Nick Rimando Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame
In the modern world of tall and sometimes behemoth goalkeepers, Nick Rimando hardly looked the part. At 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, he did not appear to be someone who would frustrate opposing attackers on a regular basis.
Yet Rimando’s size never prevented him from scaling the heights of Major League Soccer and the U.S. Men's National Team. Over two decades, he combined quickness, guile, grittiness, desire and experience to become the top netminder in MLS history.
“It was incredible to me that a guy his size could have such an impact,” one-time Real Salt Lake teammate Ian Joy told The Salt Lake Tribune in 2021. “I think his size helped him have the career he had. It certainly didn’t hold him back.”
By the time he retired in 2019 at age 40, Rimando had earned the title as the greatest goalkeeper in MLS history, holding league records for minutes (46,336), games played (514), career wins (223), clean sheets (154), saves (1,712) and penalty kick saves (59). He finished with a 1.09 goals-against average.
He was named to the MLS All-Star team six times (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019), and we won MLS Cups with D.C. United and Real Salt Lake, as well as Supporters Shields with United and Miami Fusion.
He also made 22 appearances for the USMNT, registering a 0.78 GAA and an 11W-2L-3D mark while backstopping the squad to the 2013 Concacaf Gold Cup crown.
On May 3, 2025, Rimando will be rewarded for his outstanding career when he is inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. He was elected via the Player Ballot.
Rimando’s stellar performances earned the respect of players throughout the game, especially his fellow goalkeepers.
Tim Howard, a 2024 National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee who entered the MLS ranks at just about the same time as Rimando in 1998, called his fellow netminder the greatest goalkeeper in MLS history: “His longevity and his records and his numbers speak for themselves,” Howard told MLSSoccer.com in 2016.
Howard, who starred for the USMNT, New York/New Jersey MetroStars and Colorado Rapids (MLS), and Manchester United and Everton (English Premier League), obviously knows a great keeper when he sees one. He and Rimando have been good friends for years.
“We have tremendously different styles, but I think they’re each very effective,” Howard said. “His works for him, and mine works for me. There’s so many technical aspects of the game that we do differently that it would probably take a manual to explain that.
“The easy similarities are that we both are very good reactionary goalkeepers. For our age, we haven’t lost a step in our quickness and reaction, so that's a good thing.”
Prior to facing off in a 2019 Western Conference playoff series, Seattle Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei praised his RSL foe.
“He’s been able to adapt his game as the game evolves, how his body evolves or deconstructs as he’s getting older,” Frei told MLSSoccer.com. “That’s very difficult to do. I started playing professionally long after he did, and even for me it was, boot the ball, save the ball. Those were your goals. Now, it’s play out of the back; Tactically you’re the maestro almost in the back, pulling strings. It’s not very easy to do when all your childhood you’ve been taught the complete opposite: … don’t take any risks.
“So for him to be able to adapt and do it at such a high level for so long is a testament to his abilities, but also his professionalism.”
Added Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan: “He’s helped grow this league from day one. To see him ride off at the end of this year and have the legacy that he does in Salt Lake, he deserves nothing less.”
After a month away from RSL due to USMNT 2013 Gold Cup commitments, Rimando stood on his head in his first game back with the club, making eight saves. He helped the team salvage a 2-2 draw with the Colorado Rapids in the Rocky Mountain Cup that Aug. 3.
“Stunning, absolutely stunning,” RSL head coach Jason Kreis said of that performance. “He continues what I think is easily, hands down, the best year of his entire playing career. Without Nick Rimando in that game, I think we lose it.”
Rimando was born in Montclair, Calif., on June 17, 1979. Rimando's father, Marcus, was of Filipino descent, and his mother, Rose, of Mexican descent.
As a teenager, he often kicked a soccer ball around his house. Among the casualties were the family’s entertainment center, lamps and glass doors, which were shattered into shards. Rose recalled telling her son, “Not in the house. Not in the house.”
But it was clear soccer was his No. 1 interest — anywhere and everywhere.
“It was something we got over real quick,” his father recalled in an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune. “It may make a future for him or something — which it happened to be.”
After graduating from Montclair High School, Rimando attended UCLA and starred for a program that has produced many quality goalkeepers who went on to play for the USMNT, including fellow Hall of Famer Brad Friedel, as well as David Vanole, Kevin Hartman and Matt Reis. Rimando played for two years at the school, winning the 1997 NCAA Division I title as a freshman before joining MLS’ Project 40 team.
