Henok Goitom

Henok Goitom (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈhěːnɔk]; born 22 September 1984) is an Eritrean professional footballer who plays as a centre forward for AIK.

Henok Goitom

Goitom playing for AIK in 2014
Personal information
Date of birth	22 September 1984
Place of birth	Solna, Sweden
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Centre forward
Club information
Current team	AIK
Number	36
Youth career
1998–2000	Essinge IK
2001–2002	Inter Orhoy
2002–2003	Vasalunds IF
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2007	Udinese	1	(1)
2005–2007	→ Ciudad Murcia (loan)	75	(23)
2007–2009	Murcia	31	(2)
2008–2009	→ Valladolid (loan)	29	(10)
2009–2012	Almería	78	(8)
2012–2015	AIK	93	(39)
2016	Getafe	2	(0)
2016	San Jose Earthquakes	8	(0)
2017–	AIK	113	(36)
National team^‡
2003	Sweden U19	3	(1)
2005–2006	Sweden U21	13	(4)
2015–	Eritrea	4	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 December 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 September 2019

He has spent most of his career with AIK (two spells) and in Spain, playing 215 matches and scoring 42 goals in the latter country both major levels combined – 109 games and 14 goals in La Liga. He also competed professionally in Italy and the United States.

Born in Sweden to Eritrean parents, Goitom represented Eritrea at the senior international level after having appeared for the Sweden U19 and U21 teams.

Early life

Goitom was born in Solna, Stockholm, and raised in the nearby Husby district. His parents were born in Eritrea.[1][2]

Club career

Udinese

Goitom moved to Italy in 2004 to join Udinese Calcio, rarely being an option during his short stay. However, in his sole Serie A appearance, on 19 February 2005, he only needed seven minutes as a late substitute to score the 90th minute 1–1 equaliser against Inter Milan.[3]

Loan to Ciudad de Murcia

Subsequently, Goitom served a two-year loan in the Spanish second division with Ciudad de Murcia. He netted 15 league goals during his second season.[4]

Real Murcia

In 2007, Goitom was released by Udinese and signed a four-year deal with neighbouring Real Murcia, for a reported €3 million.[5] The president of UD Almería, Alfonso García, however, announced the club would take matters to court: as he appeared before the media during the presentation of Aitor López Rekarte, showed journalists papers which proved an agreement had already been reached between Almería and Udinese.[6] With Murcia, Goitom only scored twice during the entire campaign, which saw the team eventually relegated from La Liga as last.[7]

Loan to Valladolid

In July 2008, he was loaned for one season to fellow league side Real Valladolid, which had an option to buy at the campaign's closure.[8]

Established as first-choice, Goitom netted twice as Valladolid beat Recreativo de Huelva 3–2 away on 8 March 2009, but was also sent off during the match (as teammate Álvaro Rubio).[9] He finished the season as team top scorer, at ten.[10]

Almería

In late July 2009, Goitom was released by Murcia and joined fellow league side Almería, replacing Sevilla FC-bound Álvaro Negredo.[4] His 2009–10 season output consisted of one goal, in a 1–1 home draw against CD Tenerife;[11][12] also, even though he was the only pure striker in the squad, he was never an undisputed starter,[13] but the Andalusians retained their top division status in the end.

On 19 January 2011, Goitom scored one of Almería's most important goals, netting a penalty kick in a 3–2 win at Deportivo de La Coruña (4–2 on aggregate), with them reaching the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey for the first time ever (he added one more in the competition, against Real Sociedad[14]).[15] However, he again only netted once in the league, in a 2–2 home draw against Atlético Madrid,[16] and the club returned to the second division after four years; in mid-August 2012, he terminated his contract.[17]

AIK

On 16 August 2012, Goitom signed with his hometown club AIK Fotboll in the Allsvenskan.[18] In November 2015, it was announced he would be released when his contract ended on 31 December.[19]

Getafe

On 22 March 2016, after being unemployed for almost three months, Goitom agreed to a short-term deal at Getafe CF.[20] He made his debut about a week later, coming on as a second half-substitute in a 0–2 away loss against Rayo Vallecano.[21]

Goitom only totalled 125 minutes of action during his spell, and his team suffered top-flight relegation.

