Henok Goitom (Swedish pronunciation:[ˈhěːnɔk]; born 22 September 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward, currently assistant manager of AIK.
He spent most of his 18-year career with AIK (two spells) and in Spain, where he played 215 matches and scored 42 goals across both major levels – 109 games and 14 goals in La Liga. He also competed professionally in Italy and the United States.
Born in Sweden, Goitom represented Eritrea as a senior after having appeared for Sweden at youth level. He made his debut for the former in 2015, earning four caps in four years and scoring once.
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 equaliser against Inter Milan.[4]
Goitom was released by Udinese in 2007, and signed a four-year deal with neighbouring Real Murcia CF for a reported €3 million;[6] the president of UD Almería, Alfonso García, however, announced the club would take matters 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.[7] He only scored twice during the entire campaign, which saw the side relegated from La Liga as last.[8]
In July 2008, Goitom was loaned for one season to fellow top-tier Real Valladolid, which had an option to buy at the campaign's closure.[9] Established as first choice, he netted twice in a 3–2 away win over Recreativo de Huelva on 8 March 2009, but was also sent off during the match (as teammate Álvaro Rubio).[10] He finished as team top scorer, at ten.[11]
Almería
In late July 2009, Goitom was released by Murcia and joined Almería in the same league, replacing Sevilla FC-bound Álvaro Negredo.[5] His season output consisted of one goal, in a 1–1 home draw against CD Tenerife.[12][13] Also, even though he was the only pure striker in the squad, he was never an undisputed starter,[14] but the Andalusians retained their top-division status in the end.
In mid-August 2012, Goitom terminated his contract.[19]
AIK
On 16 August 2012, Goitom signed with his hometown club AIK Fotboll in the Allsvenskan.[20] In November 2015, it was announced he would be released when his contract ended on 31 December.[21]
Getafe
On 22 March 2016, after being unemployed for almost three months, Goitom agreed to a short-term deal at Getafe CF.[22] He made his debut about a week later, coming on as a second half-substitute in a 2–0 away loss against Rayo Vallecano.[23]
At the end of the season, where he only started in two of his appearances, it was announced that Goitom would not be retained.[27]
Return to AIK
On 3 March 2017, Goitom signed a two-year deal with former side AIK, thus returning to his birth country and its main division.[28] In February of the following year, he became team captain.[29]
Goitom announced his retirement after the 2021 season, aged 37.[30] On 19 August 2022, he was appointed interim manager of his last club.[31]
In September 2015, aged 30, Goitom made an official request to FIFA for permission to play for Eritrea.[36] He made his debut on 10 October, in a 2–0 home loss to Botswana for the 2018 FIFA World Cupqualifiers.[37][38] He scored in the return leg, in a final 5–1 aggregate defeat.[39]
Career statistics
Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
^Mellerborg, Stefan (5 November 2015). "Henok Goitom lämnar AIK Fotboll" [Henok Goitom leaves AIK Fotboll] (in Swedish). AIK Fotboll. Archived from the original on 9 November 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
^Mellerborg, Stefan (3 March 2017). "Henok Goitom gör comeback i AIK" [Henok Goitom makes a comeback at AIK] (in Swedish). AIK Fotboll. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
^Durefelt, Filip (26 February 2018). "Henok Goitom ny lagkapten i AIK" [Henok Goitom new team captain of AIK]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 March 2018.
^Bohman, Per (22 September 2015). "Henok Goitom: "Han ringde aldrig"" [Henok Goitom: "He never called"]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 19 October 2020.