Home ARTICLE FOOTBALL Williot Swedberg: The Next Big Thing in La Liga

Williot Swedberg: The Next Big Thing in La Liga

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Williot Swedberg
Swedberg shines, can he live up to 'Kraken' nickname?

Williot Swedberg, dubbed 'Kraken', is making waves in La Liga. Can he become Vigo's next superstar?


Is Williot Swedberg the heir to Iago Aspas? Celta fans think so...


Williot Swedberg is making waves in football, and he's not just riding his parents' coasts! The son of Swedish football icon Malin Swedberg and former Swedish international Hans Swedberg is carving out his own path. The Celta Vigo winger is impressing with his intelligent play and knack for shining in big matches.


Swedberg's got the skills, and he's proving it on the pitch. After making a name for himself at Hammarby, he's now a key player for Celta Vigo. And he's got a big match coming up - Thursday's Europa League Round of 16 tie against Lyon, where he'll be Celta's main threat.


You might remember Swedberg from last year's 2-0 win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu. He's making a name for himself, and it's easy to see why.


The scoreboard told the story - one name stood out: the 22-year-old Swede with #19 on his back. But that name brings back memories: the heartbreaker against Real Madrid, where he set up Borja Iglesias for an equalizer, only for Valverde to snatch a late winner. Or the October 2024 match where he was Celta Vigo's sole scorer in a 1-2 loss.


Williot Swedberg's stats against Real Madrid are insane - four goals and one assist in six games! Celta fans have one word for their 1.87m midfielder: clutch.


“He's got the magic,” says Theo Graasvoll, a goalkeeper who played with Swedberg at Hammarby. "Nobody was as calm and focused as he was when it came to playing the big games.” Swedberg's first goal for Celta Vigo was a masterclass - he came on and scored the winner in a 3-2 thriller against Almeria, securing Celta's top-flight survival.


Swedberg's rise to stardom began early - at just 7 years old, he joined Stockholm club Hammarby, where he quickly gained a rep as a game-changer. He made his Allsvenskan debut on July 11, 2021, against Degerfors, scoring his team's third goal just 3 minutes after coming on. He even grabbed an assist later on, helping Hammarby crush Degerfors 5-1. Some say he's even better than his dad 


The Hammarby crowd went wild, chanting "Better than his daddy, yes, he is better than his daddy” as Swedberg made his debut. His dad, one of the 7,000 fans at the 3Arena, was overwhelmed with emotion - tears in his eyes as he watched his son shine just days after getting his licence.


Williot's parents are football royalty! His dad, Hans Eskilsson, is a former Swedish international with 8 caps, playing for Hammarby, Sporting CP, and Braga before injury forced him to retire. And his mom, Malin Swedberg, is a legend in her own right - 78 caps for Sweden and 5-time Swedish champion with Alvsjo.


“He's been at Hammarby since he was seven, which is ten years. Born in Sodersjukhuset hospital, he has a strong sense of belonging to Hammarby,” said his father soberly after the match, not wishing to steal the limelight from his son. “He's not comfortable with phone calls, like all youngsters his age, so we're going to have to fight with him for the media.”




After his first major performance at just 17 years of age, Swedberg has to juggle this legacy with his promising debut on Swedish television: “I've heard the fans sing that I'm better than my father, but my father is much better, he's had a great career and I'm proud of him. He's always helped me and been there for me, as has my mother. She played for the national team and won the Diamantbollen (the Swedish Diamond Ball), so she was actually even better. Both of them meant a lot to me.”



“One of the most talented players to come through the Hammarby academy”

Milos Milojevic, Hammarby's coach at the time, recalled, "He doesn't play here because his father is a legend at Hammarby, he plays here because he's a great player.” Mikael Hjelmberg, Hammarby's current sporting director and head of recruitment when Swedberg was at the club, insists that he is “one of the most talented players to come through the academy.”


"From an early age, he was a very technical and intelligent player with an excellent understanding of the game. His creativity was probably the hardest thing to manage in training,” recalls Theo Graasvoll, who knew him from the U16s onwards.