San Jose Earthquakes

On 10 August 2016, Goitom joined San Jose Earthquakes on a free transfer.[22] He made his Major League Soccer debut nine days later, coming from the bench in a 1–2 loss to Houston Dynamo at the Avaya Stadium.[23]

At the end of the season, where he only started in two of his appearances, the club announced that they would not be exercising their option to extended Goitom's contract.[24]

Return to AIK

On 3 March 2017, it was announced that Goitom had signed a two-year contract with his former club AIK, thus returning to his birth country and its top flight.[25] In February of the following year, he became team captain.[26]

International career

Sweden

Goitom was a regular starter for the Swedish under-21 team during 2006, and played for the nation during qualification for the 2006 and 2007 UEFA European Championships.[27][28][29] He was never called up to the Sweden national team, although he was considered for a place in the squad for a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifier against Russia.[30]

Eritrea

In September 2015, at age of 30, Goitom made an official request to FIFA for permission to play for Eritrea.[31] He won his first cap on 10 October, in a 0–2 home loss to Botswana for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers;[32][33] he scored in the return leg, to a final 1–5 defeat on aggregate.[34]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 9 August 2020

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Udinese	2003–04[35]	Serie A	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2004–05[35]		1	1	1	0	—		2	1
	2005–06[35]		0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2006–07[35]		0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		1	1	1	0	—		2	1
Ciudad Murcia (loan)	2005–06[35]	Segunda División	37	8	0	0	—		37	8
	2006–07[35]		38	15	0	0	—		38	15
	Total		75	23	0	0	—		75	23
Murcia	2007–08[35]	La Liga	31	2	2	0	—		33	2
Valladolid (loan)	2008–09[35]	La Liga	29	10	2	1	—		31	11
Almería	2009–10[35]	La Liga	21	1	0	0	—		21	1
	2010–11[35]		26	1	5	2	—		31	3
	2011–12[35]	Segunda División	31	6	3	1	—		34	7
	Total		78	8	8	3	—		86	11
AIK	2012[36]	Allsvenskan	9	1	1	0	2	1	12	2
	2013[36]		27	8	3	1	—		30	9
	2014[36]		28	12	1	1	4	1	33	14
	2015[36]		29	18	4	3	6	6	39	27
	Total		93	39	9	5	12	8	114	52
Getafe	2015–16[35]	La Liga	2	0	0	0	—		2	0
San Jose Earthquakes	2016[37]	Major League Soccer	8	0	0	0	—		8	0
AIK	2017[37][36]	Allsvenskan	24	5	2	0	5	1	31	6
	2018[37][36]		30	12	6	1	4	0	40	13
	2019[37][36]		30	11	5	1	8	3	43	15
	2020[37][36]		14	4	4	1	0	0	18	5
	Total		98	32	17	3	17	4	132	39
Career total			415	115	39	11	29	12	483	138

International

As of match played 10 September 2019[38]

Eritrea
Year	Apps	Goals
2015	2	1
2019	2	0
Total	4	1

International goals

Scores and results list Eritrea's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref
1.	13 October 2015	Francistown Stadium, Francistown, Botswana	Botswana	1–0	1–3	2018 World Cup qualification	[34]

