| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Edward Johnson | ||
| Date of birth | March 31, 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Bunnell, Florida, United States | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| IMG Soccer Academy | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2001–2006 | FC Dallas | 84 | (24) |
| 2006–2008 | Kansas City Wizards | 43 | (17) |
| 2008–2011 | Fulham | 18 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | → Cardiff City (loan) | 30 | (2) |
| 2010 | → Aris (loan) | 16 | (5) |
| 2011 | → Preston North End (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Puebla | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2000–2001 | United States U-17 | 25 | (23) |
| 2002–2003 | United States U-20 | 21 | (12) |
| 2003–2004 | United States U-23 | 7 | (2) |
| 2004– | United States | 42 | (12) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:07, 7 April 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Edward "Eddie" Johnson (born March 31, 1984) is an American soccer player.
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Johnson became one of the youngest players to sign with Major League Soccer (MLS), and was drafted by Dallas Burn as a Project-40 player in the second round of the 2001 MLS SuperDraft. In his first three years in the league, he did not get much playing time, and was very inconsistent when he did get on the field. Johnson scored just seven goals for Dallas in those seasons, while missing time with U.S. youth national teams.
In January 2005, Benfica offered what would have been an MLS-record $5 million transfer fee for Johnson, but Johnson and the league both rejected the offer.[1]
In May 2005, Johnson suffered an injury to the toes of his right foot that sidelined him until August of that year. After returning to MLS in August – he scored only five goals during the season – Johnson re-injured his toes in mid-September and was sidelined until January 2006.
With Dallas in salary cap trouble, Johnson was traded to the Kansas City Wizards on February 14, 2006, for two allocations.[2] ced that Johnson would be training with Premier League club Reading during the MLS offseason, but he did not sign with the club.[3]
In 2006 and early 2007, Johnson suffered a decline in form, scoring only twice in the 2006 MLS season and failing to make an impact with the national team. However, Johnson returned to form with the start of the 2007 MLS season, notching twelve goals and three assists in his first eleven games. On June 2, 2007, Johnson became the first player ever to score back to back hat-tricks in MLS play when he scored three goals against the New York Red Bulls, following a three goal performance against the New England Revolution the previous week on May 26.
In July 2007, Johnson saw increased speculation over a transfer to the Premier League. Derby County had been most vocal, with Derby manager Billy Davies confirming that he would explore the U.S. market.[4] However, after MLS accepted a $6 million bid from Derby, Johnson reportedly nixed the deal as he preferred to finish his season in Kansas City.[5] Johnson revealed his contract is structured to give him final say over whether he is purchased by fifteen designated clubs.[6] Johnson left the national team camp in California on January 17, 2008;[7] he completed a transfer to Fulham on January 23, 2008, signing a contract extending until the summer of 2011.[8][9]
He joined Championship side Cardiff City on loan for the 2008–09 season in August,[10] making his debut for the club during a 2–1 victory over Milton Keynes Dons in the Football League Cup. He went on to make his league debut four days later as an eighty-fifth minute substitute in a 0–0 draw with Sheffield United. He struggled to recover his goal-scoring form that he showed during his time in MLS.
However, he regained some of his form as the season progressed, and had a breakthrough week when he scored his first goal in English football on March 7, 2009, in a 3–0 victory against Doncaster Rovers.[11] Four days later Johnson was named man of the match for his performance in Cardiff's 3–1 victory over Barnsley.[12] A month later, when Cardiff hosted Derby County, Johnson scored his second goal of the season and added an own goal during injury time as the Bluebirds rolled to a 4–1 victory. Johnson's goal for Cardiff also meant that he was the last ever Cardiff City goalscorer under the Ninian Park floodlights.[13]
Johnson returned to Fulham from Cardiff City for the 2009–10 season. He featured in the majority of Fulham's pre-season fixtures, scoring in a friendly at Australian club Melbourne Victory,[14] was on the bench for Fulham's 3–0 victory over Vetra in the first leg of the third round of the Europa League, and came on as a late substitute in and recorded an assist in Fulham's 3–0 win in the second leg against Vetra.
