In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Johnson and the second or maternal family name is Alajarín.

Joel Johnson Alajarín (born 20 September 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for USL League One club Charlotte Independence. Born in Spain, he represents the Liberia national team.

Club career

Born in Torrent, Valencia, to a Liberian father and a Spanish mother, Johnson was a product of Valencia CF's youth system.[2] He made his senior debut at only 17, appearing with the reserves in the Segunda División B and suffering relegation in 2010.[3]

On 8 March 2010, as both right-backs in the first team, Bruno and Miguel, were unavailable, Johnson made his only La Liga appearance, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 home draw against Racing de Santander.[4][5] Released on 30 June 2012, he went on to compete solely in the lower leagues, first with Real Madrid C and then with Real Jaén, both in the third tier.[6][7][8]

After a season with CD Buñol in the Tercera División, Johnson signed with USL Championship side Charlotte Independence on 6 April 2016.[9] Six years later, he joined Hartford Athletic of the same country and league.[10]

Johnson returned to the Independence in February 2023.[11] With the club having moved down to USL League One to better serve its youth players,[12] he scored a career-best seven goals in the first season in his second spell, adding four assists.[13]

International career

Johnson received his first call for the Liberia national team on 31 August 2016,[14] being an unused substitute in the 4–1 away loss to Tunisia for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying phase the following week.[15] He only won his first cap on 9 September 2018, starting and playing 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw against DR Congo for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Joel Johnson at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ Joel Johnson, a un paso de debutar (Joel Johnson, close to making debut); Las Provincias, 7 March 2010 (in Spanish)
  3. ^ La victoria del Espanyol B certifica el descenso del Mestalla a Tercera (Espanyol B win confirms Mestalla's relegation to Tercera); Levante-EMV, 26 April 2010 (in Spanish)
  4. ^ Los Che frustrated by Santander again Archived 24 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine; ESPN Soccernet, 8 March 2010
  5. ^ Joel: "Impresiona jugar en Mestalla" (Joel: "It's impressive to play in Mestalla"); Las Provincias, 9 March 2010 (in Spanish)
  6. ^ El Real Madrid C se refuerza con Joel Johnson (Real Madrid C bolster with Joel Johnson); Defensa Central, 19 July 2012 (in Spanish)
  7. ^ Joel Johnson, último fichaje del Real Jaén (Joel Johnson, last signing of Real Jaén); Ideal, 1 September 2014 (in Spanish)
  8. ^ El Buñol da con la tecla (Buñol hit the spot); Golsmedia, 16 November 2015 (in Spanish)
  9. ^ Independence sign Spanish defender Johnson; United Soccer League, 7 April 2016
  10. ^ Hartford Athletic signs veteran USL Championship defender Joel Johnson; Hartford Athletic, 18 March 2022
  11. ^ Veteran Spanish defender Joel Johnson returns to Charlotte; USL League One, 14 February 2023
  12. ^ As Charlotte prepares for MLS, Independence moves to lower USL division; The Charlotte Observer, 2 December 2021
  13. ^ All-time Independence appearance leader Joel Johnson returning to Charlotte in 2024; Charlotte Independence, 12 January 2024
  14. ^ Joel Johnson receives call up from Liberian national team Archived 15 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine; Charlotte Independence, 31 August 2016
  15. ^ Tunisia beats Liberia 4–1 in Tunis – Togo thumps Djibouti 5–0 to qualify Archived 15 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine; Front Page Africa, 4 September 2016
  16. ^ Thomas Kojo ‘impressed’ with Johnson’s debut performance Archived 25 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine; Liberian Observer, 12 September 2018
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Johnson_(footballer)
No tags for this post.