Will Johnson

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 Sockers FC Chicago. 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 Reserves 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 in the MLS Reserve League but he did play in six games for the first 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 two more years.

Heerenveen

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 December 27, 2006. For the 2007–2008 season he was on loan to Doetinchem side De Graafschap, who were promoted as champions of the Dutch Eerste Divisie. Again he mostly made sub appearances and he returned to SC Heerenveen for the 2008–09 season. While back…

In the summers of 2005 and 2007, Johnson played for the U-20 Canada 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 the 2008 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Johnson scored three goals in three games during the tournament. However, Canada failed to qualify for the Olympics after falling 3–0 to the United States in the semifinals. 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 two FIFA Tournaments 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. On June 27, 2013, Johnson was listed as a part of the confirmed 23-man squad for Colin Miller's Canada squad for the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, making it his third consecutive Gold Cup. Miller named Johnson as team captain for the tournament. On December 12, 2013, Johnson was awarded the Canadian Men's Player of the Year by the CSA for the first time of his career. Johnson beat out two-time winner Atiba Hutchinson who was voted second and Patrice Bernier in third for the award. After almost two years since his last call-up, during which he dealt with illness, injuries, and personal commitments, Johnson was…

Club

As of match played August 25, 2022

International

As of match played September 10, 2019

International goals

As of match played March 29, 2016: Canada score listed first, score column indicates score after each Johnson goal.

Family

Johnson's grandfather is Brian Birch, who had a successful career with Bolton Wanderers, including an FA Cup winners medal in 1958. Johnson was married to Caroline Childs. They have a daughter, Arabella Capri, born October 2012, and a son, Jaxx Beckett, born September 5, 2014. Johnson also holds U.S. citizenship.

Legal issues

On September 6, 2017, Johnson was arrested on a domestic battery charge against his wife, and suspended from the team while the incident was being investigated by both local police and the league. No charges were brought and in October 2017 Johnson was reinstated by the league.