On December 31, 2009, Johnson joined Greek side Aris Thessaloniki on loan for the remainder of the 2009–10 season.[15] On January 13, 2010, Johnson made his first appearance for Aris, coming on as a 79th minute substitute in a 2–0 victory over Asteras Tripoli F.C. in the round of 16 of the Greek Cup.[16] He made his Greek Super League debut, appearing as a second half substitute against PAS Giannina F.C., on January 17, 2010.[17] Johnson scored two goals in their playoff win over Olympiacos. Johnson scored five goals for Aris and was one of the top goalscorers in the Greek Super League Playoff with three goals.
On 31 January 2011, Johnson was sent out on loan to Championship club Preston North End. He scored his first goal against Reading a flicked on header from a curling Keith Treacy cross. The goal was later given as an own goal.
On August 16, 2011, it was revealed that Johnson had signed a contract with Major League Soccer and would be allocated to a certain club through an allocation process. Presently, the first team on the allocation process is Chivas USA. The announcement on what team selects him will be revealed on August 18. However on August 17 it was reported that contract negotiations have stalled and Johnson may still be looking abroad for better offers.[18]
On 22 December 2011, it was announced that Johnson signed with Primera División de Mexico club Puebla.[19] However, after training with the club for a short period he was released by the club on January 2, 2012 due to his poor physical performance and a lack of pace.[20]
Johnson had significant success at the U-17 level, scoring 23 goals in 25 appearances and leading that team in scoring in both 2000 and 2001. This success continued at U-20 level, and in 2003 at the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates he scored four goals, three from the penalty spot, and notched one assist to win the tournament's Golden Shoe as the top scorer.[21][22]
Johnson received his first cap and scored his first goal for the senior United States team against El Salvador on October 9, 2004, becoming one of a small group of American players to get his first international goal in a World Cup qualifier. He then scored a hat-trick in his second appearance four days later, all within a seventeen-minute spree against Panama. On March 30, 2005 Johnson scored the game winning goal in another qualifying match against Guatemala. He totaled seven goals in his first six World Cup qualifiers which placed him third on the U.S. all-time scoring list in World Cup qualifiers.
Johnson appeared in two matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and also participated in the 2007 Copa America as well the 2007 Gold Cup. In the USA's opening Copa America match against Argentina he earned and then converted a penalty kick to put the United States ahead 1–0 in a game they eventually lost 4–1.[22]
On May 11, 2010, Johnson was named to the United States pre-2010 FIFA World Cup roster; he was ultimately cut before the team traveled to South Africa.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 10, 2004 | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador | El Salvador | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2006 WCQ |
| 2 | Oct 13, 2004 | RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. | Panama | 3–0 | 6–0 | 2006 WCQ |
| 3 | 4–0 | |||||
| 4 | 5–0 | |||||
| 5 | Nov 17, 2004 | Columbus Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio | Jamaica | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2006 WCQ |
| 6 | Feb 9, 2005 | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad | Trinidad and Tobago | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2006 WCQ |
| 7 | Mar 19, 2005 | University Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico | Honduras | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 8 | Mar 30, 2005 | Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama | Guatemala | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2006 WCQ |
| 9 | Feb 19, 2006 | Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, Texas | Guatemala | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 10 | Jun 9, 2007 | The Home Depot Center, Carson, California | Trinidad and Tobago | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2007 Gold Cup |
| 11 | Jun 28, 2007 | Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela | Argentina | 1–0 | 1–4 | Copa América 2007 |
| 12 | Jun 15, 2008 | The Home Depot Center, Carson, California | Barbados | 6–0 | 8–0 | 2010 WCQ |
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| USA | League | Open Cup | League Cup | North America | Total | |||||||
| 2001 | Dallas | Major League Soccer | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 11 | 2 | ||
| 2002 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | 17 | 2 | |||
| 2003 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 23 | 4 | ||||
| 2004 | 26 | 12 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 28 | 14 | ||||
| 2005 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 16 | 6 | ||||
| 2006 | Kansas City Wizards | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 20 | 2 | |||
| 2007 | 24 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | 27 | 15 | |||
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2007–08 | Fulham | Premier League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 6 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2008–09 | Cardiff City (loan) | Championship | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 33 | 2 | |
| 2009–10 | Fulham | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | - | 12 | 0 | |||
| Greece | League | Greek Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2009–10 | Aris Thessaloniki (loan) | Super League Greece | 16 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 21 | 5 | |
| Total | USA | 127 | 41 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 0 | - | 142 | 45 | ||
| England | 44 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 2 | ||
| Greece | 16 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 184 | 48 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 208 | 52 | ||
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