John Guidetti facts for kids
.jpg)
Guidetti playing for Celta Vigo in 2017
|
||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Alberto Guidetti | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 15 April 1992 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Stockholm, Sweden | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | |||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||
|
Current team
|
AIK | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 11 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2002 | IF Brommapojkarna | |||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Impala BrommaBoys | |||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Mathare United | |||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Ligi Ndogo | |||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | IF Brommapojkarna | |||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Manchester City | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2008 | IF Brommapojkarna | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2015 | Manchester City | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2010 | → IF Brommapojkarna (loan) | 8 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | → Burnley (loan) | 5 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | → Feyenoord (loan) | 23 | (20) | |||||||||||||
| 2014 | → Stoke City (loan) | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | → Celtic (loan) | 24 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Celta Vigo | 66 | (11) | |||||||||||||
| 2018 | → Alavés (loan) | 17 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2022 | Alavés | 40 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2020 | → Hannover 96 (loan) | 14 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2022– | AIK | 45 | (7) | |||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Sweden U17 | 11 | (8) | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Sweden U19 | 5 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2015 | Sweden U21 | 23 | (12) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2020 | Sweden | 29 | (3) | |||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 00:17, 18 September 2022 (UTC) |
||||||||||||||||
John Alberto Guidetti (born on April 15, 1992) is a Swedish professional footballer. He plays as a striker, which means he's a forward player who tries to score goals. John currently plays for the Swedish club AIK.
John grew up playing football in his home country, Sweden. He also spent some time playing in Kenya. In 2008, he returned to Sweden and played for IF Brommapojkarna. At just 16 years old, he got a big chance to join the English club Manchester City.
He spent time on loan at different clubs to gain experience. These included his old club Brommapojkarna and English team Burnley. In the 2011–12 season, he played for Dutch club Feyenoord on loan. He scored an amazing 20 goals in just 23 games there! However, a virus made him very sick and ended his time in the Netherlands.
Later, John played on loan for Stoke City and then for Scottish champions Celtic. With Celtic, he won the Scottish Premiership (the top league in Scotland) and the Scottish League Cup. In 2015, he moved to Spain to play for Celta Vigo.
John has also played for Sweden's national teams at different age levels. He helped the Under-21 team win the European Championship in 2015. He also represented Sweden's senior team in big tournaments like UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting His Football Journey
John Guidetti started playing football in 1998 with the youth team of the Swedish club IF Brommapojkarna. In 2002, his family moved to Kenya because of his father's job. John had to leave his club in Sweden and joined a football academy called Impala BrommaBoys in Nairobi, Kenya.
After a year, John joined the academy of Mathare United. This organization helps with sports development aid in the slums of Nairobi. In 2004, he moved to another club called Ligi Ndogo. In 2006, he went back to Sweden and rejoined IF Brommapojkarna.
John lived in Kenya for about five years. He says this time helped him grow a lot as a person and as a player. He learned a lot by playing football barefoot in the poorer areas of Nairobi and meeting local people. He still feels a strong connection to Kenya.
Joining Manchester City
In April 2008, when John was just 16, he signed a three-year contract with Manchester City in England. Many big clubs from different countries, like Inter Milan and Ajax, wanted to sign him. But Manchester City's manager, Sven Goran Eriksson, saw his talent and brought him to the club.
John had a great first season with Manchester City's Under-18 team. He scored 13 goals in 19 games. He also scored an amazing three goals (a hat-trick) in his very first game for the reserve team against Burnley.
Loan to Brommapojkarna
In 2010, John went back to his old club, IF Brommapojkarna, on loan. He played very well, scoring three goals and helping with three assists in only eight games.
Back at Manchester City
After his loan, Manchester City's manager, Roberto Mancini, wanted to see John play with the first team. John got to play for the Manchester City first team for the first time during a pre-season tour in the United States in 2010. He came on as a substitute in a match against Sporting Lisbon.
A couple of months later, John made his full debut in a real game for Manchester City. He started as a striker in a League Cup match against West Bromwich Albion. He even helped set up City's only goal in that game.
Loan to Burnley
On November 25, 2010, John joined Burnley on a one-month loan. On December 26, 2010, he scored his first goal for Burnley in a 2–1 win against Barnsley. Manchester City decided not to extend his loan, and he returned to his parent club.
Loan to Feyenoord: A Scoring Spree
On the last day of the transfer window in 2011, John joined the Dutch club Feyenoord on loan for the rest of the 2011–12 season. He made his debut on September 11, 2011, scoring a penalty. He quickly started scoring many goals.
On January 29, 2012, he scored his second hat-trick in a row, scoring three goals against their big rivals Ajax. Feyenoord won that game 4–2, which was their first win against Ajax in six years! This made him a hero in Rotterdam, and his coach called him "phenomenal."
On February 12, he scored his third hat-trick for Feyenoord. He had 17 goals in just 15 league games, making him one of the top scorers in Europe. He was the first Feyenoord player to score three hat-tricks in one season since Dirk Kuyt in 2004–05.
