Quick Facts
Biography
Henok Goitom (Tigrinya: ሄኖከ ጎይትኦም?; born 22 September 1984) is an Eritrean professional footballer who plays as a centre forward, most recently for American club San Jose Earthquakes.
Early life
Of Eritrean ancestry, Goitom was born in Solna, Stockholm County, and raised in nearby Husby.
Career
Club
Udinese
Goitom moved to Italy in 2004 to join Udinese Calcio, rarely being an option during his short stay. However, in his sole Serie A appearance, on 19 February 2005, he only needed seven minutes as a late substitute to score the 90th minute 1–1 equalizer against Inter Milan.
Spain
Subsequently, Goitom served a two-year loan in the Spanish second division with Ciudad de Murcia. He netted 15 league goals during his second season.
In 2007, Goitom was released by Udinese and signed a four-year deal with Ciudad Murcia's city rivals Real Murcia, for €3 million. He was officially unveiled by the club on 14 July.
The president of UD Almería, Alfonso García, however, announced his club would take the matter to court: as he appeared before the media during the presentation of Aitor López Rekarte, showed journalists papers which proved an agreement had already been reached between Almería and Udinese.
With Murcia, Goitom only scored twice during the entire campaign, which saw the team eventually relegated from La Liga as last. In July 2008 he was loaned for one season to fellow league side Real Valladolid, which had an option to buy at the campaign's closure.
Established as first-choice, Goitom netted twice as Valladolid beat Recreativo de Huelva 3–2 away on 8 March 2009, but was also sent off during the match (as teammate Álvaro Rubio). He finished the season as the club's top scorer, at ten.
In late July 2009, Goitom was released by Murcia and joined fellow league side Almería, replacing Sevilla FC-bound Álvaro Negredo. His 2009–10 season output consisted of one goal, in a 1–1 home draw against CD Tenerife; also, even though he was the only pure striker in the squad, he was never an undisputed starter, but the Andalusians retained their top division status in the end.
On 19 January 2011, Goitom scored one of Almería's most important goals, netting a penalty kick in a 3–2 win at Deportivo de La Coruña (4–2 on aggregate), with the club reaching the semifinals of the Copa del Rey for the first time ever (he added one more in the competition, against Real Sociedad). However, he again only netted once in the league, in a 2–2 home draw against Atlético Madrid, and the club returned to the second division after four years; in mid-August 2012, he terminated his contract.
AIK
On 16 August 2012, Goitom signed with hometown club AIK Fotboll in the Allsvenskan. In November 2015, it was announced he would be released when his contract ended on 31 December.
San Jose Earthquakes
On August 10, 2016 Goitom signed with San Jose Earthquakes. He made his debut 9 days later coming on as a sub against Houston Dynamo. He finished the 2016 season goalless and only made 2 starts out of 7 appearances. On December 2, 2016 San Jose Earthquakes announced that they would not be exercising their option to extended Goitom's contract beyond the 2016 season.
International
Goitom was a regular starter for the Swedish under-21 team during 2006, and played for the nation during qualification for the 2006 and 2007 UEFA European Championships. He was on the verge of breaking into the full squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup squad in Germany, but did not make the final cut.
In September 2015, at age of 30, Goitom made an official request to FIFA for permission to play for Eritrea. On 10 October he gained his first cap, in a 0–2 home loss to Botswana for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers; he scored in the return leg, to a final 1–5 defeat on aggregate.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 16 October 2016
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Udinese | 2003–04 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2006–07 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | ||
| Ciudad de Murcia (loan) | 2005–06 | Segunda División | 37 | 8 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 8 | ||
| 2006–07 | 38 | 15 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 15 | ||||
| Total | 75 | 23 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 75 | 23 | ||
| Real Murcia | 2007–08 | La Liga | 31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 33 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | Segunda División | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 33 | 2 | ||
| Real 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 | 26 | 1 | 5 | 2 | – | – | 31 | 3 | ||||
| 2011–12 | Segunda División | 31 | 6 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 6 | |||
| Total | 78 | 8 | 6 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 84 | 10 | ||
| AIK | 2012 | Allsvenskan | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | - | 12 | 2 | |
| 2013 | 27 | 8 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 29 | 9 | ||||
| 2014 | 28 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | - | 33 | 14 | |||
| 2015 | 29 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 6 | - | 38 | 26 | |||
| Total | 93 | 39 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 8 | - | - | 111 | 51 | ||
| Getafe | 2015–16 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| San Jose Earthquakes | 2016 | Major League Soccer | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 317 | 83 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 8 | - | - | 346 | 98 | ||
International
| Eritrea national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2015 | 2 | 1 |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 1 |
Statistics accurate as of match played 13 October 2015
International goals
- Scores and results list Eritrea's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 13 October 2015 | Francistown Stadium, Francistown, Botswana |  Botswana | 2018 World Cup qualification |