Henok Goitom facts for kids
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Goitom with AIK in 2014
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| 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 | ||
| Team information | |||
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Current team
|
Degerfors (manager) | ||
| 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) |
| 2017–2021 | AIK | 142 | (39) |
| Total | 459 | (122) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003 | Sweden U19 | 3 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | Sweden U21 | 13 | (4) |
| 2015–2019 | Eritrea | 4 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2021–2022 | AIK (under-19) | ||
| 2022 | AIK (interim) | ||
| 2023–2024 | AIK (assistant) | ||
| 2024 | AIK (interim) | ||
| 2025– | Degerfors | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Henok Goitom (born 22 September 1984) is a former professional footballer. He played as a centre-forward, which means he was a main attacker trying to score goals. Today, he is a manager for the Allsvenskan club Degerfors IF.
Henok spent most of his 18-year playing career with AIK in Sweden and with various clubs in Spain. He played 215 matches and scored 42 goals in Spain's top two football leagues. He also played professionally in Italy and the United States.
Even though he was born in Sweden and played for Sweden's youth teams, Goitom later chose to represent Eritrea as a senior player. He played four games for Eritrea and scored one goal.
Contents
Early Life and Background
Henok Goitom was born in Solna, a town near Stockholm, Sweden. He grew up in the Husby area. His parents were originally from Eritrea.
Playing Career Highlights
Starting in Italy: Udinese
Goitom moved to Italy in 2004 to join Udinese Calcio, a team in Italy's top league, Serie A. He didn't play much for them. However, in his only Serie A game on 19 February 2005, he came on as a substitute and scored a goal in the last minute. This goal helped his team get a 1–1 draw against Inter Milan.
After that, he played for two years in Spain for Ciudad de Murcia on loan. He scored 15 goals in his second season there.
Playing in Spain: Murcia, Valladolid, and Almería
In 2007, Goitom left Udinese and signed with Real Murcia CF in Spain. He scored two goals during the 2007–08 season, but his team was relegated from La Liga, Spain's top league.
In 2008, he was loaned to another top-tier team, Real Valladolid. He became a key player there and scored ten goals, making him the team's top scorer that season.
In 2009, Goitom joined UD Almería. He scored important goals for them, including a penalty kick in a Copa del Rey match in 2011. This helped Almería reach the semi-finals of the cup for the first time ever. However, his team was relegated from La Liga that same year. He left Almería in 2012.
Returning Home: AIK
On 16 August 2012, Goitom signed with AIK Fotboll, a club from his hometown in Sweden. He played for AIK until the end of 2015.
Short Stays in Spain and USA
After leaving AIK, Goitom had short spells with other clubs. In March 2016, he joined Getafe CF in Spain, but he didn't play much, and the team was relegated.
In August 2016, he moved to the United States to play for San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer. He played eight games for them before leaving at the end of the season.
Second Time at AIK
On 3 March 2017, Goitom returned to AIK Fotboll for a second time. He signed a two-year deal with his former club. In February 2018, he became the team's captain.
International Football Career
Playing for Sweden's Youth Teams
Goitom played regularly for the Swedish under-21 team in 2006. He played in qualifying matches for the UEFA European Under-21 Championships. He was never called up to play for Sweden's senior national team.
Representing Eritrea
In September 2015, when he was 30 years old, Goitom asked FIFA for permission to play for Eritrea. He made his first game for Eritrea on 10 October 2015, in a World Cup qualifier against Botswana. He scored a goal in the return match against Botswana.
Coaching Career
Henok Goitom announced he was retiring from playing football after the 2021 season, at the age of 37. On 19 August 2022, he became the interim manager for his last club, AIK.
On 8 July 2025, Goitom became the head coach of Degerfors IF, a team that had just been promoted to a higher league. His team played against AIK five days later and lost 3–0.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Udinese | 2003–04 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2004–05 | Serie A | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2005–06 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | |||
| Ciudad Murcia (loan) | 2005–06 | Segunda División | 37 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 37 | 8 | |
| 2006–07 | Segunda División | 38 | 15 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 15 | ||
| Total | 75 | 23 | 0 | 0 | — | 75 | 23 | |||
| Murcia | 2007–08 | La Liga | 31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 33 | 2 | |
| Valladolid (loan) | 2008–09 | La Liga | 29 | 10 | 2 | 1 | — | 31 | 11 | |
| Almería | 2009–10 | La Liga | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 1 | |
| 2010–11 | La Liga | 26 | 1 | 5 | 2 | — | 31 | 3 | ||
| 2011–12 | Segunda División | 31 | 6 | 3 | 1 | — | 34 | 7 | ||
| Total | 78 | 8 | 8 | 3 | — | 86 | 11 | |||
| AIK | 2012 | Allsvenskan | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 2 |
| 2013 | Allsvenskan | 27 | 8 | 3 | 1 | — | 30 | 9 | ||
| 2014 | Allsvenskan | 28 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 33 | 14 | |
| 2015 | Allsvenskan | 29 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 39 | 27 | |
| Total | 93 | 39 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 114 | 52 | ||
| Getafe | 2015–16 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 2016 | Major League Soccer | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| AIK | 2017 | Allsvenskan | 24 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 31 | 7 |
| 2018 | Allsvenskan | 30 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 13 | |
| 2019 | Allsvenskan | 30 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 43 | 15 | |
| 2020 | Allsvenskan | 29 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 10 | |
| 2021 | Allsvenskan | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 3 | ||
| Total | 142 | 39 | 17 | 5 | 17 | 4 | 176 | 48 | ||
| Career total | 459 | 122 | 39 | 14 | 29 | 12 | 527 | 148 | ||
International Appearances and Goals
Appearances and goals by national team and year
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eritrea | 2015 | 2 | 1 |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 4 | 1 |
- Scores and results list Eritrea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Goitom goal.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 13 October 2015 | Francistown Stadium, Francistown, Botswana |  Botswana |
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2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Awards and Achievements
AIK
- Allsvenskan: 2018 (This means AIK won the top Swedish football league in 2018)
See also
In Spanish: Henok Goitom para niños