Honours

AIK

• Allsvenskan: 2018

References

1. Hazra, Marzia (10 September 2009). "Henok Goitom: From suburban Stockholm to La Liga". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
2. Minshull, Phil (18 November 2010). "Almeria's Henok Goitom considers playing for Eritrea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
3. "Colpo di Veron, l'Inter si illude – Goitom beffa Mancini allo scadere" [Veron strike, Inter think it's over – Goitom mocks Mancini in the end]. La Repubblica (in Italian). 19 February 2005. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
4. "Goitom ya está en Almería" [Goitom is already in Almería]. Diario de Almería (in Spanish). 16 July 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
5. "El Murcia ficha al delantero sueco Henok Goitom" [Murcia sign Swedish forward Henok Goitom]. Marca (in Spanish). 12 July 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
6. "El Almería denunciará el fichaje de Goitom por el Murcia" [Almería to denounce Murcia's signing of Goitom]. La Opinión de Murcia (in Spanish). 17 July 2007. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
7. "Goitom om framtiden: Jag har mer erfarenhet". fotbollskanalen (in Swedish). Retrieved 19 October 2020.
8. "Goitom llega al Valladolid "para marcar goles y ayudar a mantener la permanencia"" [Goitom arrives in Valladolid to "score goals and help to stay up"] (in Spanish). Soitu. 17 July 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
9. "Recreativo Huelva 2–3 Valladolid". ESPN Soccernet. 8 March 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
10. "Goitom, un gol desde el banquillo" [Goitom, a goal from the bench]. El Norte de Castilla (in Spanish). 9 October 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
11. Pineda, Rafael (17 January 2010). "La igualada sólo alivia al Almería" [Draw only relieves Almería]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 March 2018.
12. "Eritrean Henok Goitom back in action in La Liga". Eri-International Sports. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
13. "El sueco no ha superado la 'maldición del 20'" [The Swede has not overcome the 'curse of the 20']. Ideal (in Spanish). 25 May 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
14. "El Almería ganó la eliminatoria ante una Real que lo intentó pero pagó sus errores" [Almería won tie against Real who tried but paid for their mistakes]. El Diario Vasco (in Spanish). 11 November 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
15. Rincón, Jaime (19 January 2011). "El Almería se niega a despertar del sueño" [Almería refuse to awake from dream]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 April 2011.
16. "Almeria fight back for draw". ESPN Soccernet. 12 March 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
17. "Goitom deja de pertenecer al Almería" [Goitom no longer an Almería player] (in Spanish). UD Almería. 13 August 2012. Archived from the original on 16 August 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
18. Hultqvist, Daniel (16 August 2012). "Goitom klar för AIK: "Är det rätta steget"" [Goitom ready for AIK: "It's the right move"]. Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 August 2012.
19. Mellerborg, Stefan (5 November 2015). "Henok Goitom lämnar AIK Fotboll" [Henok Goitom leaves AIK Fotboll] (in Swedish). AIK Fotboll. Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
20. "Henok Goitom klar för La Liga-klubben Getafe" [Henok Goitom signs with La Liga club Getafe] (in Swedish). Kista Galaxy. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
21. Carlsson, Marie (1 April 2017). "Goitom debuterade när Getafe föll på bortaplan" [Goitom made debut as Getafe fell away from home]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 10 March 2017.
22. "Earthquakes sign striker Henok Goitom". The Mercury News. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
23. "Recap: Quakes fall 2–1 Dynamo at Avaya Stadium". San Jose Earthquakes. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
24. "News: Earthquakes announce roster moves ahead of 2017 season". San Jose Earthquakes. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
25. Mellerborg, Stefan (3 March 2017). "Henok Goitom gör comeback i AIK" [Henok Goitom makes a comeback at AIK] (in Swedish). AIK Fotboll. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
26. Durefelt, Filip (26 February 2018). "Henok Goitom ny lagkapten i AIK" [Henok Goitom new team captain of AIK]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 March 2018.
27. "Goitom seals Sofia success". UEFA. 25 March 2005. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
28. "U21 herr: Goitom tvåmålsskytt mot Bulgarien" [U21 master: Goitom two-goal shooter against Bulgaria] (in Swedish). Swedish Football Association. 25 March 2005. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
29. "Goitom fuels Swedes' dreams". UEFA. 16 August 2006. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
30. "Henok Goitom: "Han ringde aldrig"". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 19 October 2020.
31. Carlsson, Simon (15 September 2015). "Väljer bort Sverige – för spel med Eritrea" [Rejects Sweden – to play with Eritrea]. Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 20 September 2015.
32. "Eritrea needs to bounce back against Botswana in World Cup qualifier". Caperi. 10 October 2015. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
33. "Eritrea 0–2 Botswana". Eurosport. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
34. Kidane, Bereket (14 October 2015). "Botswana advances against Eritrea, Henok Goitom scores on a brilliant header". Tesfa News. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
35. "Goitom: Henok Goitom". BDFutbol. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
36. "Henok Goitom" (in Swedish). Svensk Fotboll. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
37. "H. Goitom". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
38. "H. Goitom – Matches". Soccerway. Retrieved 15 February 2017.

External links

• Henok Goitom at SvFF (in Swedish)
• Henok Goitom at BDFutbol
• Henok Goitom at National-Football-Teams.com