John scored his 18th goal from a penalty kick. He celebrated by taking off his shirt, which unfortunately earned him a second yellow card and a red card. He later apologized for this. He scored his 20th and final goal of the season in April. After that, he became very sick with a mystery virus that made him lose feeling in his right leg. This meant he missed the rest of the season and UEFA Euro 2012.
Even though he was injured, Feyenoord finished second in the league, which meant they could play in the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League qualification rounds. John, who watched the game from home, was later carried on the shoulders of fans to celebrate at the stadium. He scored 20 goals and helped with eight assists in 23 games for Feyenoord during this loan.
Dealing with Injury
.jpg)
John returned to Manchester City for the 2012–13 season, but he spent most of it trying to recover from the virus. The virus had infected a nerve, causing him to lose feeling in his right leg. Despite this, he signed a new three-year contract with Manchester City in October 2012.
He finally played football again on January 14, 2013, in an Under-21 League match, where he scored the first goal. He scored five more goals in his next six games for the development team. However, he then got a knee injury that needed surgery.
Loan to Stoke City
On January 14, 2014, John joined Stoke City on loan. He made his debut a few days later as a substitute. He didn't play much for Stoke, making only six appearances, all as a substitute.
Loan to Celtic: Winning Trophies
On September 4, 2014, John joined Scottish club Celtic on loan for the 2014–15 season. He made his debut nine days later. On September 24, he scored his first Celtic goal in a League Cup match. Three days later, he scored his first two league goals for Celtic.
He scored a hat-trick on October 29 in a League Cup game, helping Celtic win 6–0. This was the 15th hat-trick scored by a Swedish player for Celtic. He was named the Scottish Premiership Player of the Month for October 2014, after scoring six goals in four games.
On March 15, John won his first trophy with Celtic: the League Cup Final. He came on as a substitute and helped set up Celtic's second goal. In April, he scored an equalizer in a Scottish Cup semi-final, bringing his total to 15 goals for the season. He finished the season with 15 goals in 35 games for Celtic.
At the end of the 2014–15 season, Manchester City decided not to offer John a new contract, and he became a free agent.
Moving to Spain
On July 11, 2015, John signed a five-year contract with the Spanish club Celta Vigo. He made his debut in August and scored his first goal in September against the champions, FC Barcelona. On January 27, 2016, John scored a fantastic goal from 25 meters away in a cup game against Atlético Madrid. This helped his team reach the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup) for the first time in 15 years.
Playing for Alavés
On January 8, 2018, John was loaned to another Spanish club, Deportivo Alavés. In May, he signed a permanent four-year deal with the club.
Loan to Hannover 96
On January 17, 2020, John was loaned to Hannover 96 in Germany for the rest of the 2019–20 season.
Back to Sweden with AIK
After his contract with Alavés ended, John returned to Sweden and signed with AIK.
International Career
Playing for Youth Teams
John Guidetti played 14 matches and scored 14 goals for Sweden's Under-19 national teams. He even scored four goals against the Netherlands. He also got the chance to play for the Sweden U21 team. He scored in his first game back with the Under-19 team against Poland. He also helped the U21 team win a crucial qualifying match against Bulgaria by setting up the only goal.
At the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Czech Republic, John scored a goal that helped Sweden come back to beat Italy 2–1. In the final against Portugal, the game ended in a 0–0 draw. John took and scored Sweden's first penalty kick in the penalty shootout, which his team won!
Playing for the Senior Team
John made his debut for the Sweden senior squad on February 29, 2012, in a friendly game against Croatia. He had to wait over two and a half years for his second game.
He scored his first goal for Sweden on June 5, 2016, in a 3–0 friendly win against Wales. He was part of Sweden's team for Euro 2016. In May 2018, he was chosen for Sweden's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Personal Life
John Guidetti's family has roots in different countries. His grandfather on his father's side is Italian, and his grandmother is half Swedish and half Brazilian.
John has lived in Kenya twice with his parents, Mike and Susanne, and his sister, Carmen. He believes that playing football with older children in the poorer areas of Kibera and Mathare was very important for his growth. He even started a charity (NGO) to help children in those areas.
In the summer of 2015, a Swedish music group called Badpojken made a song about John Guidetti. It was called "Johnny G (The Guidetti Song)" and became very popular, reaching number 1 on the Swedish music charts.
Honours and Awards
Celtic
- Scottish Premiership: 2014–15
- Scottish League Cup: 2014–15
Sweden U21
Individual Awards
- Scottish Premiership Player of the Month: October 2014
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship Bronze Boot: 2015
- Copa del Rey top scorer: 2015–16 (shared with four other players)
Images for kids
-
Guidetti playing for Celta Vigo in 2017
-
Guidetti in 2013
-
Guidetti celebrating winning the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
See also
In Spanish: John Guidetti para niños
