“My Humble Beginning”
My name is Joel Johnson and I was born on September 20th, 1992 in Torrent, Spain, a town where football is like religion. When I was young, I was surrounded by the game. It was our church on Sundays. I was introduced to football by watching my brother play before I was old enough to play organized football, and I have been in love with it ever since.
My first ever club was my neighborhood club, Torrent FC. My humble beginning. I played with my close friends from my neighborhood. After playing there for four years, I began playing for Valencia Club de Fútbol (Valencia CF), one of the best clubs in all of Europe that plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spanish League system. I started out in their under 10 age group and at that age level, we played our games seven vs. seven on a shortened field. When I turned ten years old, I entered “Infantil” which is an age group that all under 16 year old players fall under at Valencia, and it’s the first experience on full-sized fields for the younger players. I made some of my best memories playing in tournaments all over the country with teammates who I became close with over the years. As I got older and competed against some of the best footballers in all of Europe, I began to believe that I could play professionally. I played my way up through the Infantil pyramid and all the way up to “Cadete,” which is the highest level of under 16 football in Spain. When I turned 15, I signed my first professional contract with Valencia. It was an incredible achievement for me, having grown up in such a passionate football community. I was fortunate to be put in a position to go far in football by playing in Valencia’s academy, and I had taken every step to get to the professional level. However, I was not finished. I was determined to make my professional debut.
“All in the same year.”
From 15 to 17 years old, I played at a top level in my age group at Valencia. In the first year of my professional contract, I was in my second year of under 19 football or “Juvenil,” in Spain, and my career started to move at a rapid pace. I was 17 years old at the beginning of the 2010 season and in September, I got pulled up from under 19 to the reserve team, Valencia B, and I played 21 games with them while training with the first team every day. Towards the end of the season in April, I made the 18 man roster for the first team a couple of times, and I made my debut on March 18th, 2010 in a match against Racing Santander. I had played for three different teams in the professional pyramid at Valencia, getting pulled up twice in the process, and I made my professional debut in La Liga as a home grown player, all in the same year.
“How could I say no?”
I spent the next two years training with the first team and played most of my games with Valencia B. When I turned 19, I entered my tenth season with Valencia. That year, I got the opportunity to go on a tour with the first team to America to play in two friendly matches against the Portland Timbers and the Houston Dynamo. It’s funny to me when I look back on that experience because at the time, I didn’t know that I would be in the United States playing just a few years later. The two games in America would be my last in a Valencia uniform.
At the end of that season, my professional contract with the club was up. It was an emotional time period, debating leaving my first club where I grew up as a player, but I got a few offers from other clubs, and one of them was Real Madrid. How could I say no?
“Everything was top of the line.”
I signed with Real Madrid before the start of the 2012 season, and began training and playing with their reserve team, Real Madrid C. Coming from Valencia, I was accustomed to a club with top class coaches, trainers, facilities, equipment, atmosphere, etc., but Madrid was truly amazing. It didn’t hit me as hard at the time because when you’re playing, it can be very difficult to realize where you are and soak in the beauty around you. However, thinking back on the experience now, I am so grateful for the time I had in such a sacred place for football. Everything was top of the line, and the people who lived in the area saw players as royalty. Everywhere I went, people would offer to buy me food, ask for autographs, pictures, etc.
I battled through several minor injuries while playing with Real Madrid C for two seasons, but towards the end of my second year with the club, I suffered an injury that required surgery. I missed the last few months of the season and my contract was up. I was on the move again.
“I got to see football from the other end.”
Before the start of the 2014 season, I signed with Real Jaén CF, a club in Segunda División B, which was the third division in Spain at the time. This ended up being a very important year in my career. I had come down to a lower division after playing with two first division clubs, and I got to see football from the other end in one season with a new team. Jaén is a good club that I still have respect for today, but it was not the same luxury that Valencia and Real Madrid were for me. I got to see how the majority of professional footballers live, and it gave me a perspective that I am grateful for. In addition, our roster was filled with veteran players that I learned a lot from. I had always played with other guys who were around my age. Now, I was playing with guys who had kids and were raising families. I got to see how they kept a balance between their family life and football, and I carried that with me years later when I started to raise my own family.
I spent a season with Jaén and it was time for me to go elsewhere again. I spent some time training with a few clubs to stay in shape while I tried to find a club to play for in the long term. My agent floated the idea of using some of his connections in America to try and find a team. It seemed like a dramatic move at first, but I had always been curious about America throughout my life and it was a goal of mine to live there eventually. I knew the opportunities that the country had to offer. So, I figured, “Why not now?” I needed a change of environment.
“If you work hard here, you’re going to progress.”
I came to America in 2016 without a contract, starting out on trial with Charlotte Independence. I was determined to sign with the club and in April of 2016, I signed my first contract with them.
Throughout my first few years in America, I started to notice the opportunities that people have here compared to where I grew up in Spain. There’s no ceiling. If you work hard here, you’re going to progress. You have chances. In Spain, it’s hard to find opportunities outside of playing football. You can find a job, work for years, but it’s very slow. It’s not easy to progress and create a long career. I found that, here in America, if you work hard, you have every opportunity to get to where you want to be.
The football here is a lot different than in Spain also. It’s a more physical style of play, more up and down, intense, and fast. It reminds me most of football in England. In Spain, football is slower with more of a focus on tactics and technical play.
“…And these people are going to be happy. That’s the best way to help.”
In the middle of my first season with Charlotte, I received my first call up to the Liberian National team for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Qualifiers. It’s an interesting part of my ethnicity, because although I was born and raised in Spain, I actually have Liberian blood from my Dad. I had never been there in my life, and it was an amazing experience because I started to understand some things about myself by being there. For example, in Spain, I am considered a black person, even though I grew up there and speak Spanish. That was always difficult for me to understand. However, after spending time in Liberia, I began to see how the Liberian blood in me made me who I am, despite growing up in Spain.
My favorite part about Liberia and getting to know the people there was seeing how happy football makes them. You see a lot of poverty in Liberia, but football changes everything. Learning this, I thought, “I can help them. I can use my talent to try to make the national team better and these people are going to be happy. That’s one of the best ways I can help.” If you do well, it’s huge for the country. Playing for Liberia helped reinvigorate my passion for football. Overall, it was truly an enlightening and gratifying experience.
I had opportunities to play elsewhere throughout my time with Charlotte, but I loved it there. I spent six wonderful seasons with the club in which we made the playoffs four times. Unfortunately, at the end of the 2021 season, Charlotte Independence went down to the USL League One. Again, I had to look elsewhere, and I ended up here in Hartford.
Coming to Hartford has been an exciting new chapter in my life, and a challenge as a player. I am one of the older players on this team and I’ve always played with guys who are older than me, having started my professional career at 17. I feel that I have more responsibility over the team, and it’s been great to be put out of my comfort after spending six years in Charlotte. I’ve learned a lot so far and I am confident that this team can reach high achievements.
