Will Johnson (soccer)

For other people named Will Johnson, see Will Johnson (disambiguation).
Will Johnson
Personal information
Full name William David Johnson
Date of birth January 21, 1987 (1987-01-21) (age 25)
Place of birth Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position Attacking Midfielder/Winger
Club information
Current club Real Salt Lake
Number 8
Youth career
1996–1998 Woodridge Storm
2003–2004 Blackburn Rovers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2004 Chicago Fire Reserves 0 (0)
2005 Chicago Fire 6 (1)
2006–2008 Heerenveen 14 (1)
2007–2008 → De Graafschap (loan) 26 (2)
2008– Real Salt Lake 88 (6)
National team‡
2005–2007 Canada U20 32 (5)
2008– Canada U-23 3 (3)
2005– Canada 24 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 28, 2011.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of November 15, 2011

William "Will" Johnson (born January 21, 1987 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer and the Canada national soccer team.

Contents

Club career

Youth

Johnson was born in Canada, but moved shortly afterwards to England where he started playing soccer, attending the Merchant Taylors' School in Crosby, near Liverpool. When he was 10 his family once again moved, this time to Woodridge, Illinois, and he played youth soccer for the Chicago Sockers. Johnson later returned to England to play for the youth team of Blackburn Rovers in the 2003-04 season. However, after the season he left Blackburn and returned to Illinois. He was on the roster of Chicago Fire Premier in the USL Premier Development League, but did not feature in any PDL games.

Chicago Fire

In 2005, Johnson was signed by the Chicago Fire as a discovery player. Johnson played most of the year for the reserve team but he did play in six games for the senior team, where he scored a goal. After the year the Fire offered him a $28,000 contract, which he rejected. Johnson then went on a trial with Heerenveen, which was successful, and they signed him to a one year deal plus a club option for 2 more years.

Netherlands

He made 14 appearances, all as a sub, for Heerenveen in the 2006-2007 season, scoring the second goal in a 2-0 defeat of NEC Nijmegen on 27 December 2006. For the 2007-2008 season he was on loan to Doetinchem side De Graafschap, who were promoted as champions of the Dutch First Division. Again he mostly made sub appearances and he returned to SC Heerenveen for the 2008-09 season. While back training in Heerenveen for preseason, Real Salt Lake offered Will a contract and a new opportunity which he accepted and decided to depart Holland for the United States.

Real Salt Lake

Johnson signed with Major League Soccer on August 16, 2008. Chicago Fire traded his rights to Real Salt Lake in return for a conditional 4th round 2009 MLS Superdraft pick and a conditional 2nd round 2011 MLS Superdraft pick.[1]

Johnson won the MLS Goal of the Year in 2008 for a goal scored against FC Dallas on October, 18 in Rio Tinto Stadium. He was called up for the 2009 MLS All-Star Game against English Premier League side Everton F.C. He was one of three players to score their penalties in the penalty shootout against American goalkeeper Tim Howard. He started and played 45 minutes for Real Salt Lake in the 2009 MLS Cup final against the Los Angeles Galaxy despite a bout with food poisoning, with his side ultimately winning in a penalty shootout.

International career

In the summers of 2005 and 2007, Johnson played for the U-20 Canadian national team at the 2005 and 2007 World Youth Championships in the Netherlands and Canada respectively. Johnson also played very well for the Canada U-23 side during qualifying for the 2008 Olympics. Johnson scored 3 goals in 3 games during those matches.

He made his senior debut for Canada in a November 2005 friendly match against Luxembourg. By December 2009, he had earned a total of 10 caps, scoring no goals. He has so far represented Canada in 2 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.[2] Johnson provided the assist to André Hainault winning goal against Belarus on March 29, 2011. He scored his first international goal in a World Cup Qualifying match against Saint Lucia on September 2, 2011.[3]

International goals

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. September 2, 2011 BMO Field, Toronto, Canada  Saint Lucia 4–1 4–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Personal

Johnson's grandfather is Brian Birch who had a successful career with Bolton Wanderers, picking up an FA Cup winners medal in 1958.[4]
Engaged in 2010 to long time girlfriend, Caroline Childs.

Honors

Real Salt Lake

Individual

Club Statistics

Club Nat Season League League Playoff Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Chicago Fire 2005 MLS 6 1 - - - 6 1
SC Heerenveen 2006-07 Eredivisie 14 1 - - - 14 1
De Graafschap (on loan) 2007-08 Eredivisie 26 2 - - - 26 2
Real Salt Lake 2008 MLS 9 2 3 0 - - 12 2
2009 26 1 4 0 - - 30 1
2010 28 1 2 0 2 2 6 3 38 6
2011 25 2 3 0 2 0 6 0 36 2
Club total 88 6 12 0 4 2 12 3 116 11
Career total 134 10 12 0 4 2 12 3 162 15

Last updated on November 24, 2011

See also

References

  1. ^ RSL acquires Johnson from Fire for draft picks - Seattle Post-Intelligencer
  2. ^ Record at FIFA Tournaments - FIFA
  3. ^ Canada vs. St. Lucia
  4. ^ "RSL acquires FW Will Johnson". Real Salt Lake. 26 August 2008. http://real.saltlake.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20080826&content_id=183439&vkey=news_rsl&fext=.jsp&team=t121. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 

External links

Real Salt Lake – current squad