“He was always asking for the ball. As a goalkeeper, it was very reassuring to have him in the team, knowing that he was always ready to intervene. I remember that I could send a long clearance to him in midfield and he could recover the ball and project himself towards the goal, even if he was surrounded by three or four opponents.”


Swedberg was the standout star at Hammarby, rising above a talented generation that included Mayckel Lahdo (AZ Alkmaar), Jusef Erabi (Genk), Ben Engdahl (Hacken), and Oliver Dovin (Coventry). He's the only 2004-born player to break into Hammarby's first team this fast.


“When I arrived at Hammarby, he was 16-17 years old and the youngest player in the team, having already started with the first team last season. But with me, it was the season of his consecration,” recalls Marti Cifuentes, Hammarby's coach between January 2022 and October 2023.


“He was a regular starter and played in all three attacking positions: as a false number nine, with the freedom to come inside, as a number 10, as a winger... He has the same qualities that we see today: very good crosses, very good shots, able to break forward, able to play between the lines, a very good eye for goal. He's a very intelligent player, who's very shy off the pitch but has a great personality on it.”


The Catalan coach also remembers a “very calm” youngster, with a “very healthy” entourage who “knows the world of football very well.”


"His parents helped him a great deal to become a professional, but also to leave Sweden at a very young age,” even though Barcelona had been courting him since his early days with Hammarby.


Football's in Swedberg's blood. “He has a huge love of football and watches a lot of matches,” says Cifuentes. His dad Hans is just as passionate, documenting every game he attends on Instagram - from Valencia's third division to the Champions League, Teheran derby, and even Swedish amateur league.


Marti Cifuentes is like a mentor to Swedberg - his dad Hans trusts him completely, calling him “the right person to talk about Williot.” Cifuentes was at the center of Swedberg's big decision at just 18.


“Before I signed for Celta de Vigo, during the 2022 winter transfer window, a Russian club (Lokomotiv Moscow, editor's note) was interested in him. I spoke to him about it and recommended that he wait before going to Russia because he was young and had time to wait for other offers from other countries. Then the war started and everything came to a standstill, but negotiations between the clubs were very advanced.”


Swedberg's move to Celta Vigo turned out to be a blessing in disguise. He was on fire at Hammarby, scoring 5 goals in 5 games and winning April's Allsvenskan Player of the Month award. “He wanted to play in Spain and his father knows the country,” says Cifuentes, who bonded with Swedberg over Spanish chats. The €5 million transfer was a record for Hammarby, but Cifuentes thinks it was worth it: “For me, it was a good thing that he went to LaLiga.”







Swedberg's early days at Celta were tough, mostly spent on the bench. But he's handling it like a pro. “He's always had a rather relaxed character, but he's always shown great professionalism,” says Mikael Hjelmberg.


In Galicia, the 21-year-old impresses with... his level of Spanish. “After training, people often stop here to take photos. Sometimes they ask questions in English, and then there's always a teammate who says: 'He speaks Spanish, come on!' They're completely surprised and that allows me to shine a little,” he laughs to Expressen.




Swedberg's gone from benchwarmer to starter in Claudio Giraldez's XI, and he'll be crucial against Lyon on Thursday. “He made enormous progress in Spain,” says Hjelmberg. “And I have to say that I'm really surprised that he hasn't been selected for the Swedish national team.”


Williot Swedberg's got a chance to shine with Graham Potter leading Sweden! He's been called up for the 2026 World Cup play-off match against Ukraine, which could be a game-changer for his international career. Swedberg, a 22-year-old midfielder playing for Celta Vigo, made his debut for Sweden in June 2024 and has already shown promise with his impressive skills on the pitch.




With Potter's fresh perspective, Swedberg might get more opportunities to showcase his talent. He's already making waves in La Liga, scoring goals and providing assists for Celta Vigo. If he performs well against Ukraine, it could be the boost he needs to become a regular fixture in the Swedish national team.


Swedberg's becoming a fan favorite in Vigo, earning the nickname 'Kraken' - a nod to the mythical Nordic sea creature. Fans see him as a potential heir to Iago Aspas, who's nearing retirement. When asked if Swedberg will surpass his dad, Hans, Hjelmberg says: “I'm sure he's already better than Hasse and will become even better.”




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