“The great thing was that we just had so much belief. If you want to be the best, you have got to beat the best and I don’t think anyone would dispute that’s exactly what Spain are at the minute. But, you know what, we deserved it.
“We are going to have to knock another big guy over tomorrow night but we’ve already played Brazil, we played Italy and we hope the experiences we’ve had over the last month will make us stronger in the long run.”
It is often said that defeats are the best things to help accelerate progress and if that has been the case for the US, it could also apply to Everton when the new Premier League campaign begins on August 15.
The hurt of losing to Chelsea in the FA Cup final is still raw for Howard, as it is for so many of his team-mates and supporters alike, but a hectic schedule has meant the man from North Brunswick has been unable to begin the healing process.
That will come when he finally gets chance to rest his aching limbs yet Howard will also be determined not to lose sight of the fact that the past 12 months have been hugely successful, both individually and collectively.
He kept a record number of Premier League clean sheets (17) for the Blues and played a huge part in helping David Moyes’ side to their second, consecutive fifth place finish and he sees no reason why there cannot be a repeat in season 2009/10.
“It’s been a great year,” Howard, who played in every minute of every Everton game, reflected. “Ok, at this moment in time, everyone is hurting and physically tired. All the boys who have been playing in Europe are aching and we’re all looking forward to our vacation.
“I’m sure when I sink back into a chair, switch my phone off and start to unwind that I’ll start to think about losing to Chelsea; what happened at Wembley left a bad taste in the mouth, even though we did not have a divine right to win.
“We had every chance in the world but unfortunately we just couldn’t take it. Quite honestly, I haven’t dissected the fine details of the game yet as I flew off the day after, never read any reports and subsequently I’ve played six matches on three different continents.
“I just hope we can get after it again next season. It will be another big year for us, both as players and as a club. We have got Europe to look forward to again, we want to maintain our position in the table and push on if we can and we want to be right on the money.
“The manager won’t have it any other way nor will the rest of the lads and I’m sure we can be a force again. I’ve got one big effort left, then I can enjoy a month of doing not very much and look forward to hooking up with the boys once more.”
