Will John

Will John (born John Oluremi William; June 13, 1985) is an American soccer player who last played for Georgian club Locomotive Tbilisi. His YouTube channel has over 600,000 subscribers.[1]

For other people named Will John, see Will John (disambiguation).
Will John
Will John with two of his three "Goal of the Month" awards
Personal information
Full name John Oluremi William
Date of birth (1985-06-13) June 13, 1985
Place of birth Overland Park, Kansas, United States
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Midfielder, Forward
Youth career
Rockhurst Hawklets
Kansas City Attack
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Saint Louis Billikens
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2004 Kansas City Brass 12 (6)
2005 Chicago Fire 6 (0)
2006–2007 Kansas City Wizards 4 (0)
2008 Randers 1 (0)
2008 Čukarički 3 (0)
2009–2011 Vinogradar 38 (3)
2012–2013 Missouri Comets (indoor) 11 (7)
2013–2014 AZAL 41 (12)
2014–2015 MAS Fez 3 (0)
2015–2016 RoPS 38 (5)
2018–2019 Locomotive Tbilisi 9 (0)
National team‡
2005 United States U20 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 March 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 30 September 2018

Early life

William John played high school soccer at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri. William currently holds the Rockhurst single season scoring title with 36 goals and 20 assists.[2] He played also besides his High school career, club soccer for Kansas City Attack.[3] John played college soccer at Saint Louis University, and in the USL Premier Development League for Kansas City Brass.[4][5]

Career

Club

William was drafted by the Chicago Fire in the second round of the 2005 MLS SuperDraft and Led the team in scoring in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. After a season with the Fire, William was traded to the Wizards for Diego Gutierrez.

In January 2008, William moved to Danish Superliga side Randers, signing a 1-year contract.[6][7] On 7 August 2008, Randers announced that William had agreed to personal terms and joined Serbian SuperLiga team Čukarički Stankom.[8]

In February 2009 Will signed a contract with MŠK Žilina after agreeing to personal terms with the club. However, his former club Čukarički withheld his registration papers and he was forced to leave the club. William subsequently joined NK Vinogradar.

In February 2013 William signed for Azerbaijan Premier League side AZAL on a two-year contract. He became the first American to play and score in the Azerbaijan Premier League. William came on as a substitute for AZAL in their 3–0 victory against Kəpəz on 24 February 2013.[9] John scored his first goal for AZAL on 3 March 2013 in a home victory over Gabala.[10] William's consecutive goal scoring run was abruptly ended by a slight meniscus tear against Khazar Lankaran. The subsequent surgery saw William miss the remainder of the season.

The 2013–2014 season saw William establish himself as one of the most notable and skillful players in the Azerbaijan Premier League. He became the first player in the league's history to win 3 "Goal of the month awards" in the same season. With 8 goals and 5 assists he was AZAL's leading goal scorer. John is most commonly known in Azerbaijan as Con Oluremi.

After leaving AZAL, William signed for Moroccan Botola side MAS Fez in September 2014.[11] However, in January 2015 William left MAS Fez citing unpaid wages,[12][13] with a proposed move to League of Ireland powerhouse Shamrock Rovers falling through in February 2015.[14] In August 2015, John signed for Veikkausliiga side RoPS.[15][16] On September 14, 2015, William's two goals in a win against KTP propelled RoPS to top of the table for the first time in over 25 years. William was awarded Man of the Match for his performance. In March 2016, William signed a new contract with RoPS.[17]

On 13 September 2018, Locomotive Tbilisi announced the signing of John on a contract until the end of the 2020 season.[18]

International

William was part of the U-14, U-16 Youth National Teams as well as the U.S. Under-20 team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. As of June 2009 William is eligible for selection by both the Nigerian and US National teams due to the new FIFA Regulations.

William John serves on the United States Soccer Federation's Athlete Council which is a group of twenty athletes who are elected by their peers. The purpose of the council as laid out in U.S. Soccer's bylaws is to provide a broader means of communication between Athletes and the Federation and make reports and recommendations to the Board of Directors about matters affecting Athletes.

In 2018 William was named U.S Soccer Foundation Ambassador. The mission of the U.S. Soccer Foundation is to enhance, assist and grow the sport of soccer in the United States, with a special emphasis on underserved communities.

Career statistics
As of 25 November 2018[19]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Vinogradar 2009–10[20] Druga HNL 121——121
2010–11[20] 262——262
Total 383——383
AZAL 2012–13 Premier League 6400——64
2013–14 35810——368
Total 411210——4212
MAS Fez 2014–15 Botola 3000——30
RoPS 2015 Veikkausliiga 1130000—113
2016 272210040333
Total 385210040446
Locomotive Tbilisi 2018 Erovnuli Liga 9000——90
Career total 1292031004013621

References
  1. Will John
  2. Comets Sign Former Rockhurst Standout, Will John and Jamie Harding
  3. Alumni – College
  4. William John
  5. William John profiles | LinkedIn
  6. "Will John to Randers FC Official". www.downthebyline.com. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  7. "THREE PRACTICE PLAYERS ON CONTRACT IN RANDERS FC". www.randersfc.dk. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  8. "WILL JOHN FORLADER RANDERS FC". www.randersfc.dk. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  9. "AZAL vs. Kapaz 3 – 0". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  10. "AZAL 6–1 Gabala". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  11. "William Oluremi John Delighted With Move To MAS Fez". www.allnigeriasoccer.com. allnigeriasoccer. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  12. "Oluremi John quits MAS Fez". www.goal.com/en-ng/. Goal.com. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  13. "Oluremi John's Move To Shamrock Rovers Break Downs". www.sl10.ng/. sl10.ng. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  14. "Oluremi John's move to Shamrock Rovers falls through". www.goal.com/en-ie. Goal.com. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  15. "Will John eyes Veikkausliiga title with RoPS". www.goal.com/en-ng/. Goal.com. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  16. "Amerikkalaishyökkääjä RoPSin riveihin". www.rops.fi/ (in Finnish). RoPS. 7 August 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  17. "Oluremi palaa RoPS-paitaan". rops.fi (in Finnish). RoPS. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  18. "უილიამ ოლურემი ჯონი – ლოკომოტივის ამერიკელი ახალწვეული". fcloco.ge/ (in Georgian). FC Locomotive Tbilisi. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  19. "W.John". uk.soccerway.com/. Soccerway. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  20. "John Oluremi William". www.hnl-statistika.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-05. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
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