Tim Howard said a film about about him was “a pretty cool story, if I do say so myself.” (Photo courtesy of Memphis 901)

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The early days of Tim Howard’s career will be featured in a movie.

Amazon has acquired the right’s to Howard’s story, according to the Sports Business Journal’s Chris Smith.

Howard, who played for the North Jersey Imperials and the MetroStars early on in his career, is a minority owner and sporting director of Memphis 901, which competes in the USL Championship. He eventually went over to England, carving out a successful tenure with Manchester United and Everton.

Howard, who had to overcome Tourette syndrome to become a world-class goalkeeper, wound up making 121 appearances for the U.S. men’s national team, backstopping the team in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

The movie will be produced by Select Films and will cover Howard’s early career, which began in 1997 with the North Jersey Centaurs of the USISL D-3 Pro League – a precursor to USL League One – and saw him rise the ranks to become one of the best USMNT goalkeepers.

Select Films’ Mark Ciardi – whose production credits include “Miracle”, “The Rookie”, and “Secretariat” – had hoped to make the film after seeing a feature on Howard aired by 60 Minutes in 2005, but the timing didn’t feel right, Howard said.

“I don’t think that would have been a smart thing to do on my end. I had a lot of my career ahead of me,” Howard told Smith. “I didn’t want to be a one-hit wonder, I wanted to work and get my feet under me.”

As Howard’s playing career began to wind down in 2019, Ciardi got back in contact with his team to see if there was any interest in the project.

“It’s a pretty cool story, if I do say so myself,” Howard told Smith. “We’re far enough removed from that moment that we can capture it in that best light.”

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.