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 lea ...

who plays as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

Celta Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, 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), the club was foun ...

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, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Swedberg also partly lived in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, 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 differ ...

. In 2019, he went on trial with

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

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 3, the fifth tier in Swedish football. Background IK Frej was founded 5 February 1968 by Åke Berghagen and his friends. Today, IK Frej has more than 120 ...

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 professional association football, 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 ...

, 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 Danish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Brøndbyvester. Brøndby IF denotes the professional football section of Brøndbyernes ...

and

FC Midtjylland Football Club Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they ...

. 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 Rom ...

, after eliminating

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

(4–1 on aggregate) and

FK Čukarički Fudbalski klub Čukarički () is a Serbian professional football club from Belgrade, more precisely from the Čukarica municipality, that currently plays in the Serbian SuperLiga, the top tier of Serbian football. Founded in 1926, the club spe ...

(6–4 on aggregate, in which Swedberg scored). In the playoff, then, Hammarby was knocked out by

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

(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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. On 23 February 2022, Swedberg was close to join

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three occasions; the Soviet Cup twice; and the Russian Cup (football), Russian Cup a record ...

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 On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. 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 simply as Malmö FF or MFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö, Scania. They compete in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football, and play home matches at the Eleda S ...

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 Vigo, 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), the club was fou ...

, 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

was against

Almería Almería (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of Almería, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...

; 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 countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

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 , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Friends Arena Nationalarenan, known as Strawberry Arena since 2024 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 largest stadi ...

. He substituted Anthony Elanga 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 Association football, footballer who plays for club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich. He primarily plays as an attacking midfielder or a second striker. Widely regarded as one o ...

and

Donny van de Beek Donny van de Beek (; born 18 April 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Girona. In youth international football, Van de Beek made more than 40 appearances for the Netherlands from under-17 to ...

. 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 and

Malin Swedberg Malin Swedberg (born 15 September 1968) is a Swedish former football midfielder who won 78 caps for the Sweden women's national team, scoring ten goals. She represented Sweden at the inaugural FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991; as well as in the Ol ...

. 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 IK Frej players Hammarby Fotboll players Hammarby Talang FF players RC Celta de Vigo players Ettan Fotboll players Allsvenskan players Sweden men's youth international footballers Sweden men's under-21 international footballers Sweden men's international footballers Swedish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Spain 21st-century Swedish sportsmen