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Will John

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For other people named Will John, see Will John (disambiguation).

Will John
John with two of his three Goal of the Month awards at Shuvalan FK
Personal information
Full name William Oluremi John
Date of birth (1985-06-13) June 13, 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth Overland Park, Kansas, U.S.
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)
2013–2014 AZAL 41 (12)
2014–2015 MAS Fez 3 (0)
2015–2016 RoPS 38 (5)
2018–2019 Locomotive Tbilisi 9 (0)
2021–2022 Jarun Zagreb 3 (0)
International career‡
United States U14
United States U16
2005 United States U20 1+ (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 March 2019
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 01:05, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

William Oluremi John; June 13, 1985) is an American former soccer player. He is also called Goluremi. .[1]

Early life

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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 club soccer for the 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

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Club

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John 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 Kansas City Wizards for Diego Gutierrez.

In January 2008, John 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 John 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 John 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 John 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, John 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]

On September 23, 2021, NK Jarun announced the signing of John. He made his league debut in a match against NK Sesvete on December 4, 2021, a game in which Jarun won 4–3.[19]

International

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John 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 John 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

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As of 25 November 2018[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Vinogradar 2009–10[21] Druga HNL 12 1 — — 12 1
2010–11[21] 26 2 — — 26 2
Total 38 3 — — 38 3
AZAL 2012–13 Azerbaijan Premier League 6 4 0 0 — — 6 4
2013–14 35 8 1 0 — — 36 8
Total 41 12 1 0 — — 42 12
MAS Fez 2014–15 Botola 3 0 0 0 — — 3 0
RoPS 2015 Veikkausliiga 11 3 0 0 0 0 — 11 3
2016 27 2 2 1 0 0 4 0 33 3
Total 38 5 2 1 0 0 4 0 44 6
Locomotive Tbilisi 2018 Erovnuli Liga 9 0 0 0 — — 9 0
Career total 129 20 3 1 0 0 4 0 136 21

Media

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YouTube

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In 2016, John started his own YouTube channel that now has over 900,000 subscribers worldwide and 88 million views. His 21-day challenge has now been viewed by over 12 million people and marked his initial surge into the platform. He speaks at least nine languages, including English, Swedish, Croatian, Italian, Danish, German, Spanish, French and Russian, which he showcases on his Goluremi Languages YouTube channel.[22][23]

References

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  1. ^ Will John
  2. ^ Comets Sign Former Rockhurst Standout, Will John and Jamie Harding
  3. ^ Alumni – College
  4. ^ "William John". SoccerStats.us.
  5. ^ "William John profile". LinkedIn.
  6. ^ "Will John to Randers FC Official". www.downthebyline.com. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  7. ^ "THREE PRACTICE PLAYERS ON CONTRACT IN RANDERS FC". www.randersfc.dk. Archived from the original on September 23, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  8. ^ "WILL JOHN FORLADER RANDERS FC". www.randersfc.dk. Archived from the original on September 24, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  9. ^ "AZAL vs. Kapaz 3 – 0". Soccerway. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  10. ^ "AZAL 6–1 Gabala". Soccerway. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  11. ^ "William Oluremi John Delighted With Move To MAS Fez". www.allnigeriasoccer.com. allnigeriasoccer. September 22, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
  12. ^ "Oluremi John quits MAS Fez". www.goal.com/en-ng/. Goal.com. January 6, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  13. ^ "Oluremi John's Move To Shamrock Rovers Break Downs". www.sl10.ng/. sl10.ng. February 8, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  14. ^ "Oluremi John's move to Shamrock Rovers falls through". www.goal.com/en-ie. Goal.com. February 8, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  15. ^ "Will John eyes Veikkausliiga title with RoPS". www.goal.com/en-ng/. Goal.com. August 7, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  16. ^ "Amerikkalaishyökkääjä RoPSin riveihin". www.rops.fi/ (in Finnish). RoPS. August 7, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  17. ^ "Oluremi palaa RoPS-paitaan". rops.fi (in Finnish). RoPS. March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
  18. ^ "უილიამ ოლურემი ჯონი – ლოკომოტივის ამერიკელი ახალწვეული". fcloco.ge/ (in Georgian). FC Locomotive Tbilisi. September 13, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
  19. ^ "NK Jarun - NK Sesvete".
  20. ^ "W.John". Soccerway. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  21. ^ a b "John Oluremi William". www.hnl-statistika.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  22. ^ "How A Soccer Player Learned 9+ Languages w/ Will Oluremi John #41 by LingoCast". Anchor. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  23. ^ Goluremi Languages (April 16, 2022). "Goluremi Languages". YouTube. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
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