One was born in Selma. Ala., daughter of a Air Force father, she lived there for only about a year before her father was transferred to a base in Italy.
The other was born in Mobile, son of students from Iceland. He lived there for only three years before his parents returned to their homeland.
Both have worn the jerseys of the United States national soccer teams. One retired with 275 international appearances and the other earned his first with a recent second half appearance far from Alabama and far from Iceland.
That’s what Mia Hamm and Aron Johann- sson have in common. Not much at all, but more than most would expect.
The greatest commonality is they were both born in Alabama.
The soccer history of Mia Hamm has been told over and over since her first national team appearance at age 14.
Johannsson’s soccer future lies ahead of him. His first U.S. appearance, at age 22, came one day after FIFA approved his application for a one-time “change of association” from Iceland to the USA.
Johannsson had represented Iceland in the U-21s, but never at the senior level. He is a talented forward who played next to U.S. striker Jozy Altidore in Holland last year with AZ Alkmaar. where he scored five goals in seven games.
He replaced Eddie Johnson in the 63rd minute against Bosnia-Herzegovina, and was again paired up top with Altidore, who scored three goals in the 4-3 win.
Johannsson did not score, but created several dangerous opportunities, showing why U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann was eager to add him to the U.S. squad.
He spoke about his decision to play for the U.S. in a Question & Answer session with USSoccer.com before his first game in a U.S. uniform.
“I was born in Mobile, Ala. where I lived for my first three years before moving back to Iceland. We went back to America just about every year on holiday, mainly to Florida.
I got into playing football when I was little. My parents said I was a difficult kid because I was always moving, playing and looking to have fun (laughs). They would give me a ball and I would just play for hours and hours.
When I was around 8 years old – I can’t remember exactly – but it was then I told my dad that I was going to be a professional football player.”
As a teenager he spent a week at IMG Academy in Bradenton. He returned to Iceland from vacation, but a year later returned to IMG for the full year.
When asked why he chose to go to IMG he replied, ‘when you’re 16-17 in Iceland, you go to high school/college and it’s the time when everyone starts partying and I really wanted to avoid that. I went to the IMG Academy where I couldn’t do that every single day or weekend.
“There, I was able to focus on studying and playing soccer. I starting living with four other guys and like most Americans they were really open, speaking to me and helping me in the beginning and it was a really nice time.”
Even though he had some offers to go to school in the U.S., he decided to return home to play with his Icelandic club in the summer of 2008. Soon he was with the first team.
“But my dream was always to go abroad, to go away from Iceland to play professionally,” he said. “In the summer of 2010, I got the opportunity to move to Denmark to really start my career.”
Eventually, he signed to play in Holland with AZ Alkmaar, where he met U.S. MNT forward Jozey Altidore. An injury set Johannsson back a couple of months and when he returned to the field, Altidore was playing his position.
“Jozy was playing and scoring every game so I couldn’t really complain,” he said. “But when I got my minutes I tried to do my best and I scored three goals in five appearances. Now after Jozy was sold to Sunderland, the club sees me as the first striker.”
Johannsson said that he had been well accepted in his first U.S. MNT training camp. Choosing to play for the U.S. was not an easy decision, but one he made with the support of his family.
“It took a little while. I talked to my family about it and it’s just a personal decision for me, and I feel it’s best for me and my family.
“They (his parents) were happy for me. From the start they were always telling me to make the decision that is best for me and that’s what I did.”
[/show_to][hide_from accesslevel=’Subscriber’]
Your subscription has expired please
Subscribe to Southern Soccer Scene to view full article and get all the news in your mailbox![/hide_from]