Williot Theo Swedberg (born 1 February 2004) is a Swedish professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
central midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for
Celta de Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...
in
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
and the
Sweden national team.
Early life
Born and primarily raised in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Swedberg also partly lived in
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, Spain, during his childhood.
He started to play youth football with local club Sickla IF. In 2011, at age seven, he joined the youth academy of
Hammarby IF
Hammarby Idrottsförening ("Hammarby Sports Club"), commonly known as Hammarby IF or simply Hammarby ( or, especially locally, ), is a Swedish sports club located in Stockholm, with a number of member organizations active in a variety of differe ...
.
In 2019, he went on trial with
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
club
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
.
Club career
Hammarby IF
In 2020, Swedberg was sent on loan to Hammarby's affiliated club
IK Frej
IK Frej is a Swedish sports club located in Täby kyrkby. It currently plays in Division 4, the sixth tier in Swedish football.
Background
IK Frej was founded 5 February 1968 by Åke Berghagen and his friends. Today, IK Frej has more than 1200 ...
in
Ettan, the domestic third tier, where he made his debut in senior football. He began the 2021 season on loan at feeder team
Hammarby TFF
Hammarby Talang FF, more commonly known as Hammarby TFF or HTFF for short, is a Swedish football club from Stockholm. Originally founded in 2003, the club was dissolved in 2011, before being re-incorporated in 2016 and again in 2021.
Competing ...
, also competing in Ettan.
On 11 July 2021, Swedberg made his competitive debut for Hammarby in Allsvenskan, in a 5–1 home win against
Degerfors IF
Degerfors IF is a Swedish football club located in Degerfors. The club, formed 13 January 1907, is currently playing in the highest tier in Swedish football, Allsvenskan.
Background
Degerfors IF first played in the Allsvenskan in 1939 maki ...
, coming on from the bench in the 79th minute and scoring two minutes later.
After his debut, Swedberg reportedly attracted interest from Danish clubs
Brøndby IF
Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a professional association football club based in Brøndbyvester, Capital Region of Denmark. The club was founded in 1964 as a merger between two local clubs and was p ...
and
FC Midtjylland
FC Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast in the western part of Jutland. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Su ...
. On 12 August, Swedberg signed a new three-year deal until 2024 with Hammarby, his first professional contract.
He featured in five games as the side reached the play-off round of the
2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League
The 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League was the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League, Europe's tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA.
The final was played at the Arena Kombëtare in Tirana, Albania, with Roma ...
, after eliminating
Maribor
Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...
(4–1 on aggregate) and
FK Čukarički
Fudbalski klub Čukarički () is a Serbian professional Football team, football club from Belgrade, more precisely from the Čukarica municipality, that currently plays in the Serbian SuperLiga, the top tier of Serbian football league system, Se ...
(6–4 on aggregate, in which Swedberg scored). In the playoff, then, Hammarby was knocked out by
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
(4–4 on aggregate) after a penalty shoot-out. In October 2021, Swedberg was named as one of the 60 best young talents in world football born in 2004, by the English newspaper ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''.
On 23 February 2022, Swedberg was close to join
Lokomotiv Moscow
FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москв ...
for a reported fee of around €4.5 million, but the deal ultimately fell through due to administrative reasons and the political instability following
Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He had a strong start to the 2022 season, scoring five goals in the first five league fixtures, awarding him Allsvenskan Player of the Month in April. Swedberg featured in the final of the
2021–22 Svenska Cupen
The 2021–22 Svenska Cupen is the 66th season of the Svenska Cupen and the tenth season with the current format. The winners of the competition will secure a spot in the second qualifying round of the 2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League, unl ...
, in which Hammarby lost by 3–4 on penalties to
Malmö FF
Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Association, ...
after the game ended in a 0–0 draw.
Celta
On 17 June 2022, Swedberg transferred to
Celta de Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...
in
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
, signing a contract until the summer of 2027. The fee was reportedly set at around €5 million, plus bonuses and a sell-on clause, making it a record breaking transfer for Hammarby.
His first goal for
Celta de Vigo
Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues ...
was against
Almería
Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city gr ...
; a late goal to win the match 3-2 on 2 September 2023.
International career
Swedberg scored in his debut for the
Sweden U17 national team in a 3–1 friendly win against
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
on 17 September 2019.
Sweden made his debut for the
Sweden national team on 8 June 2024 in a 0–3 friendly loss against
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
at
Friends Arena
Nationalarenan, currently known as Friends Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof multi-purpose stadium in Stockholm, Sweden. Located next to the lake Råstasjön in Solna, just north of the City Centre, it is the biggest stadium in ...
. He substituted
Anthony Elanga
Anthony David Junior Elanga (born 27 April 2002) is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Manchester United and the Sweden national team.
Elanga joined the Manchester United youth system aged 12 and won the Jimmy ...
in the 62nd minute.
Style of play
A right-footed player with good technique, Swedberg is often deployed as an attacking central midfielder. He is a space operator and likes to get into the vacated spaces and make movements off-the-ball, much like
Thomas Müller
Thomas Müller (; born 13 September 1989) is a German professional footballer who plays for club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. A versatile player, Müller has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an attacking m ...
and
Donny van de Beek
Donny van de Beek (; born 18 April 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Netherlands national team.
He joined the Ajax academy in 2008. In 2015, Van de Beek made ...
. Known for his first touch and vision, Swedberg tends to often pass or carry the ball into the penalty area.
Personal life
Swedberg is the son of the former professional footballers
Hans Eskilsson
Hans Vimmo Eskilsson (born 23 January 1966) is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a striker and defender. Starting off his career with IFK Östersund, he went on to represent clubs such as IFK Norrköping, Hammarby IF, Spor ...
and
Malin Swedberg.
Due to partially growing up in Valencia, Swedberg became trilingual from an early age. After his move to Celta in 2022, he said that his Spanish fluency surprised 'many' around the club.
Career statistics
Club
International
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swedberg, Williot
2004 births
Footballers from Stockholm
Living people
Swedish men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Sweden men's youth international footballers
Sweden men's under-21 international footballers
Sweden men's international footballers
IK Frej players
Hammarby Fotboll players
Hammarby Talang FF players
RC Celta de Vigo players
Ettan Fotboll players
Allsvenskan players
Swedish expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Spain