A year after he was chosen by the Miami Fusion as the 35th overall selection of the 2000 MLS SuperDraft, Rimando played an important role as the team captured the 2001 Supporters’ Shield. After the club folded, he was taken by D.C. United in the 2002 dispersal draft, and he played a vital role for the 2004 MLS Cup championship side, culminating with a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Wizards.
In December 2006, Rimando’s career took a major turn as he was traded with Freddy Adu to RSL for reserve goalie Jay Nolly, a major player allocation and significant future considerations. Rimando emerged as a hero during RSL’s miraculous MLS Cup run in 2009 when the eighth-seeded squad became the first sub-.500 regular season team (11-12-7) to win the league title.
He made two shootout saves, swatting away Jovan Kirovski's attempt before smothering Edson Buddle’s try on the LA Galaxy’s final shot. After playing to a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes, RSL won the tiebreaker, 5-4.
Afterwards, while RSL fans chanted “Nick Rimando” during the on-the-field celebrations, he was named game MVP, the second keeper to earn the honor.
USMNT coaches took notice of Rimando’s superb play. He made his international debut in a 2-0 win over El Salvador in 2002, sharing a clean sheet with Howard, his roommate when they traveled the world with the U.S. Under-17 National Team.
The competition for the starting role was tight between the two over the years, but it also was healthy.
“We grew up together,” Rimando said of Howard in a 2016 interview. “We pushed each other and over the course of playing soccer, we became really good friends.”
With Howard and Guzan as the USMNT’s top two choices, Rimando was forced to wait seven years for his next appearance. Rimando had learned that every game, whether it was for club or country, was precious. Competing at the 2013 Gold Cup, he mentioned how fortunate he was.
“It’s great to get on the field, finally,” Rimando told this writer at the time. “There are some great goalkeepers ahead of me right now. I’m playing well with my club team. I don’t get to showcase all the time for Jurgen [Klinsmann, the coach] because of the goalkeepers in front of me.
“When the time comes, you’ve got to be able to turn it on, take your opportunity and really go with it. So, playing consistency and playing with this team is a chance to really show Jurgen what I can do on the field.”
Rimando made the most of his opportunity, starting in five of six matches, conceding four goals and recording a clean sheet in the final, a 1-0 triumph over Panama.
“It’s great because you always try to judge yourself a bit on how you perform with the national team,” he said. “It’s different playing with your club team than the national team. This tournament has given me the confidence that I can play with this group of guys. It’s also great for the players on this team trying to make that World Cup roster.”
And Rimando did make that roster as a reserve goalkeeper at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. He didn’t play, but being a member of the U.S. team was a career highlight.
“This third spot is no joke really, always putting in the work,” Rimando told the Deseret News. “Guys are constantly needing extra work, on the field, after practice, shots, crosses, and that’s me stepping in and being available.
“It’s keeping the morale high. It’s being positive, just making sure everybody is moving in the right direction and nobody’s ever down if they’re not playing, or down about a result or a bad practice. Keeping morale up and keeping smiles on faces.”
Prior to the 2019 campaign, Rimando said the season would be his final one. He said that he wanted to be around his children, Jett and Benny, more.
“I gave so much to this sport. I’m just so grateful for everything it has given to me.”
Still at the top of his game at the age of 40, Rimando earned 2019 MLS Save of the Year for the third time (he previously won the honor in 2012 and 2013). He produced a spectacular double save in a 2-0 victory over the Rapids, knocking away Tommy Smith’s header off a corner kick in the 27th minute before denying Kei Kamara’s follow-up shot from point-blank range while he was sprawled on the ground.
After his final game, a 2-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders in the MLS Western Conference semifinal on Oct. 23, 2019, Rimando took stock on his two-decade career.
“I gave everything I had to this last game,” he told MLSSoccer.com. “That is all I could ask for. It has been special. Who would have thought a 5-[foot-]10 kid from the 909 [area code in Southern California] would have got 20 years in this league? To be appreciated the way I have been appreciated in the league this year – I said it before but, that is why I wanted to announce it early. Win, lose or draw.”
Rimando revealed that he played with several injuries: “People thought I was kidding around when I said I have to get a couple surgeries to do after my career,” he said. “It’s my knee, my shoulder. I am a banged-up old guy now. Get my body right, relax, have time with my family. Reflect on what this sport has given me. Just take it all. I feel like it is my duty to give back and we will see where that goes.”
Since his playing days, he has given back to the game. Rimando was the RSL Academy goalkeeper coach from 2021 to 2023 before taking on a similar role with the Real Monarchs (MLS NEXT Pro) in March 2024.
And on May 3, 2025, in Frisco, Texas, the game will give something back to Rimando one more time.
