he says. "There's no way around that, especially as I'm now one of the older and more experienced players on the team. I want to set an example in what I do, in how I train and how I act off and on the field."

With that attitude, it's little surprise that Howard doesn't feel undue pressure being the U.S. No. 1. When he says, "There's no more pressure than playing any other match; I get nervous like anyone else, but pressure is what you make of it," it conveys self-reliance and maturity, not arrogance.

This perspective, this assured grounding of his, is built from many solid foundations. He's achieved much in soccer, and there's clear pride in his voice when he tells of winning the FA Cup and CONCACAF Gold Cup. "To win an FA Cup is near the pinnacle, he says. "To have that will mean a lot forever." At the Gold Cup, "We won the final, we beat our archrival Mexico -- it doesn't get better than that."

But Howard is hungry to achieve further success at Everton. "I'm a huge Milan fan," he admits. "I grew up watching them on Sunday mornings. I love Italian football. But I have no ambition to go there, as I'm already playing football at the highest level and I love Everton. This is a business and you can't always predict the future, but if I could finish my career with Everton, I'd be a lucky man."

Outside of soccer, Howard is clearly supported by a close and obviously loving relationship with his wife, Laura, and their young children as well as by his Christianity. His faith, he tells me, brings him great joy and offers a platform that brings focus to the worries and stress of soccer. His happy home is set in a suburb and community in which he participates and clearly enjoys, be it church events or regular trips to his local Italian restaurant.

"I love living here," he says. "Obviously, one day I'll go back home, but Manchester has a lot to offer in terms of restaurants and shops. And you have the countryside on your doorstep with all the quaint villages and narrow lanes, and all that's only a few miles from the nightlife and the glitz of the center."

Perhaps the final key piece in this jigsaw of contentment is his charitable work. Although he tells me that it has never interfered with his play, Howard has Tourette's syndrome.

"The greatest impact I can have," he says, "is to help at grassroots level with young kids who have recently being diagnosed -- showing that there is hope, that they can have an impact on the world in their own little way, that they can be a success."

If those kids have the same values as Tim Howard, the world's their oyster.