Will Johnson

He was brought in at halftime, became captain at the 73rd minute after Landon Donovan was substituted, and at the 88th minute received a yellow card for a hard tackle on Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, the latter received a bruised ankle and had to exit what would be his last game until November.

William David Johnson (born January 21, 1987) is a Canadian soccer player who plays for Central Florida Panthers in the National Premier Soccer League and the Central Florida Crusaders in the National Indoor Soccer League.

A versatile midfielder, Johnson has represented Canada internationally.

Johnson was born in Canada, but moved shortly afterwards to England where he started playing soccer, attending the Merchant Taylors' School in Crosby, near Liverpool.

When he was 10 his family once again moved, this time to Woodridge, Illinois, and he played youth soccer for the Sockers FC Chicago.

Johnson later returned to England to play for the youth team of Blackburn Rovers in the 2003–04 season.

However, after the season he left Blackburn and returned to Illinois.

He was on the roster of Chicago Fire Reserves in the USL Premier Development League, but did not feature in any PDL games.

In 2005, Johnson was signed by the Chicago Fire as a discovery player.

Johnson played most of the year for the reserve team in the MLS Reserve League but he did play in six games for the first team, where he scored a goal.

After the year the Fire offered him a $28,000 contract, which he rejected.

Johnson then went on a trial with Heerenveen, which was successful, and they signed him to a one-year deal plus a club option for two more years.

In the summers of 2005 and 2007, Johnson played for the U-20 Canada national team at the 2005 and 2007 World Youth Championships in the Netherlands and Canada respectively.

He made his senior debut for Canada in a November 2005 friendly match against Luxembourg.

He made 14 appearances, all as a sub, for Heerenveen in the 2006–2007 season, scoring the second goal in a 2–0 defeat of NEC Nijmegen on December 27, 2006.

For the 2007–2008 season he was on loan to Doetinchem side De Graafschap, who were promoted as champions of the Dutch Eerste Divisie.

Again he mostly made sub appearances and he returned to SC Heerenveen for the 2008–09 season.

While back training in Heerenveen for preseason, MLS team Real Salt Lake offered Johnson a contract, which he accepted.

Johnson signed with Major League Soccer on August 16, 2008.

Johnson won the MLS Goal of the Year Award in 2008 for a goal scored against FC Dallas on October, 18 in Rio Tinto Stadium.

Johnson also played very well for the Canada U-23 side during the 2008 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Johnson scored three goals in three games during the tournament.

However, Canada failed to qualify for the Olympics after falling 3–0 to the United States in the semifinals.

Chicago traded his rights to Real Salt Lake in return for a conditional 4th round pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft and a 2nd round pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft.

He was called up for the 2009 MLS All-Star Game against English Premier League side Everton. He was one of three players to score their penalties in the penalty shootout against American goalkeeper Tim Howard.

He started and played 45 minutes for Real Salt Lake in the 2009 MLS Cup final against the Los Angeles Galaxy despite a bout with food poisoning, with his side ultimately winning in a penalty shootout.

Johnson was traded to the Portland Timbers on December 3, 2012, as part of a salary cap issue, along with the trade or release of six other Real Salt Lake players, including starters Jámison Olave, Fabián Espíndola, and substitute Jonny Steele.

Johnson was named team captain by coach Caleb Porter on February 26, 2013; former team captain Jack Jewsbury was renamed club captain.

On March 30, 2013, Johnson scored his first goal for Portland against Colorado Rapids scoring both goals in 2–2 draw, he was awarded MLS player of the week for his performance.

Johnson was put on the 2014 MLS All Star roster.

A collision with Toronto FC defender Mark Bloom early in the September 27, 2014 game fractured the tibia and fibula in Johnson's right leg, ending his season early.

In December 2015, Johnson was traded to Toronto FC in exchange for a conditional second-round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft and targeted allocation money.

On May 1, 2016, he scored his first goal for Toronto in a 2–1 away defeat to his former team, the Portland Timbers.

On June 29, 2016, he scored the winning goal in the 95th minute of the Canadian Championship for Toronto to defeat the Vancouver Whitecaps 2–2 on aggregate, winning on away goals.

In scoring that goal, Johnson collided with Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted, resulting in a tibial plateau fracture of his left leg.

In December 2016, Orlando City SC announced that they had signed Johnson to a two-year contract, with an option for a third year.

Johnson's contract expired after the 2019 season.

He retired from professional soccer shortly after, taking up a financial advisor role with Morgan Stanley.

On May 2, 2021, Johnson made a return to soccer, signing as a player and player-mentor with developmental NPSL team Central Florida Panthers.

In August 2022, he signed with the Central Florida Crusaders of the National Indoor Soccer League.